Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, 'Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band' (Dead Oceans)
Excitable indie collective earnestly earns the buzz.
By David Marchese 03.15.09 9:54 AM
As befits a mixed-race, -gender, and -generation band, this Seattle quintet never settles for the status quo. Bluesy single-note guitar lines compete with jagged chording, the bass thumps out counter-melodies, strained yelping dissolves into pastoral harmony. Yet it all coheres thanks to frontman Benjamin Verdoes' pop instincts and the band's jittery energy.
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An Horse, 'Rearrange Beds' (Mom & Pop)
Spunky Aussies churn up a poignant fervor.
By J. Gabriel Boylan 03.05.09 6:51 PM
Started in the basement of an indie record shop, this clever and efficient Australian duo have experienced rapid success, scoring a U.S. deal via tourmates Tegan and Sara and placing a song (the jagged, confident "Postcards") in a Mercedes commercial.
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The Decemberists, 'The Hazards of Love' (Capitol)
The Decemberists go for baroque with showy foray into musical theater.
By Josh Modell 03.04.09 7:10 PM
Colin Meloy's grandiose ambitions have, along with his band's popularity, grown gradually more grandiose over the years. Smarty-pants fans swooned for his use of old-timey language on 2002's Castaways and Cutouts, embraced the nautical theme of the following year's Her Majesty, and gleefully joined (or, more likely, rejoined) the drama club on indie farewell Picaresque.
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Gay Rap: Straight Outta the Closet
A decade down the line, gay rappers are still stuck on the industry margins.
By David Marchese 03.03.09 5:31 PM
From N.W.A. to Eminem, rap has never had much truck with taboos. But despite a history of pushing the edge to the center, there's one boundary the music is still struggling to cross. "I've stopped thinking about reaching straight people," says Captain Magik, 28, a self-described "young, gay, and proud" Cleveland MC with a raspy, Nas-like flow.
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Dan Deacon, 'Bromst' (Carpark)
Off-the-grid scamp turns playfully serious composer.
By Charles Aaron 02.26.09 6:38 PM
If you're the sort of lapsed grad student who wears Super Mario t-shirts and freaks the fuck out at art spaces in emerging neighborhoods, then Dan Deacon is already your electro-punk party hoss par excellence.
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Wild Light: Best Friends Forever
New Hampshire quartet battles the elements, gets a boost from Arcade Fire.
By David Marchese 02.26.09 5:22 PM
Musicians tend to play better after warming up. Or, as the case may be, thawing out. "Our first practice space was in a room we couldn't afford to heat," recalls Wild Light's cofrontman Timothy Kyle, thinking back to the band's winter rehearsals in Quincy, Massachusetts.
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