Welcoming listeners like a closed fist, "Black Cat" - the song that opens Ladytron’s fourth album Velocifero (Nettwerk) - kills the ears with a buzzy bass line and forceful, mechanical drum work. It’s a sinister new sound; one that conjures up the seediest of S&M clubs and quite possibly might drive you to wear anything leather. It’s also the work of Alessandro Cortini (who’s worked with NIN) and Vicarious Bliss. With their help, the long time electro rock group employs dramatic timing to tremendous effect over the course of the album.

pictures by Jackson Williams. See more photos HERE.

There was a Danish invasion in New York on Wednesday night, as two of our favorite bands from Denmark shared the stage at The Knitting Factory for three hours of mayhem. There was a healthy dose of horns, harmonies, clapping, and drinking (in one girls case, too much drinking).

This is something we've been musing over for a while. A band name is an important element not only for aesthetic purposes, but for promotion and overall chic. A bad name can ruin even the best sounding band. Most people can tell the difference between a good name, one that just sounds cool and rolls off the tongue, and one that doesn't (and more or less sucks). However, what we're wondering is, on the scene, it seems like there are way too many "bears." Why bears? Are they some sort of indie animal?

When Jonathan Meiburg first opens his mouth on Rook,we're not sure where he is going. The slow, simple piano layered with soft vocals leads us to jump to conclusions... Is this a Coldplay knockoff? (and we mean the not-so-good version, boring ballads and all). Never judge an album by the first fifteen seconds. What actually follows is an explosion of sound, ushering us into thirty-five minutes full of surprises. And then brings us right back down.

These guys were at Union Hall last week, and if you missed it, you should at least know the name. The blogs are buzzing (a little bit) about how they sound a little like Slowdive, Ride and Lush (thanks Oh My Rockness). Their dreamy velvet rock is catchy, and even though they are Brooklyn based, they have a distinctly britpop sensibility. Funny how that happens.

Wandering around the world wide web, we discovered this cut by the voice of Gnarls Barkley, rapper Cee-lo. If you like Gnarls, you might want to check out Cee-lo's earlier stuff. This clip is a live take on the gosepl intro to Soul Food, called "free." Apparently it was originally recorded as a full song, so Cee-lo spit the whole thing on college radio (and it's pretty cool).

No, this is not a poorly titled lost episode of that show starring Kevin Sorbo. It's an approprietly (or at least, cool) titled musical project from New York DJ Andy Butler, and a bunch of other people. Hercules and Love Affair is pretty groovy.

Yesterday at 2:30 PM, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós released track one off their new album, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust on their website. The track, "Gobbledigook" pretty much sounds like, well, gobbledigook. The lyrics are basically nonsense to our American ears, but the music and vocals are so lush and instrumentaly and melodically filling, that we almost don't need to know or care what they are actually saying: the song is beautiful.

In the world of Hip Hop, it's usually a "who has the biggest mouth" game, spitting lyrics mostly about hating, banging, drugs, whatever. Every now and then we get someone like Talib Kweli who has real mainstream potential AND writes lyrics that speak about faith and hope in things other than selling drugs. Don't get us wrong, we love a good jam on lollipops or whatever. But let's just say, to hear the debut album from Raashan Ahmad is like a breath of fresh beats.

Remember we mentioned these fresh pop rockers from Chicago, Unicycle Loves You a few weeks ago? Well, their album comes out next week, and if you like Bishop Allen and The New Pornographers, or a diet version of Spoon, you should probably buy Unicycle Loves You (Highwheel) when it drops next week.

Boy, we seem to be obsessed with dates today. Dates in Japan, and this time dates in North America. Everyone's favorite neo-soul singer-songwriter Justin Vernon (a.k.a Bon Iver) just announced some new dates for his North American tour, some of which are with a little band you might know called Wilco. Sweet.

Just kidding, folks. But the title of the new Stars track definitely captures a great upbeat energy, even if it hints at being spurned. The radio edit of "Bitches In Tokyo" was released earlier this week, and it's a good blend of old school stars meet new school pop. And we like it.

If you like Swedish indie folk played by someone descended from Argentina, you have very specific taste. Seriously, this is really for all fans of the folk genre: you should check out José González and his new tour dates.

