Matthew Houck, a.k.a. Phosphorescent, has wooed a lot of folks with his tender, heartfelt country folk tunes...not the least of which include both ourselves, and er...Willie Nelson. Seems Houck's tribute to the redheaded stranger (To Willie) made a fan out of the very subject he was paying his homage to...so much so Phosphorescent was invited to perform on Willie's Sirius/XM show on the legend's 76th birthday. Now comes news that Matthew has been invited to perform at Farm Aid alongside other luminaries like Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellancamp, and of course, Mr. Nelson himself later this October.

Those Darlins are taking their darling selves on tour with some major acts, including Dr. Dog, King Khan And BBQ, The Grates, and even the recently Baeble-approved Choir Of Young Believers. Pick your perfect pairing.

Hopefully not to follow in the footsteps of other under appreciated alt-country gems, These United States have cranked up the juice with their third album, Everything Touches Everything. Drawing from Americana champions Wilco and even The Hold Steady, TUS rip through lyricism and electric guitars like shooting beer cans in the woods of Kentucky. Add the fact that this is the third full length in 18 months, and you add prolific to the list of promising qualities found with the fivesome.

I never knew Piano's served food, but I was enlightened in more ways than one last Monday evening when I met Vandaveer.

Here's a setting that must feel like a sonic amusement park of sorts for the eager, young students who line up in droves to attend it. It's the School of Rock, with Detroit indie pop band The Silent Years playing the part of Paul Green in this all-kinds-of-adorable video for "Taking Drugs at the Amusement Park". If this video doesn't do something for you...well, we suggest checking your pulse. You may be dead inside.

For those who flock with the twee-set, the idea of a collaboration between Scotland's Pastels and Japan's Tenniscoats must sound like a warm and hazy daydream, streaked in vivid summer color and throbbing with love and life all at once. After all, fans of this type of warm and gentle pop rarely shy from waxing poetic about their love for of song, and the eloquent roles it plays in their daily lives. Nostalgia, it seems, is the bittersweet place such magnificent melodies often take their listeners to.

Greeting fellow music lovers. Last week we had a very special edition of our T.G.I.Mixtape series with a mixtape devoted to artists that have been a part of the Yellow Bird Project. This week, on the 29th volume in our series we are back to what we do best, and that is giving you a sneak peak at some of the best tracks that we have laid ears on in the past week. And stay tuned for next week's mixtape on which we will take a look back at the ten best tracks of the summer.

The Arctic Monkeys have taken a step forward (or backwards?) from their spunky punk to more delicate, dirty rock with several layers, requiring multiple listens to nod to, or even understand. The complication is welcome, but questionably an evolution as much as it is a transformation. Are we deceived by this Humbug?

California sweethearts Dean and Randy (No Age) totally hooked it up with a free, full stream of the totally new Losing Feeling EP on the Sub Pop website, and they are even giving away a free MP3! We're totally losing feeling just thinking about it.

Honky punk trio Those Darlins are certainly one animated outfit. Yup, they've fashioned themselves with bonafied Ramones-esque surnames...each plunking Darlins on the tail end of Kelley, Jessi, and Nikki, respectively. And something should be said for the way their wide-eyed, country romps fuel whiskey-soaked hipping and hollering amongst enthusiastic audiences every night they play. Here though, the band are actually animated, getting sketched about this slightly psychedelic cartoon for "Red Light Love".

There are drinks. There is light. There is dark. There are girls. There are boys. A club...things happen. Slippery, slow, and sexy things. Romance? Maybe. Lust? Most definitely. Sorry to be lewd, but this is the imagery that zips across my mind whenever the music of London quartet The XX starts to churn. Blame the band I guess.

Add The Happy Hallows to the things of good things Craigslist has given the world. What's that? It is a short list? What about your studio apartment? Well at least you have some cool new music now.

Guitar wielding duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela have a new album, new tour dates, and a free new track for you. What more could one ask for? We've got the new dates and the track right here.

DISCLAIMER: This is a new project from the former lead singer of The Format, a band who put out one of this reviewer's all time favorite records of all time. This is personal.

Summer is all about kicking back, enjoying the weather, and spending time with friends. New York has a ridiculous amount of things to do at any possible moment, but whether you're fluttering around a rooftop party, rocking out at a free concert, or just sitting on someone's stoop late into the night, it's not about what you do, but who you do it with. For artists as well, summer is a time to crawl out of dusty basement studios and collaborate with fellow songsmiths. Not all of these are as in-your-face about it as the Justice and Simian track screaming "We! Are! Your friends! You'll! Never be alone again!" but hey, the message is the same. Hot months play host to unlikely duets at festivals, traveling Round Robins take towns by storm, supergroup side projects form and disband, and a ton of great tracks are born. Here are a few of our favorites.

