Arist:She and Him

Hails From: LA, CA/Portland, OR

Musical Style: Retro/Folk/Pop

For Fans Of: Patsy Cline, Jenny Lewis, M. Ward

Thieves

Why You Should Check Them Out:

While the simple pronouns of She and Him may be misleadingly nondescript, just one glance at the corresponding names behind the moniker is enough to make any indie pop minded heart flutter.

Background Check:

She and Him’s Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward first began working together in 2007 when director Martin Hynes united the two for a cover of “When I Get to the Border” for the film The Go-Getter starring Deschanel. Much to the surprise of both M. Ward and music critics alike, Dechanel not only had a great taste for vintage albums and dresses, but had spent years writing an arsenal of pop and country influenced songs primed for M. Ward’s renowned folk rock embellishments. With musical chemistry abound, She and Him went to work on their debut, Volume One, an album soaked in Deschanel’s sweet and wistful retro pop vocals complete with Ward’s supporting folk instrumentation and production expertise.

Backed by the overwhelming success of Volume One, She and Him returned to the studio for their just released, and aptly titled followup Volume Two. Ranging from country ballads with slide guitar to upbeat songs like “In the Sun” that are pretty much made for summer, She and Him’s newest plays like a mix of bittersweet lyrics and vintage sounds you can sway to. If Volume One was an album that showed that Deschanel’s talent isn’t limited to the big screen, Volume Two is clearly an album that situates She and Him as a free standing musical force among indie pop contemporaries.

–Anne Ostrowski

Where You Can Find Them in Cyberspace:

myspace

sheandhim.com

On tour:

jambase

Artist: Neon Indian

Hails From: Denton, TX

Musical Style: Indie, Alternative, Electronic

For Fans of: MGMT, Washed Out, Air

Terminally Chill

Why you should check them out:

It’s an easy/bad pun, sorry, but Neon Indian has more buzz than a, err… neon light bulb.  The band has become the leading figure of the new indie microgenre called chillwave. This new sound applies a garage lo-fi aesthetic to a sleepy 80’s-style synth pop. Much of this genre’s success can be credited back to Neon Indian’s sleek and gratifying songwriting.  There are hooks at every turn and they know how to present a cool retro sound fitted for the listeners of today.

Background Check:

The band started as the brain child of Alan Paloma, who wrote the music and lyrics, and his long-time high school friend Alicia Scardetta, who supplied visual elements to accompany the music. They released their first EP in 2008, but it wasn’t until the spring of 2009 when they released two tracks “Should Have Taken Acid With You” and “6699 (I don’t Know if you Know)” onto the web. Several indie music blogs caught wind and started to spread the word.

They released their first LP Psychic Chasms, on Lefse record in October and since then the buzz has just continued to grow.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

MySpace

Wikipedia

On Tour:

JamBase

Artist: Yeasayer

Hails from: Brooklyn, NY

Musical Style: Indie, Rock, Experimental

For Fans of: Grizzly Bear, TV on the Radio, Talking Heads

Ambling Alp