"Buzz" may not be the right word for Anamanaguchi, a New York based electro-beat band. How about "blip?" These guys crank out tunes using one of the twentieth centuries greatest music making machines: the Nintendo. When listening, we're not sure if we're supposed to be dancing or storming the castle.

What do Handsome Furs, Sunset Rubdown, and Hot Hot Heat have in common (besides sounding like a very hairy day on the beach?). They all contain (or contained) pieces of Wolf Parade. Fans of the Canadian indie rockers can rejoice: in just a few weeks At Mount Zoomer (Subpop) will be released.

We recently stumbled on a compilation disc of really old school mashup artist Steinski. Literally, he was the original Girl Talk. He was sampling really old stuff and mashing up tracks in the 80's before anyone knew what "mash-up" meant.

CMJ released some information about
Nisennenmondai, a three piece pyschadelic noise rock band from Japan, releasing an album here in the US. They have never released an album outside of their native land before. And yet, these ladies have shared the stage with Battles(big fans of theirs), and for good reason, they will probably be associated. Their other notable fans include Lightening Bolt and No Age.

For everyone who liked really ridiculous pop-punk when they were a kid, every now and then you need some new rock that is actually, well, rock. Before synth and fuzz and indie ambience started defining modern popular rock n' roll (and we considered bands like No Age "rock"), there was a kind of rocking that Brooklyn's Appomattox embodies. Hand in the air, "I can kind of recognize that as a drum kit" rock.

There’s a riot brewing at Barsuk…a Ra Ra Riot of course! Holy smokes, we crack ourselves up sometimes. But seriously folks…

First off, thanks be to Pitchfork for the lead. Secondly, this is big...at least for us. Sure, I know we are only a few of Will Sheff’s thousands of devoted minions. But we’d also consider ourselves fairly fine connoisseurs of Okkervil River’s hopelessly addicting batch of emotional, folkish fare. Sure, they may be down a man with Jonathan Meiberg’s recent departure for Shearwater exclusivity. But this here river continues to flow fine and mighty, apparently rolling right on downstream to an already completed 5th studio album.

We're suckers for happy-go-lucky nonsense word hooks, (i.e. ba dop ba ba da da!) so it's not surprise that we got hooked on "Delia," - a track from The Canon Logic. A couple of sub-scene popsters from Brooklyn, NY, the band kind of sounds like an indie version of Pet Sounds... on this track at least.

Oh Vampire Weekend, the first band to be on the cover of Spin without a debut album. How the blogs brought you up from nothing in the blink of an eye. And how they love to make you feel stupid.

If you're rushing home to see what new songs appear on Grey's Anatomy tonight, I am going to make a prediction: the next Lily Allen/Ingrid Michaelson jazz pop princess? We choose you, Lenka.

Joining the ranks of bean burritos and tequila is Chikita Violenta, one more thing that Mexico has given us to cherish forever.

I have no idea what Meho Plaza is, and neither does this record, but I like it.

Does anyone else get the feeling that there is cute little indie-pop hiding somewhere in this loud noise? If there is any such filling in Meho Plaza and their new self-titled (Better Looking Records), it's completely obscured with the flavor of distortion and loud synth fuzz. But hey, it tastes good.

Indie pop Missouri natives Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin just announced round two of their summer tour, which will bring them to Music Hall of Williamsburg in July. Oh boy!

I've wanted to post about far flung brit-rockers British Sea Power for a while, and today is the day. I know I keep harping on the whole "underwater rock" thing, so I'll spare you the metaphor. Besides, these guys are sea power. They float on the surface, maybe even with a motor. There is a lot of space in their tunes, so I guess a wide-open body of water is a good place to start when describing them. The name really says it all; they love the south of England and the sea, and they certainly sound like it.

If you like guitars and modern day Allman Brothers meets Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, this might be for you. Southern rock revival jammers Rose Hill Drive are doing something pretty cool: letting their fans pick the new single for their upcoming June 24th release of Moon is the New Earth (Megaforce). The voting begins today and you can check it out here.