Austin's fun-to-attend and fun-to-say Fun Fun Fun Fest has announced a potion of their lineup, which includes Danzig, Of Montreal, Crystal Castles, Ratatat, and many more. The full list after the jump.

Here's an infectious bit of indie rock, courtesy of anthemic, New Hampshire outfit Wild Light. Filmed at the Highline Ballroom, this beautifully shot set from the band validates just how comfortable, talented, and versatile on stage these four, childhood friends are. Constantly trading roles - the guitarist now the keyboardist, three singers each taking an opportunity to lead the band - each member of Wild Light seems to add their own charm and charisma to the final output, heightening the catchy nature of their finely crafted songs in this enthusiastic, NYC performance. In the end though, it might be drummer Seth Kasper who steals the show. His is a furious contribution, flashing stick tricks while pounding out heavy handed rhythms that play an immaculate part of Wild Light's songs.

Last week we gave you the critical scoop on the "distorted, fuzzy, and limp headed" sounds of Brooklyn outfit ZAZA, and their debut EP titled Cameo. Now we pull up a chair with the duo, giving you a little added insight into their psychedelic, post-rock stylings. A partnership between Jennifer Fraser and Danny Taylor, ZAZA take viewers inside their heads just bit, discussing their thoughts concerning writing, recording, playing live, and touring.

There are worse things in the world than a nod from electronic guru Dan Deacon as his favorite band of the moment. No wonder these Air Waves people are whistling in our ears.

Yesterday we posted some new Yo La Tengo videos on the Baeble Blog (as you well know). Then we noticed our friends at Amplified sat down with the band in Hoboken to discuss the forthcoming release of Popular Songs (Matador), as well as capturing a song or two. We figured the Tengo-heads out there would enjoy. Video after the jump.

Here's a video from Polyvinyl newcomer Cale Parks that seems to scream, "we are the beautiful, creative creatures of Brooklyn." Stylish in that chicky, low-rent kind of way, Cale Parks and his band make their way around their borough, trading warehouses and broken pavement for a bit of Coney Island salt in their hair. It's pretty, romantic, and urban...like a perfect, late summer afternoon in Brooklyn.

More videos from Yo La Tengo's upcoming release Popular Songs; this time to the tune of "Avalon or Something Very Similar" and "Nothing to Hide".

Influential artist, musician, and pop culture person Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band have new material coming out in late September. Today we get a sneak peak at the artwork for the new album, dubbed In Between My Head And The Sky.

Part rock, part funk-reggae, part preacher, Matisyahu wears many hats when he rhymes. Easy to dismiss as gimmicky, but difficult to ignore, Matisyahu (born Mathew Miller) weaves an interesting fusion of styles with his positive message driven rap. His third album finds him still creating the jam-band sound that made him popular, while shedding some light on his versatility.

There is a slight crackle on the line. That of course is bound to occur any time a telephone call flies across a wire strung between New York and Copenhagen. Fuzzy as it is, my conversation with Jannis Noya Makrigiannis the creative force behind the Danish, orchestral pop outfit Choir of Young Believers - is still a fairly casual one...at least for me. Makrigiannis, on the other hand, sounds a bit more calculated in his responses, affording himself long, drawn out moments to consider his words carefully. During such standstills, the transatlantic signal snaps and pops, leaving me hanging ever so patiently on whatever piece of magnificent insight is to follow. And oh did it follow...

The only thing better than music itself is music that helps other people. This is what the creators of The Yellow Bird Project, a Montreal based charity have realized in the fabrication of one of our favorite non-profit organizations. In case you haven't heard, The Yellow Bird Project (YBP) is a non-profit organization that sells t-shirts designed by some of our favorite musicians, with all of the proceeds going to the charity of the band or artist's choosing. So for this week's T.G.I.Mixtape we are going to pay tribute to YBP and some of the great bands that have become a part of the YBP family.

Call it a comeback. For the spirited fans of Land of Talk's fuzzy, power-pop nostalgia, the last year or so has certainly been a frustrating one. Yes, the band did release their excellent sophomore release Some Are Lakes towards the end of '08. But Elizabeth Powell's sweet and subtle rasp also took its' toll on the singer this past year, sidelining her and the band as she spent months recovering from a vocal ailment.

In the world of Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale "The Snow Queen," Sally Shapiro would probably play as the soundtrack. The Swedish disco electro pop darling creates songs that transform to another world, one inhibited by glittering silver disco balls and castles of ice, glimmering against each turn in her perfect, melancholy painted pop songs. My Guilty Pleasure is a dazzling display of her signature style, at once light and airy, sparkling like a balcony decorated by Christmas lights, and then the pitch black sky and despair and emptiness, loneliness and need inherent in the solitary four and a half stars struggling to be visible above.

