SPIN Picks: 8 Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen

Hometown: New York, NY
Recommended if you like… Bloc Party, Nada Surf
Why we picked them: Jabbing, post-punk guitar and fuzzy, spoken word verses give way to a delicate, even pretty, indie pop chorus.
Links: MySpace

Hometown: Los Angeles
Recommended if you like… Weezer, Voxtrot
Why we picked them: Featured song "Fibromyalgia" is pure mid-'90s L.A. nerd rock, but this band also shows a deft touch with winsome Britpop and lite-electronica.
Link: MySpace

Hometown: Los Angeles (via the USSR)
Recommended if you like… Jurassic 5, De La Soul
Why we picked him: With soulful beats and clever samples that hearken back to hip-hop's '90s heyday, this Russian expat deserves to get in the game.
Link: MySpace

Hometown: Boston, MA
Recommended if you like… The Knife, Lykke Li
Why we picked them: Twitchy, Scandinavian-sounding electro-pop imbued with urgent, even desperate, vocals.
Link: MySpace

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Recommended if you like… Sonic Youth, Pixies
Why we picked them: This band's shouty, raucous noise rock is both aggressive and relentless, only slightly softened by guitarist Andrea Havis' backing vocals.
Link: Official site

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Recommended if you like… Garbage, Shiny Toy Guns
Why we picked them: Where many electronic acts synthesize, Auto Tune, and otherwise digitally enhance vocals, there's no doubting the inherent soul of Beehive singer Butterfly Beats.
Link: MySpace | Official site

Hometown: Chicago/Switzerland/U.K.
Recommended if you like… Idlewild, Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Why we picked them: A globetrotting, Swiss-born frontman named Patrick crafted these heavy, post-shoegaze hooks in the U.K. and Chicago.
Link: MySpace

Hometown: New York, NY
Recommended if you like… Snow Patrol, Travis
Why we picked them: These lads might hail from the Big Apple, but they are well-equipped to churn out bombastic, emotional arena rock balladry.
Link: MySpace