With a strapping, able-bodied set of songs and a road tested concert presence to boot, the seething, slightly wicked proceedings offered here serve notice that Glasgow’s native Sons and Daughters are a band you frankly need to know about. When singer Adele Bethel quotes Leonard Cohen, you know she does so not as a casual observer, but rather a studied disciple of the legend’s hardened, leathered songwriting. It’s written all over this band’s body of work.

For a band that deems themselves The Explorers Club, these shaggy purveyors of fun in the sun don’t exactly chart the newest of territories. Their’s is a slightly obsessive, vintage sound; the kind which flickers immediate, weather beaten slides of sixties surf culture upon the mind’s eye. So much so, in fact, that one band and one band only comes to mind over the course of these South Carolina natives’ Dead Oceans debut, Freedom Wind. Brian Wilson would be proud. That or he’d feel entirely ripped off actually. KEEP READING – David Pitz

New today: Beck is back with a brand new track produced by beatmaster Dangermouse, and it's up on his site availble for streaming. It's off the new album, also produced by DM, entitled Modern Guilt. It's a highly anticipated summer record, and we've got out first sneak peak streaming on Beck's website.

It has come to my attention that today the usual staff of bloggers on Stereogum have been replaced by none other than Death Cab For Cutie. All day today the site will feature various hypes, blogs and youtube crawls by Ben, Chris, Nick, and Jason.

Swimming (Vagrant) is an appropriate title for this record, which feels like underwater rock, with a swooping chorus and shuffle drums. The French Kicks score with this one; it's a nice record to put on and watch cars go by.

We're a little past actual buzz here, but this is a neccessary nod. We all know Conan is everyone's favorite late-night six foot tastemaker, so when he brings on a band that the blogs are rattling about, everyone should pay attention: they might be some kind of cool. That's the feeling I got about Black Kids. Formed in 2006, they are already a front runner for the biggest blog-to-blow-up title of the year (after those Columbia kids, Vampire Weekend, and their upper west side soweto jams).

Though not many Americans, especially when you go inland of the coasts, will even have heard the name Mugison, the guy is a superstar in Iceland. Which based on his picture is not surprising. Not many rock-stars have press pictures of them screaming on the shores of a lake, looking like some sort of fishing demi-god. In Iceland he might as well be, in 2004 his album Mugimama Is This Monkey Music? got the best album nod, and one of its tracks, "Murr Murr," got best song.

Everyone loves a good underground artist. So when Spin's underground artist of the year for 2007 showed up at the Bishop Allen show the other night, I was pretty pleased. And upon listening to some of their new material, I was thinking: these guys should probably rise above sea level.

...it might have led the pioneers to form a band like this one. If you like Modest Mouse and most of the various indie rock that comes out of Canada (See Arcade Fire), it might be worth checking out Born Ruffians. So the album dropped in March, but these guys definitely deserve a mention. Red, Yellow and Blue (Warp) showed up on my desk a few days ago and it's stuck in my CD player.

Solar One, master of all things green (energy, education, the arts, etc.) presented the lineup for Citysol 2008, the only solar-powered music, art and advocacy festival in NYC. The lineup includes The Dirty Projectors, So Percussion and Blitz the Ambassador, as well as many more.

This is exactly how Friday night in Brooklyn should be: a high energy, jumping, dancing, action packed show at Music Hall. When Bishop Allen took the stage, I thought: these guys look like those kids in high school that nobody liked. Although I guess I should seek those kids out, because they totally rocked.

Victoria BC’s Frog Eyes certainly know how to keep household kind of company close to the fold. Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar; you could certainly call ‘em buddy buddy with the band. And why not? I’m sure the apocalyptic poetry and ramshackle, post punkings that were last year’s Tears of the Valedictorian (Misra) received plenty of high marks. We liked it. Judging by Carey Mercer and Co’s latest batch of tour mates, plenty of other folks did as well.

"Play that funky music, white boy" could be the voice of God that drove British singer Jamie Lidell to move away from his electronic roots to an album that opens like John Legend and closes like a futuristic Al Green produced by early Thom Yorke. The appeal of Jim (Warp) is definitely that Lidell takes an old sound and somehow makes it brand new and appealing without really changing anything. The formula is the same, glitzy guitars and keyboards, thumping beats, and Lidell’s smooth, jazzy voice keeping it funky.

