Crystal Stilts

With their debut album, Alight of Night, these brooding New York rockers separate themselves from the pack.
Crystal Stilts / Photo by Brian Farinas

What? No, they don't blast terrorizing 8-bit electro-clash beats while screaming nonsensically -- that'd be Crystal Castles. And their drummer doesn't go by the nom de plume "Sexual Chocolate" -- think Crystal Antlers.

Parts and Labor

These New York noisemakers have redefined the term "collaboration," recruiting fans to help create their latest album, Receivers.
Parts and Labor / Photo by Francesca Tallone

What? This quartet of Brooklyn, NY, noise-pop enthusiasts creates tunes that are jam-packed with glossy hooks and brash sounds, using guitars, keyboards, computer-generated sounds, and jittery vocals.

The Jayhawks

Here comes new material from the Americana band that influenced Blitzen Trapper and scores of other contemporary indie groups.
The Jayhawks in the mid-90s

Who: Formed in 1985, the Jayhawks broke through to the mainstream on the strength of their 1992 classic, Hollywood Town Hall, and its surprising hit single, "Waiting for the Sun" (watch video below).

The Sea and Cake

Chicago post rockers turn up the volume on their eighth studio album, Car Alarm, out this week.
The Sea and Cake / Photo by Megan Holmes

What? Much like their namesake, Chicago post-rock quartet the Sea and Cake have created music that combines a subtle sweetness with an impossibly cool beachside vibe, thanks to a mix of electronic sounds, Krautrock styles, and strong post-jazz influences.

Electric Six

Genre-blurring Detroit rockers still outrageous, still eclectic on their SPIN-approved fifth album, Flashy.
The Electric Six

What? "Look out, here comes the flashy man," Dick Valentine, singer of Motor City rockers Electric Six, screams over crunchy guitars and a disco-rama of synths on "Flashy Man," a tune off the band's aptly titled fifth studio album, Flashy. One listen to the record and it seems Valentine is musing about himself.

Of Montreal

Psych-pop crazies bust conventions and shake asses with their latest album, Skeletal Lamping.
Of Montreal

What? Let's face it: From his band's 1998 concept album The Bedtime Drama: A Petite Tragedy to his performance -- stark naked!

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