May 16, 2012 We've all heard the proverbial rags to riches stories of how rappers can go from hard knock lives to gold-plated roadways tricked out by overly-priced wheels. And oftentimes when said rapper is female,...
May 16, 2012 Before Jamaican dancehall legend Vybz Kartel was charged with murder in 2011, he was already making headlines around the world. Yes, for his flamboyant press wrangling, yes, for his so-called 'skin...
May 16, 2012 Name: Los Vigilantes
Where They're From: Puerto Rico
Genre: Garage Punk
When They Started: 2009
Most Similar: Davila 666, Mark Sultan
The Sound: Like trouble
Favorite lyrics: "No...
May 16, 2012 Twin Atlantic’s huge rock sound have bewitched UK audiences from Glasgow to London, and they’re currently working on American domination. Their debut full-length Free hopped to the top of the iTunes...
May 16, 2012 Originality comes few and far between these days, especially in overly saturated music categories where some artists are merely carbon copies of legends from generations prior. The smart ones are those...
May 15, 2012 Simian Mobile Disco is among the most ubiquitous names in electronic music. You'd be hard-pressed find a credible dance lineup somewhere in the world without this duo's name in lights. Yet, you're not...
May 15, 2012 Who They Are: Punks Jump Up, or Joe and David
Where They're From: England and Sweden, Based in London
Genre: Neon Dance Funk Rock Pop Goodness
When They Started: 2004
Most Similar: The Rapture, Parliament, occasionally Justice
The Sound:...
May 14, 2012 Over the course of these early milleni-teens, I've seen a long line of artists doing that "alone, singing up there with loops and laptop" thing. And to be totally, totally honest, they haven't been great. But if I may make a grand statement here: I...
A Whisper in the Noise, Minnesota-based art rockers, delivers a single as delicate as their name. “Your Hand” is a gracefully composed song illustrated with simple, elegant winter-white Minneapolis farmland imagery. The wind chill is tangible with wispy...
Ane Brun, an indie folkstress, remembers the sweet moments of a spoiled milk relationship. “Do You Remember” examines a relationship in retrospect using a fun, whimsical and slightly shadowy dream sequence. Ballet dancers, balloons, band members and...
The lazy days of summer would be incomplete without an anthem, no? Cloud Nothings, a Cleveland punk indie band, vows to “Stay Useless” from now on. Slacking has never been so creatively depicted! An animated young outcast uses the power of his...
Do you smeeelll what indie pop is cooking? “Warrior” is a fun single chockfull of the genre’s heavyweights. In one corner stands Kimbra, the cute and quirky rising star from New Zealand. Next to her is Mark Foster of Foster the People who lends his...
Good golly, Gemma Ray. The UK-bred and Berlin-based songstress drifts into the lofty land of 50s advertisement with “Rescue Me.” She sings technicolor-tinged blues of lost love in an animated, retro supermarket. With her melodramatic pop stanzas and...
The Ents are alive with the sound of chamber pop! “The Paper Trench,” a single from Scottish five piece Admiral Fallow, is full of rolling guitar chords and bright, chirpy harmonies. Their euphoric sound accompanies a large, uprooted tree man that...
Hip-Hop and alternative music have exploded in Latin America in the last few years. Strikingly original acts from Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and beyond have hit the shelves in droves, breaking around the world with songs of protest, love, and partying....
South Africa’s Spoek Mathambo invites us to a party we definitely won’t be tardy to. His single “Let Them Talk” is a clever clash of “Hey Ya!” spontaneity and “Thriller” creepy moments. The mash up of mellow 50s-inspired groove and the surprising,...
