While known primarily these days for it's beat-making (See: Flying Lotus, Baths) and lo-fi (See: No Age, Best Coast) scenes, Los Angeles is also home to many experimental and psychedelic groups. Perhaps the most exciting of these bands is Warpaint. more ›

Local label Dead Oceans is releasing Vanderslice's latest effort today, and fans of the singer/songwriter will be thrilled upon listening to opening track, "Tremble and Tear". A wistful collection of harmonious vocal layers, Fleetwood Mac-ish acoustic guitars and patient percussion open the album with familiar Vanderslice lightness and attention to detail. Recording for the first time in his home studio, Vanderslice left the comforts of his studio, Tiny Telephone (in San Fransisco) to work on this record, and the results are brilliant. "Fetal Horses" oozes early Smiths melody, but its complicated subject matter and happily discordant piano and sudden, jerky guitar accompaniment make the song undeniably JV. "D.I.A.L.O." combines more vocal harmonies, synths and addictive melody, this time against a slightly more robust percussive section. Closer "Hard Times" brings everything back around full circle, its spacious reflections lending credence to the common claim that Vanderslice is writing some of the smartest, most thoughtful and emotionally wrought songs out there. more ›

Brighton's indie rock quartet have come a long way since 2003's The Decline of British Sea Power. The band's eccentric catalog has evolved through familiar Britpop idiosyncrasies on their debut, eased into more global pop hooks on the follow-up, Open Season, and now enters the great big world of stadium rockin' indie with this year's Do You Like Rock Music? more ›

They drink Brains, they support Cardiff City FC, and they don’t give a fuck. Best of all, the Super Furry Animals churn out off-kilter psychedelic pop at a prolific rate. Despite having put out eight stellar full-lengths in fifteen years (a couple of those accompanied by simultaneous DVD releases as well), the act is still somewhat under-appreciated, especially outside their home island. Their talent is boundless, their music all over the place yet melodious, and their shows are often enhanced with video medleys as the backdrop, including the clips of that adorable Golden Retriever that accompany, well, "Golden Retriever." more ›

1990s Cookies (Rough Trade/World's Fair) The 1990s "play music like a blond gets out of a car." This, we assume based on listening, means something like, "Our sound is snotty, a little fucked up on we-don't-remember-what, and always f-u-n." While John McKeown (Yummy Fur) won't make any news showing his knickers to paparazzi during a limo exit, he will succeed in promoting the display of everyone else's underthings on the dance floor, as Cookies... more ›

Badly Drawn Boy - Born In The UK (Astralwerks): If Talking Heads were last year's band to emulate, The Boss is certainly the sound of 2006. After seeing a great Springsteen record from The Hold Steady and a suspect one from The Killers, we now find Brit Damon Gough wrapping himself in the English flag and turning up the shiny, Human Touch-style production. Unfortunately, Badly Drawn Boy's main charm were his lo-fi early songs... more ›

In 1986, London-based music magazine New Musical Express (NME), legendary for its influential hold on the British musical imagination, released a limited edition mixtape entitled C-86. Containing early singles from a number of chamber and guitar jangle pop groups such as Primal Scream, The Pastels, The Wolfhounds, and The Shop Assistants, the notoriously difficult-to-obtain cassette encapsulated a newly popular fusion of danceable, rhythmic post-punk and edgy English verse. One of the strongest tracks from... more ›