Here's a tip, and no, it has nothing to do with your caloric intake. It has to do with your experimental noise intake. The LA sound machine HEALTH is planning a new release called Get Color on September 8th. We'd recommend purchasing the physical CD, because HEALTH has gone Willy Wonka on us all, and hidden 66 prize tickets in the first shipment. Quickly preorder, and the 'color' you 'get' could be gold!

Sometime next week we'll be shooting a exclusive acoustic session with none other than Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons somewhere in NYC. Here's your chance to get the inside scoop on when and where the shoot will be taking place so you can catch the performance.

In addition to her Guest Apartment spot, Anna Ternheim took some time to sit down and candidly discuss her music with Baeble. In this interview Anna discusses the creative and revitalizing place her latest batch of music, Leaving on a Mayday, spawns from, her connection to her audience, and how people and everyday occurrences tend to inspire her songwriting more than anything else.

We've seen this before. There is Swedish singer/songwriter Anna Ternheim, swinging through New York on the verge of a highly acclaimed record. Last year it was the Bowery Ballroom, and a majestically produced album titled Halfway to Fivepoints (read the REVIEW) that brought Anna and Baeble together. Perhaps you've seen the tender, solo performance we filmed? This time, it's an even more intimate setting: Baeble's Guest Apartment.

Again, Anna wipes away the recorded excess of her dazzling new album Leaving on a Mayday (read the REVIEW), showcasing bare bones songs that tremble under ample emotional weight. These are distraught, yet undeniably tender pieces of music perfectly suited for any personal moment deemed broken or otherwise. Though her latest is an energetic and full-bodied listen, Anna's performance of "What Have I Done", "Summer Rain", and "My Heart Still Beats for You" pays stirring testament to the humble places these selections began their life. Alone, a guitar, a piano, some wounded words, and all those lovely melodies. - David Pitz

English rock band The Rifles take aim at a life lived lukewarm in this video for "The Great Escape". Finding ones' self slave to the daily grind is a drag indeed. A suit, an office, a routine...blas to say the least. But this simple, animated fellow breaks free, getting hip and learning how to enjoy the finer fruits of life, including style, a social life, and love. Nice sentiment. Nice video.

ZAZA is one of those bands whose name doesn't really help to establish the sound it should make... e.g. everyone knows When you hear "cow," you think "moo." Upon hearing of a band called ZAZA, I honestly expected Native American tribal chants, or Tiesto-worthy dance hall booty-shaking beats. Neither of these are even remotely close to appropriate.

Justin Vernon made a splash with his secluded cabin tear-jerking For Emma, Forever Ago, but thankfully we're not always in the mood to cry hysterically to "Skinny Love." And thankfully the fragile falsetto of Bon Iver can be applied to many sounds, especially when versatile musicians are thrown into the mix. Enter Collections of Colonies of Bees, a hive of fellow Wisconsonites with a taste for the synthesized. The two have joined forces for a project they've dubbed Volcano choir, and we've got a taste of their forthcoming debut, Unmap.

In this video from his forthcoming album Draw the Line, longtime Irish balladeer David Gray starts from modest, aesthetic beginnings. There is he, a guitar, a piano, and a stale white room. A single painting graces the face of one wall. But as he begins to perform "Fugitive", the painting begins to spill off its' canvas, coating the void of his surrounding with splashes of life and color. Certainly, the video is symbolic of something...though we'll let you decide what exactly.

This is our sort of Sunday. In his super slick video for "Be the One", infectious dance-pop artist Jack Penate brings the dance floor to the pulpit, giving a line like "We asked the church to save our souls" the proper religious setting in deserves. In a blast of brass and light, Jack and his band dice slow-mo glitz and glam with some slightly ecclesiastic flavor, with stylish results.

Crafting 'respectable pop' means assembling a buffet of bubbling hooks and catchy melodies, a tough pillar to erect and support for today's image conscious rock band. Where is the firing line between weird and innovative? Catchy and pastiche? "Indie" and "poseur?" These blanket terms aren't usually mutually exclusive, either. Half pop-ish, half slowed, and always inflated, As Tall As Lions run a tight gamut on their third LP; a risky attempt. The elite may dismiss them for being too mainstream, and the mainstream may dismiss them as too far fetched for "radio friendly," And where does that leave them? Bouncing from Bloc Party falsetto drum-driven movers to slow-dancing-in-a-jazzy-room ballads, As Tall As Lions are a crock pot of the last decade of indie-to-major successes.

Recalling our previous post regarding "indie pop brigade" members Headlights, we're pleased to announce the availability of a new free track off their much anticipated, sunshine drenched emotion machine Wildlife, out in October. Also announced are a slew of new tour dates to get caught up in the Headlights, as well as supporters Anna Rossi, Pomegranates, and the Shaky Hands.

