New Yorker Alan Hampton has been a professional musician, bassist, and sideman for some time, but is just now branching out on his own with the release of his solo debut, The Moving Sidewalk. With an extensive musical background, Hampton’s style is grounded in mellow, jazzy pop but also hints at a unique variety of
San Francisco residents (by way of Wisconsin) A B & The Sea have a fresh sound that will be an instant hit for anyone who is a fan of both retro pop/rock and modern indie rock. Their songs, like the catch “Bone Dry,” have a clean sound with hints of California surf rock. The band
Freelance Whales is an emerging indie-rock band hailing from Queens, New York. The band formed in 2008 and has just released their first full-length LP, Weathervanes, this year. Most of the band members are multi-instrumentalists and the band has created a patchwork sound that has influences from everything from bluegrass to The Postal Service. Be
The Chicago band California Wives combines indie rock with melodic pop undertones and touch of 80s style synth haze, resulting in mellow but catchy tunes that have garnered comparisons to 80s supergroup The Police and modern pop purveyors Phoenix. Their five song EP Affair is available as a digital download over at Amazon. Members Dan
Born Kristine Flaherty, genre-hopping artist K.Flay grew up with rock ‘n’ roll in Chicago and landed with hip hop in the Bay Area. Her sound shows off her strong voice (both literal and figurative) and eclectic taste. Live she does everything from create beats to play the guitar, all as a one-woman show. K.Flay has
The Giving Tree Band has mastered the art of American indie folk and they show off their big, full sound on their most recent album, The Joke, The Threat & The Obvious. The Illinois band began as brothers and has expanded into an 8-piece folk ensemble that plays classic folk music with a little bit
Newcomers Archie Powell & The Exports have just released their debut full-length album, Skip Work, and are making grit-covered guitar pop that is accompanied by charming lyrics and formidable songwriting. The Chicago band is still new, but their sound is a fresh mix of influences like Elvis Costello and Weezer that has us bopping our
Singer-songwriter Kevin Devine and indie-rockers Manchester Orchestra have been making music as separate, and very different, entities for years. This year, Kevin Devine has joined up with the guys from Manchester Orchestra to form a new band called Bad Books. Their self-titled debut album is out now as a digital release and will be available