When it comes to hip hop, I’ll be the first to admit: Baeble’s catalogue of content could definitely be considered a little thin. So for you, the hip hop enthusiast who tunes in day after day, waiting for your number to be called, I’m proud to proclaim this: Where Baeble might lack in quantity, we make up for in absolute quality. That’s because last Saturday we strolled into NYC’s Webster Hall…not a care in the world really…and came out with exclusive footage of two the biggest names in the independent game. None other than El Producto and Mr. Dizzee Rascal.

If you like brooding indie pop tunes exploring the angst of maturing, or just a groovy breed of alternative meloncholy, then this band might be for you. The album is produced by Chris Zane, whose more notable projects include Asobi Seksu and Les Savy Fav. Cool credentials, and appropriately so; this is a sound people can get into.

It literally takes Los Angeles based duo Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, better know as No Age, all of twenty seconds to descend into complete madness on their newest release, Nouns (Sub Pop). When the vocals come in, we’re not even sure if they even matter, the guitars are pounding, and the ambient noises are abounding. Still, there is an appeal to the millions of layers of scratches and sounds that make up the main riff for "Miner" and after that, it’s tough to put the record down.

The word "funktastic" should neither exist or ever be used, unless talking about anything before 1980, or this record. Jamie Lidell changes the formula again with his new album, in stores and online now.

Take note if you're tired of watching the Blonde Redhead concert at McCarren Park on the video features, and you have no money,you should check out Hudson River Rocks, a series of free concerts on Pier 54 in Manhattan.

If you’re in tune with Baeble’s history, you know we’ve got ourselves a little fix. Nothing harmful, nothing unsavory…we just kind of dig Swedes. More specifically, it’s the continuing swell of brow raising talent that really nibbles away at us. I’m From Barcelona, Mando Diao, Shout Out Louds: we’ve had ‘em all (on our site, that is). So when the names El Perro Del Mar, Lykke Li, and Anna Ternheim all lined up in quick succession of one another…on one night, no less…we knew we needed to be there. We also thought it’d be a good idea to bring our cameras along as well.

I never thought I’d find myself immersed in Grime. In a world of Hip-Hop domination, all Dizzee Rascal has to say about it is “all I see is hype.”

Dizzee spits this sentiment on his latest record, Maths+English, and it must be in reference to someone or something else; because this guy is anything but hype. The English accent might distract the ear, but only if you ever listened to Lady Sovereign too much. With Dizzee it’s not between love or hate, it is just obsession; the guy knows exactly how to string together a beat that fits with his rhymes.

There is something really illustrious about sunny California pop, and The Morning Benders are all about it. If the Beach Boys gave birth to The Shins, and gave them some guitars and a tambourine, this would be the end product. Toe tapping jams with a twinge of Rooney, and solid song writing make Talking Through Tin Cans (released May 6th) well worth picking up.

Brooklyn shoegaze popsters Dirty on Purpose have popped up here and there, on TV and at some of our more favorite festivals (SXSW and CMJ to name a few). And now their new EP, Dead Volcanoes (RCRD LBL), is available in digital form only. The catch? It's only available for free.

The Lone Star State's own personal throwback to 1960's pyschedelic rock, The Black Angels, keep doing what they do best on their latest album, Directions to See a Ghost, available online and in stores. It's cool how these guys channel acts like The Velvet Underground while sounding vaguely like a trippier version of The Doors. If you were planning on any pyschedelic activities, this may very well be the soundtrack to your weekend.

Brooklyn is branching out. That much is apparent. I mean, it used to be the place…like, Brooklyn was the place mere minutes ago. But “poof!” The borough’s influence, it’s experimental bout with rock’s possibilities, it’s clan of bands hocking sounds that are decidedly the product of their time and place…it seems what is probably the most romanticized musical community of the last 15 years is beginning to land punches in places as far off as…well, a whopping 90 miles south, for one. That’s the conclusion Philadelphia’s Pattern is Movement ushers listeners to with their recently released debut, All Together (Hometapes).