There are nights where the summer heat is insufferable, and the future or present wavers, utterly miserable. Hearts are broken in pieces on an unclean floor, eyes are soaked with tears desperate not to fall, where the only solace may be in the already half empty bottle of whiskey on the table, and never in your life have you felt so, so lost, so alone, so painfully and bitterly alone. Nights where journals run out of pages faster than you'd believe, and paint splatters on canvas with a reckless despair you have become immune to. Those nights, they are not meant to be saved by bright shining false optimism, but cherished for their pain, their beauty. And there are songs that were written just for those moments, until the hour of the night or early morning no longer matter, and instead it becomes a battle with yourself, a struggle with a soundtrack, brittle and tender and quiet and broken-hearted that might eventually deliver you. Here are our favorite five songs to shed tears to, on those painful nights with a bottle as our sole companion.

Even though New York based crunchy alt-rockers A Brief Smile have been a solid mainstay of the city's music scene for the past few years, they haven't fully captured the shores (or lack of shores) of distant states. And we're saying; why not? We enjoyed their R.E.S.T. EP and even preordered Now We All Have Horns, only to have the band mail it to us personally. Now, after a summer of free music giveaways, we hope to see more of them in the headlines of the muso-blogosphere... so we'll be (one of) the first.

Swedish drum and vocals, husband and wife duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums play songs with a haunting, ethereal glow, and their sophomore album The Snake moves with an unpredictable flow that grips and snakes like its namesake, a subtle, sly slithering beauty. Perhaps it's something in the air of Sweden that allows it to create so many talented, unexpected wonderful musicians, and if it is, then we have but to appreciate and celebrate its magic, because this is, without doubt, magic. Magic in silver air and ice trails, in blooming bruised roses and its fluid motions and sounds. This is escapism in wavering, at times minimalistic, at times incredibly full, lush and erratic songs.

Many of you keen-eared Baeblers probably have already heard news about the former member of a band we all used to love... and it's good news. Jemina Pearl, the former female face of Be Your Own Pet has struck out on her own and plans to release an album in the fall, entitled Break It Up.

As I look back on my time at Lollapalooza, I can only think of one word to describe the entire weekend: sweat.

Anyone who was paying attention to the web in the morning yesterday got a sneak peak of the new Weezer single out August 25th, which promptly leaked in preparation for the next full length LP in October. "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" was accidentally posted in it's entirety for sale on the WalMart website, much to the glee of fans all over. And even more to the glee: the tune is a sprightly, upbeat, promising precursor to the as-of-yet untitled forthcoming LP.

As Woodstock celebrates an anniversary, one of it's most legendary acts was almost arrested by police in the pouring rain as he wandered through a New Jersey homeowners yard a few weeks ago. Who was it? We'll give you a hint, the rain was blowin' in the wind...

A few weeks back we introduced you to one of NYC's grooviest outfits, releasing our video of the Phenomenal Handclap Band's fully-funkadelic performance from Santo's Party House earlier this summer. It was a hot-flashed affair to remember, with the band working their way through powerhouse tunes with a sparkly vintage kick for several hundred of their enthusiastic friends and fans in attendance.

Now Baeble takes you a little closer to the band, sitting down with the Handclap Band's Daniel Collas, Sean Marquand, and Joan Tick to give you a brief history of the band, their album, and the evolution of their dynamic live sound.

This record is essentially a scrapbook. Even though it's a collection of unused recordings from the Bad News/We Were Dead sessions, they really sound as expansive as Mouse's long, fruitful career of weirdness.

The last night before winter break my freshman year of college, I couldn't sleep. Most people had already left to their respective coasts and suburban wastelands and I was left to wander the dormitory halls in eerie silence, the snow falling ominously outside, the absurdly decorated building become a ghost town. I lay on my bed staring alternately out the window and at the yellowed ceiling, listening to In Rainbows, letting it fill up the air, call the ghosts from the photographs tacked onto the walls, give shape to everything peculiar and out of place about the past few months. After the album ran through, the silence that followed posed an important question: now what? What could possibly follow an album like that?

Failing to find any adequate solution, I hit repeat. Eventually it was dawn. Now Radiohead themselves are faced with the very same question, and it seems they can't figure it out either.

In the small, warm space of Le Poisson Rouge, late on a Wednesday night, an army of boldly dressed hipsters gathered. Mumbling sweet nothings and compliments on shoulder pads, these curious creatures were not after an apathetic display of their presence but thirsty for a full on dance party led by the immensely hip and fiery Friendly Fires.

Happy Friday everyone! It is time once again for the next edition in our T.G.I.Mixtape series. On this, the 27th edition, we have brand new music from some of the brightest names in indie rock. Bands like Volcano Choir, Owl City, The Dodos and much much more. Enjoy the tunes! -Greg Lozoff

As everyone knows by now, Dan Deacon shows are completely looney tunes. You take a deep breath, shake off your self-consciousness, and never know what to expect. Will there be a massive London Bridges-style snake tunnel extending out of the venue? Will you win one of the impromptu dance-offs, or be put to shame by some ludicrous hipster doing a one-legged chicken dance? Will the Trippy Green Skull ever be knocked over, or will it stand forever, the vigilant flag of the off-the-wall electronic anthems that have won the rotund Baltimore virtuoso so many loyal fans? If you've never gone to one of Dan Deacon's signature fiascos, you owe it to yourself to find out.

