Artist: Free Energy

Hails From: Philadelphia, PA

Musical Style: Power Pop, Rock

For Fans of: The Strokes, T. Rex, Pavement

Dream City

Why you should check them out:

Summer is the season made for Free Energy – dishing out a classic 70’s arena rock sound bathed ever so gently in 21^st century polish.  This is music for a sweat-soaked city, for hoisting cold beverages and firing up the grill.  Brimming with windmill guitar riffs, crispy hooks, a smattering of handclaps and just the right amount of instrumental flourish, Free Energy aims to inject that warm, fuzzy feeling through their boombox brand of carefree guitar rock.

Background check:

Over the tick-tock-tick of a well-engineered cowbell and a ringing two chord guitar blast, Free Energy righteously declare their second coming: “We’re breaking out this time.”

That’s because Free Energy is the second rock iteration for frontman Paul Sprangers and guitarist Scott Wells, who left Minnesota for Philly after the chaotic demise of their similar sounding band Hockey Night in 2007.

In 2009, with additional players in place, Free Energy released a debut 7”, Free Energy/Something in Common, followed by a three-track EP.  Their debut album Stuck on Nothing, produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and released in March on his own label DFA, is a collection of mid-tempo rockers that deliver quickly.  Murphy’s dance-punk ethics and Free Energy’s classic vibe may seem like an unholy alliance until you press play.  It’s bright, it’s shiny and it’s reduced to the essentials.

Months after its release, Free Energy’s initial declaration proved true.  Stuck on Nothing has captured the attention of music mags big and small, including name drops in Spin and Rolling Stone, landing Free Energy on a host of top ten lists practically begging you to dig this band.

This summer finds Free Energy touring with husband-and-wife team Mates of State and New Jersey power rockers Titus Andronicus, and bringing their freewheeling tunes to a sun-drenched America.

–Eric Quist

photo credit: Cass Bird

Where you can find them in cyber space:

myspace

Free Energy.com

On tour:

jambase

Artist: Real Estate

Hails From: Brooklyn, NY

Musical Style: Indie, Pop, Surf

For Fans Of: Yo La Tengo, Velvet Underground, Animal Collective

Beach Comber

Why You Should Check them out:

It goes without saying that any band even remotely influenced by the surf rock genre can’t help but conjure up images of sunny trips to the beach, and for the Brooklyn quartet Real Estate such associations fit their bright, water themed songs perfectly. Drenched in reverb and carefree atmospherics, Real Estate may not follow too closely behind many of the old school surf greats, but they’ve definitely got the summer feeling right.

Background Check:

Playing together since high school, New Jersey natives Martin Courtney, Matthew Mondanile,
Etienne Duguay, and Alex Bleeker played in a number of projects before Real Estate fully materialized in the summer of 2008. With a tour alongside fellow lo-fi pop artists Girls later that year in support of their debut 7″ Suburban Beverage, Real Estate gathered momentum culminating in their 2009 self-titled full-length. It was these ten tracks that awarded Real Estate widespread attention, situating the band on countless best of ‘09 lists and earning them a place among the top 50 albums of 2009 by Pitchfork Media.

And while seaside pop has been making the headlines recently with the like of Best Coast and Surfer Blood, Real Estate’s songs are set apart with their fluid and dream-like quality at once buoyant and carefree and yet somber enough to tread in dark waters. While jangly leads segue into slide guitar backgrounds, it’s the echoing vocals from singer Martin Courtney that offer a comforting subtly to the quartet’s surf backed dynamics, further pronounced on their five song followup Reality, released in November ‘09. With summer now in full swing, what better way to enjoy the long sunny days than with the bright and breezy harmonics of Brooklyn’s Real Estate–with a full catalog of songs sure to tide you over until their highly anticipated next release.

–Anne Ostrowski

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

myspace
wikipedia

on tour:

jambase

Artist: The Futureheads

Hails From: Sunderland, England

Musical Style: Indie, Rock, Pop

For Fans of: Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, The Clash
Stuck Dumb

Why you should check them out:

The frenetic beats coming out of England’s The Futureheads push through the murk of even the thickest London fog in an exhilarating whirlwind of Brit pop. Perfecting their sound over the course of a decade, the group’s latest album may be their most accomplished yet.

Background Check:

Has it really been six years since The Futureheads released their debut self-titled album? Man, I remember driving around in college blasting their infectiously simple and straight-for-the-throat brand of indie rock from the car speakers.  Ever since that debut, this quartet from across the pond have been steadily whipping out hits like they were hot cakes. Composed of frontman Barry Hyde, drummer (and brother) David Hyde, guitarist Ross Millard and bassist David Craig, the band actually formed in 2000 and survived on a diet of free practice spaces and positive word of mouth before their breakthrough success in 2004.

After their 2005 sophomore release, News And Tributes, The Futureheads founded their own label, Nul Records, and broke free of the constraints they were up against before. This Is Not The World, released in 2008, saw the group edging closer to the punk rock and new wave sounds they grew up with. A mainstay of the British music scene and European festivals alike, it seems The Futureheads don’t quite get the recognition in the U.S. that they do at home.

No matter, with the darkly angular songs that make up The Futureheads’ latest album, Chaos, the band makes a sure fire return without ever missing a beat. Each track is a mini mine field of sharp, plaintive indie rock; from the pop punk graces of ‘Heartbeat Song’ to the stop-start synergy of “Struck Dumb.’ In the six years between their debut and today, the Futureheads have not lost a single ounce of energy, and they don’t seem likely to any time soon.

–Charlie Swanson

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

thefutureheads.com

myspace

On Tour:

jambase