is the big rock you've been living under that comfortable?  well, it's time to expand your music experience.  these bands you're about to listen to should make that stone thing pretty ugly.  welcome to a new day of good music, let's explore it together:

We Have Band: ahhh, yes.  underground electro rock pop.  the uk'ers (from the uk) make a snatchy beat.  a three piece (minus the drums and lead guitar). they push their music right along with a bass, simplicity and whistles.  a bit of nonchalance pervades their music and lyrics.  try "You Came Out" and it's music video. (photo by olly hearsey)

Dappled Cities: i bit of falsetto, but tasteful.  they've gathered that influence from The Flaming Lips.  magical 80's tracks, like a poppy soundtrack to Legend.  you are easily swept away in the big sounds of the synthesizer that carry any listener to a dream world.  i'm currently diggin "Answer is Zero."

Black Moth Super Rainbow:  though they come from western PA, they definitely do not represent that region.  hid behind much mystery, not much is known of the band members besides names like Father Hummingbird and The Seven Fields of Aphelion (no joke).  from their third album Dandelion Gum, they're described as, "Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees." listen to "Twin of Myself." 

UUVVWWZ: finally something from Nebraska.  definitely not a shoegazer band.  you might say they're influenced by Deerhoof, but that would be because they both have women lead singers - okay maybe a bit of dissonance?  quirky beats and interesting vocals. oh, and the name of the band can be pronounced anyway you like - but they've suggested "double u, double v, double w, z."  i think "Shark Suit" really nails who they are. 

Apse: you might describe them as a post-rock band.  yet there remains, the distinct connection to the psychedelic - it's like a permanent evanescent flow.  i recommend "Ark" and "The Salt Of The Earth."

We'll Make it Right: twee pop.  but this band produced their album "In a Cabin With We'll Make It Right" in one week in one hotel room in Amsterdam.  please listen to "Some Day," because it might brighten up your day.

Ghostwood: it's late 60's pyschadelic rock, but they're from now.  they subscribe to pre-grunge mindset often characterized by playing their music with little exportation of motion, i.e., shoegazers.  definitely listen to "Rest My Soul."  did i mention that they're from sydney and their first album had songs about Pokemon?

Taken By Trees: some might describe their first album as twee-pop.  but the latest album East of Eden is anything but twee-pop.  the swedish band takes you right to the desert of pakistan.  meaning?  meaning this album's sound is a combination of the middle east and minimalism.  check out "To Lose Someone."

Nosaj Thing: i saved my favorite for the end.  a music modulator from LA.  it's electronica-experimental, and i would say hip hop without the foolishness of most hip hop - and prone to do remixes.  Pitchfork described his music as, "gorgeously haunted....[with] chilly minor-key synths....There are sonic Easter Eggs for a thousand listens."  his shows are visual.  you hear and see the music.  really, i recommend them all and esp., "Coat of Arms."  i'm putting together a video based on just one of his songs.