Remember punk? No, not the loud, angry, political metal studs on tattered denim jackets and patches in unreadable jagged fonts with vaguely aggressive and/or offensive names. I mean pop punk. Remember power chords and catchy sing-along choruses, repeated verses, and a sense of silly detachment from it all...a celebration of the hilarious absurdity of it all...its existence as a genre...a walking contradiction. Well, you should, and if you don't, listening to Jay Reatard's's Watch Me Fall (Matador) will definitely jerk your inner power-pop-punker alive in a fit of over-enthused shout a-longs and semi-justified angst at the world.

Concoct a crime scene...an illusion, devised with lust, not love on the mind. In this stark, cinematic world Paul Banks' alias Julian Plenti arrives home to handcuffs, graffiti, knifed up linens, and plenty of Polaroid's for foggy-glassed analysis. This is a nasty fantasy indeed, playing out to the tune of "Games for Days"; the first single from Pleni's new record Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper.

Stumbling on A Hawk and a Hacksaw can feel like finding a precious antique from distant lands and generations past, tucked away in your grandmother's attic behind a dusty sewing machine, wrapped in threadbare handkerchiefs. AHAAH is the result of is the result of drummer Jeremy Barnes (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel) and violinist Heather Trost traveling the world, invoking heavy Eastern European influences, traditional Balkan folk with gypsy sensibilities put together with the help of the sage muses hiding in the deserts of Albuquerque. Their fifth full-length album, Delivrance has fleshed out and furthered that sound, and the result is intricate and exotic, a vivid tribute to the duo's far-foaming adventures.

We mentioned last week that our favorite nautically themed Alaskan/Californians Port O'Brien will be releasing a new album soon, as well as touring with Sea Wolf. And now the band is dropping new tracks to whet appetites for the full length record, Threadbare, due in early October.

Thom Yorke has a knack for punchy off-center lyricism. That's why when he says stuff like another Radiohead album might kill him, we tend to think of it as metaphorical. Still, in an interview with The Believer, Yorke made it pretty clear none of the guys were too keen on diving into another album. "None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again," he said. "Not straight off ... It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us."

Modest Mouse recently released a collection of new tracks and b-sides entitled No One's First, And You're Next, coining yet another incredibly perfect name/phrase for a Modest Mouse album/EP. And the release is coupled with a rare abandoned video project, defrosted and released last week. And it involves some very surprising people.

The first word that comes to mind is ethereal. Like white robes and sunlight through stained glass, the softest of angel feathers ruffling in an empty cathedral, the brush of a finger through its soft layer, and a darkness that vibrates underneath it all; ethereal is the word to describe Choir of Young Believer's album This Is for the White in Your Eyes. Albeit far from gospel music, Choir of Young Believers create layered, gorgeous orchestral pop songs with a grand, aching hope that echoes a religious ideology that you don't have to believe in to appreciate.

Wild Beasts are from the UK, and "All the Kings Men," off their upcoming album Two Dancers (out September 8th on Domino) suggests a hint of the foreign, but mostly magic that pulses in the melody. Singer Hayden Thorpe's voice is like a sorcerer's; mesmerizing, shifting shapes and pitches like the song itself, a progression that becomes difficult to escape from. But why would anyone want to?

Picture it: a meticulously careless and artsy Brooklyn loft, American Apparel on every sweat glazed, shoulder blades and hipbones visible body, cigarettes and PBRs in between each dismissive wave of a hand, cheap red lipstick and black lined eyes. Half the room hovers around the iPod plugged in to expensive speakers, and the host in a glitter coated, perfectly molded dress grins as she changes the song. The scratch of a fake vinyl--a childish voice starts: "do the D-A-N-C-E, one two three four fives..." Oh, oh, no. Not Justice. Not now, not here, not again.

Lead by Tim Yehezkely, Miami's Postmarks swayed their way through a set of dusty pop songs that probably best fits another era altogether. Yehezkely's - a singer who, contrary to her name suggests, is actually an adorable, blunt banged beauty in a delicate, pretty dress - voice is sweet and perfect, ushering a sense of lingering nostalgia and the slightest touch of golden melancholy as she performs. Under the Highline Ballroom's bright lights, and flowing through a modern sound system, the band assumed a slightly mightier presence than their fragile, snowflake beauty of their recorded efforts. Regardless, their pretty melodies and Tim's eventual use of an adorable voice distorter on top of the microphone added a new level of audience inner "awww."

