So many albums and so many music careers are marked by "the great buildup." Artists are expected with each new release to top their subsequent and if they should choose to explore new territory, fans expect a logical progression. Much effort goes into the layout of an album's tracklisting, ensuring just right placements to hold attention and provide a crescendo of enthusiasm that peaks at the album's close, enticing you to hit play from the beginning and recreate that rush again and again. It's a rare treat then when you find an artist who goes against this grain and realizes that more powerful than the buildup is the breakdown. more ›

Hayden Thorpe, vocalist for British quartet Wild Beasts shares like territory with Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) and Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnsons). Like Pallett and Hegarty, Thorpe possesses an immediately arresting vocal range that suggests classicism over pop/rock. The countertenor's dramatic baroque falsetto careens across ten tracks of gorgeous guitar-centric melodies on the Wild Beast's sophomore album, 2009's Two Dancers. more ›

Call it fate or label it luck, some musical pairings were just meant to happen. Solo, Jace Clayton (DJ / rupture) and Brooklyn producer Matt Shadetek have always excelled in their respective electronic pursuits. For the Barcelona-bred, now Brooklyn-based Clayton that means broad ranging, world-influenced heavy bass and for Shadetek, the lesser known (but no less talented) name of the duo, it means a career built on genre-shifting instrumentals. The duo have combined talents in the past, but never with the depth and stunning results of their newest effort, the full length mix album, Solar Life Raft. more ›

Chicago's musical landscape is ripe with indie bands who've built their careers and found success and acceptance on the city's streets and stages. There's a certain charm involved in watching a band blossom from obscurity, finding new fans in the faces populating your favorite local haunts and hangouts. Formed in 2007, and with a recent Daytrotter session and a new EP titled Calling You Out to their credit, Chicago indie folk pop act the Netherfriends are one step from full blown notoriety, savoring an endearing balance of critical praise and humble show hustling. more ›

Stockholm's The Legends create the kind of genre-defying music where you never know what to expect with the next release. For his fourth release under The Legends moniker, Johan Angergård again surprises fans and taps a wide range of collaborators. Over And Over is a testament to Angergård's taste and musical prowess, combining piercing instrumentation with bright indie pop melody. more ›

Twenty-three year old Londonite Ben Esser might just have the voice and face to rekindle Americans love affair with British pop. Impossibly young, stylish enough to have already been recruited as a muse of Hedi Slimane, and a gifted wordsmith and producer, Esser boldly debuts Braveface with a prowess for success. more ›