Apparently, the success of the first single off of Weezer's new self titled album has led DGC/Interscope Records to push the release date up three weeks, to June 3rd.

Let's imagine a buffet of our favorite music; what bands would be interesting if we threw them together in a blender, and seasoned them with just a little of something fresh? I'm imagining a healthy portion of The New Pornographers, mixed with chunks of The Flaming Lips with just a touch of optimism sprinkled on top now and then, courtesy of We're From Barcelona. The result must sound something like self proclaimed "rising pop stars and vintage swimwear connoisseurs" De Novo Dahl.

Yes, Bleed American came out what feels like ages ago, but you still listen to it, don't you? The boys of Jimmy Eat World have announced a list of North American tour dates to coincide with the recent release of a special two-disc deluxe edition of Bleed American. The release is full of b-side goodies and bonus tracks, as well as a re-recording called "Your House 2007."

OK, I know what you are thinking. There is little to no reason to ever watch Carson Daly do watered down jokes that Conan thought were kind of funny five years ago. But, you might want to drink a lot (of coffee?) and wait up on June 17th, to check out Cloud Cult on their late night debut. I promise you won't regret it.

I'm sure everyone was just as excited when Elephant Shell (Saddle Creek) dropped a few weeks ago, due to the incredibly catchy twitch rock nature of favorites like "Your English Is Good" and pretty much every track on A Lesson In Crime. And now the treats continue...

I vaguely, in 2005, remember picking up With Love and Squalor from my friend Kevin in High School, (back then he was my one-stop music source) at the same time as Nightmare of You, and thinking "So this is what Brooklyn sounds like these days." They both struck me as bands to watch in the future.

If Death Cab For Cutie tickles your fancy, then you should probably check out Anthem In , a new face on the Brooklyn music scene. I hate to peg people as one-off imitations, but I'm pretty sure Ben Gibbard's back catalog of unreleased material probably sounds like this.

What do you get when you take layered guitar, rich harmony, add a dash of horns, toss it in a blender and let it marinate all winter? something akin to The M's, another Chicago style treat. These guys have a distinctly laid back, yet varied approach to songwriting, with titles like "Get Your Shit Together" sounding vaguely like Ziggy Stardust meets The Rolling Stones, coexisting with tracks like "Big Sound," which sound more like today's indie groove. The new album, Real Close Ones (Polyvinyl Records) drops on June 17th.

Very few times do we pop in a CD, and hear the first few whimsical bangs of a typical 2008 band trying to sound and feel weird suddenly melt into something resembling early 90's pop rock. And yet that is exactly what happens in the first minute of 'Great Bargains For Seniors,' off the self-titled debut of Unicycle Loves You, a relatively below the radar band from Chicago.

We’ll never see another Jeff Buckley. Talent of that virtue cycles through but once a generation. But what’s clearly evident since his untimely departure from this world is a certain breed of songwriter nurtured in the apparitional shadow Buckley continues to cast. Such is the case with Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg. Flaunting an incredibly dynamic voice, Meiburg is a dead ringer to Buckley’s lasting legacy. From a calming breeze, to a temperamental gale, Meiburg navigates the broadest possibilities his pipes will allow. Such talent is fantastic on record. In person, however, it’s astonishing.

When they take the stage, they do so with a commanding kind of moxie…the kind that suggests they’re more than just romanticizing well worn, but (sometimes) pitifully practiced rock clichés. The Kills are living it…Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince are a legitimate presence, exerting an angst ridden, almost unattainable attitude of their very own. With danger in their delivery, sex in their swagger, and maybe even a bit of booze on their breath, it’s no wonder this performance from the Domino Records showcase stands out as one of SXSW’s finest hours.

After spending more than a year dishing out solid, Spoon fed diets of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope are finally putting one of ‘07’s best albums to bed. Before they do, however, fans of the Austin TX outfit’s boppy bits of indie pop will have a chance to get one final dose of Ga, as the band traces the country one last time in support. Highlights of the tour include a headlining performance at the KNRK Pet Aid Benefit in Troutdale, OR, their biggest NYC show to date in Prospect Park, a Hollywood Bowl debut opening for Beck, and a three night stint at the Fillmore in San Francisco.