Another nautical video adventure here, this time courtesy of the sure-fire swagger of England's Arctic Monkeys. It's a smoky, golden night at sea, and here the band crowd some tiny schooner, making their way across what will be an angry, broiling seas at times. And sure, that's all this sail away session seems it is, until they bump up against giant, hologram versions of themselves, rising from the depths and looming over their meager ship. It's an epic encounter indeed - one befitting of this band's ever on the move stature.

Matching their goofy gobs of surrealist pop with a colorful, inventive, and juvenile in all the right ways kind of treatment, Austin's The Octopus Project brave the sea in this, their new video for "Wet Gold".

Looks like the band must have had a great day at the beach filming this one, right? Not so, explains Josh Lambert. "...it was wet and cold! We filmed it in Galveston a couple of months after the hurricane hit, so it was pretty devastated. The whole city (specifically the beach) was filled with debris and completely ripped up buildings - totally creepy. There was a pretty gnarly fog that day as well, so it only added to the eeriness. Making the video was a blast! Yvonne spent a couple of days learning semaphore and was spelling out "Wet Gold" when we filmed it. I've never been colder in my life. Standing in the ocean all day long in the middle of January wouldn't be first on my list of things to do in the future, but we had a ton of fun nonetheless!" Sure you did...

When the historic Knitting Factory reopens, there is only one possible neighborhood for the venue renowned for its cutting edge artists and hip appeal and yes, it is Williamsburg.

Dear friends from the Twitterverse (we know that's most of you out there), eagerly updating the minute details of your life via text, Twhirl, TweetDeck, etc. and projecting your hip quotient via number of followers, @replies and retweets, sharing Internet memes pre-exploding into mainstream meme territory: we see your tweets, and would like to give something back for all your social networking brilliance.

That is to say, we are giving away two autographed 12-inched singles from super hip (and brilliant) UK electro outfit The Whip to lucky Twitterers.

Kids these days. Cutting school, spending too much time on the internet, sharing record labels with such impressive acts as Simian Mobile Disco and Conor Oberstwait, what? That's right, the latest act to sign to Wichita Records is composed of two Swedish sisters, Johanna and Klara Sderberg, both born in the early 1990s. First Aid Kit, as the duo is calling themselves, has none of the tween precociousness of Tiny Masters of Today, but it's also not the cure for old soul songs and tired topics. In fact, Drunken Trees, their debut EP is full of tracks that sound much older than they have any right to be, touching on subjects of cheating husbands, marriage spats, and middle aged ennui. Although this can sometimes feel equal parts eerie and nave, there's something enchanting about the duo's confident voices, bittersweet songs, and videos set in suburban Swedish forests.

Pete Quirk's gravelly voice on "Summer Windows" rumbles up from the heartland of highwayside telephone poles, shaded forests, too many cigarettes sucked down in the ennui of a dusty twilight. The rolling guitar and barely-there voice cracks cozy up to you and set up a heavy promise for Welcome Joy, the second Cave Singers album. The road is wide open, the sun is just now rising over the desert, they can floor the gas or they can break your heart, from here it can go in almost any direction.

Chairlift at last year's After the Jump Fest
Don't you just love the internet? Home of LOLcats, Twitter, Gawker, StumbleUpon, XKCD, PostSecret, Netflix, everything perfectly inane and perfectly wonderful, every possible methodology to relentlessly stalk the object of your affections, broadcast carefully nurtured narcissism into the great fiberoptic unknown, and pretend to be in touch with the real world while never looking away from your MacBook. But there is one beloved commodity that the internet has become infinitely useful for. (No, not that commodity.) Music! Sites like Pitchfork, Stereogum, Grooveshark, HypeMachine, Pandora, and your obvious favorite, BaebleMusic, do our best to keep your snazzy iPods pumping with awesome new tunes, while the tireless denizens of the blogosphere keep fighting the good fight on an individual level. Well, readers, once upon a time, the internet decided that it's just plain unhealthy to never leave your house, so it's devised ways to make you go out and play. Forum meetups gave way to flash mobs, spontaneous parades, and of course, festivals. Taking a cue from Pitchfork Fest, the bloggers are once again taking matters into their own hands and bringing you the third annual After the Jump Fest. More info...after the jump.

Three cheers for enthusiastic UK dance-pop! Jack Penate's CD, Everything is New is full of delicious, ridiculously catchy, unapologetically happy dance-pop tracks. The novel thing is that the joy is in the beats and the life-affirming lyrics, but the songs never venture into the realm of high-pitched, starry-eyed sugarpop. Instead, it's a sweaty summer record that wants you to dance in the streets as well as the clubs, have close encounters with appetizing strangers, and live it out.

You already know the beautiful voiced of Canadian songstress Amy Millan from her memorable work with Stars and Broken Social Scene, the silken whisper of "Anthems of a Seventeen Year Old Girl" or the gripping pop melodramas in each Stars track, and if you're anything like me, adore the songs with her voice even more than the bands' respective usual work. Perhaps you're even familiar with Amy Millan's solo work--her last album, Honey From the Tombs showcased her voice and songwriting on top of delicate acoustic guitars, a quiet introspective change from the bands.

And if so, you should be delighted, as the Canadian singer is coming out with a new album to be released September 22nd

You'd think anyone with an interest in music who was even remotely near New Jersey would pool their lunch money, hit the Coinstar, pawn their limited edition Nikes and trek over to All Points West this past rainy Friday. But for anyone looking for something a little different, Jersey had you covered there too. Maxwell's, the charming Hoboken venue once voted "Best Reason to Leave [New York] for Dinner and a Show" by the Village Voice, played host to the irresistible wheatgrass swagger of Langhorne Slim and his cheerfully tongue-in-cheek named band, the War Eagles.

Leaving on a Mayday, the latest from Anna Ternheim, is a different sort of record, with a new sonic twist, though I'm not sure that's entirely Ternheim's doing. No, I suspect Mayday's new approach comes (mostly) courtesy of hit maker extraordinaire Bjorn Yttling; a producer who, along with his band Peter, Bjorn, and John, just might be nurturing an entire crop of stark, moody, Swedish pop (see Shout Out Louds, Lykke Li, Sahara Hotnights) under his guidance and general knob turning. Here her previous album's stay at home song craft gets traded in for a different sort of nocturnal activity. Dancing.

Friday is here once again and that means many good things. But of course the best of all the good things that comes with Friday is mixtapes galore! Ok maybe mixtapes aren't the best things about Friday's but they are sure near the top of the list. On this week's mix we have brand new songs from Nurses, The Depreciation Guild, Fruit Bats and much much more.

What an ear we've got for traveling minstrels, dashing, brooding gentlemen. They've got wanderlust in their wandering eyes, they pick the perfect chords, their voices hint at unshaven faces and secret smiles, their lyrics at sepia shaded images of an America forgotten, or maybe just imagined. If you can't get enough of that sort of thing, Vandaveer has just the dark folk brew for you. One look at his website verifies the visuals so apparent from his music: the ache for autumn, slouching unembarrassed in fingerless gloves, cool wind blowing dried leaves, the acrid taste of air no longer poised for summer slumber.

Like the percussive/vocal make up of their music, Wildbirds and Peacedrums make something out of nothing with their video for "There Is No Light". From their record The Snake, the song shakes and wallops with an almost ritualistic flavor. So too do Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin in this video, glitching all over a gallery space. Again, not much too it, but fairly intense nonetheless.

A slight light on singer Jonathan Visgr's face, a profile shot eventually met head on; it's how Mason Proper greets their viewer in their video for "Safe For the Time Being". Later, the camera pulls back, the lights come on, and the band is awash in a sea of interpretive dancers moving about in hazmat suits. Surely such a crew of weirdo's won't stop the band's awesome slo-mo jam. Slo mo jams must go on and on...and in this video, they do, most triumphantly.

Los Campesinos! are so very enthusiastic. The Welsh ensemble is well-known for bubbling over with shiny guitar chords, bouncy tunes, cheeky lyrics sung too fast to pick out the biting wit from the cheery cavalcade of boy-girl dance-pop. Each band member officially changed their last name to "Campesinos," and yes, that exclamation mark is mandatory. Listening to We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed or Hold On Now Youngster elicits a certain sugar rush, prone to either glassy-eyed grinning or self-conscious wincing. So when I trekked over to Webster Hall on an unremarkable Tuesday night, I wasn't sure whether the show would be too much to take, or just what I needed to hear.

The crowd was swaying, the disco ball was spinning, and eight shaggy-haired performers in flowing garments sang their hearts out and played their instruments with an infectious enthusiasm that made everyone want to let the sunshine in, despite the late hour. And no, we're not talking about a revival of Hair. The Phenomenal Handclap Band brought their funkadelic sermonizing to Santos Party House for the record release party of their self-titled debut.

And now, a moment to give thanks to those music videos we've loved the most this summer...so far. For isn't it nice not to have to tear a song apart line by line to discover the underlining meaning to a convoluted track? Isn't it nice when a vivid depiction of a video makes the lyrical story of the song come alive? Isn't it nice to lounge back with a bowl of popcorn at hand and enjoy a show?

Lewis & Clark walk in a sparse forest, in silent shoes and with heavy eyes. In between tall lonely tree trunks towering toward a sky smoky with clouds, accompanied by floating ghosts and whispers, a haunted beauty evident in every track on their EP, Light Time (La Societe Expeditionnaire).

Californian band Port O'Brien sing with a gusto and bold honesty that glimmers in times populated by neofolk/freak folk pretention enthusiasts. It is an unfeigned appeal, a raw punch of energy and emotion in songs that are bound to be shots to the head, acoustic powered anthems with measured splash or unreserved energy, stories told in minutes, in highlighted bursts.

San Diego isn't exactly renowned for its thriving indie rock scene, and it's an especially unusual place to spawn the dark, moody, heavy artistic chamber pop group The Black Heart Procession. But perhaps it's the very nature of the contradictory environment/product that makes The Black Heart Procession so successful in their jerky, emotional gothic endeavors. After ten years of going at it, the band is releasing a new album, Six on October 6th, embarking on a full tour (dates listed below), and just came out with a new, dark, depressing video filled with stark black and white motion and wooden crosses in a graveyard David Lynch might have been fond of.

Shot with a golden touch, this video from Baeble fav Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons finds the Wisconsin based songwriter leading a rousing, chapel performance of "Born Again" before a spirited congregation. Playing with co-writer Brendan Benson at his side, Chisel rolls through the only sermon (check out our take on the song a few weeks back) that matters for the "parishioners" gathered here. "Get busy living", is what this rebel rousing tune seems to say, for who knows when the almighty may come a'calling. Its' a sentiment echoed in the title of Chisel's debut album, Death Won't Send a Letter, out September 28th on Black Seal Music.

Cardigan singer Nina Persson shot this video for "Love Has Left the Room" with plenty of appropriate nostalgia, and a kitschy flicker in mind. An ode to casting love off here, and forever more, Persson most notably captures the prevailing spirit of this song (or lack thereof?) with her symbolic gesture to the sea. Of course if Persson continues finding the kind of success she has been enjoying recently for A-Camp, she shouldn't have any trouble finding love. But it sure is "fun" to write about, isn't it?

ABC Amplified seem to share the same taste for up and coming, hip new artists as Baeble. Last time it was Cymbals Eat Guitars, this week it's our friends the Harlem Shakes who stepped into Dan Harris' office to play a few songs and chat about their "nasal," "peppy," poppy indie rock.

It seems that innovative, strangely pretty bands are always crawling out of the lush Portland forests. The latest of these is Nurses. The vocals, harmonies, and psychedelic pop elements make them a dead ringer for Yeasayer, but occasional whistling and simpler, organic textures give them a woodsy, Bowerbirds-like feeling. As a result, the outfit is creating music that's instantly appealing, catchy, and just begging to be listened to again and again.

It is hard/impossible not to be completely in love with wacky New Zealand comedy duo/HBO TV show of the same name Flight of the Conchords. They certainly charmed the world with their irreverent, hilarious, and ridiculously catchy parody and irony soaked songs from their previous season/album. Which is why news of their second album I Told You I Was Freaky (Sub Pop) is a major reason to rejoice again.

From his recently released record Catacombs, Cass McCombs finds himself alone and wandering the festive atmosphere of a Chicago Street Fair (looks like Lincoln Square's Octoberfest to these eyes)...in a downright vagabond, lonesome way. Cut up with the twinkling dance of a silhouetted couple, the video's message is one of nostalgic flashback, and a somber moment of the present. Yet cut to the tune "You Saved My Life", McCombs gives viewers something to think about. Is he miserable, appreciative, or looking towards the future? Watch and figure out for yourself.

What starts on a damp, nocturnal palette in the warehouse districts of Williamsburg/Green Point Brooklyn eventually makes its way to pastoral, grassy fields and back again; all as Swedish trio Miike Snow don many roles, costumes, and personas to appropriate lyrics ("I change shapes just to hide in this place"). Dudes kinda, sorta stand out in the various environments they visit though...I'm just sayin'.

A window on Baltic and Smith streets; my Brooklyn domicile where a ripe, summer rain sweetens beaded parked cars, coats the peppered black asphalt, and couples plod by perfectly paired to absorb the Sunday romance of it all. These are a few of the casual observations that occur peaking out my bedroom window. It's the Fruit Bats third record that sets this scene...and I'm confident from note number one that this will be the best The Ruminant Band (Sub Pop) will ever sound.

The legendary Lou Barlow, an integral member of the classic indie rock scene and member of bands like Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. has not, in fact, disappeared behind his slew of band reunions forever. Now four years since his last solo record, numerous Sebadoh record re-releases and a Dinosaur Jr. reunion, Lou Barlow is returning this fall with Goodnight Unknown; a new record that celebrates the noise and energy of past bands as well as the thoughtful influence of his last acoustic record. The result is a collection of pop songs that dance with an urgency and energy.

The first time I heard the distorted guitar chords and understated Jeremy Enigk half-spoken, half-sung vocals of "In Circles," I knew nothing about the emo genre, but I swear I felt shivers. Sure, I had heard the term tossed around in relation to tear-stained pretty boys Dashboard Confessional or Long Island mic-swingers Taking Back Sunday, but this was different, this was anti-showmanship, this was highly pressurized and poised to explode at any second, this was visceral, this was...Sunny Day Real Estate.