Allston Rock City

For Fans of: Indie Art Pop

Myspace: www.myspace.com/rubikband

Recommended Songs: “Goji Berries”, “City And The Streets”

Neufvoin are an Indie Rock band I came across from Kuopio, Finland. The song “Rat Race” reminds me of an aggressive Bloc Party, minus the vocalist, while incorporating an early 90’s alternative rock flavor. Neufvoin’s “Robokop” EP is an impressive effort from the Finnish group, the highlights being “Mouse on Mars” and “Rat Race”, strongly recommend giving them a listen.

For Fans of: Bloc Party, Sunny Day Real Estate

Myspace: www.myspace.com/neufvoin

Recommended Songs(click to play): Mouse on Mars Rat Race

“I wish I could fly through the sky and the moon above me.”

Label: Gronland Records
Location: London, England
For Fans Of: Sneaker Pimps, Radiohead, commercials for energy-efficient cars
Myspace: www.myspace.com/solseppy
Recommended Song: Slo Fuzz, Enter One

If I could recommend one album to anyone, it would be this. I listen to the whole thing through without skipping a track.

Let me throw some adjectives at you: emotional, thoughtful, humble, curious, vulnerable, refreshing, hopeful.

So she’s Australian (living in the UK), classically trained and toured with Radiohead in the band Sparklehorse. And bizarre too. Her Myspace blogs are fragmented and abstract. (This seems to be a theme among my picks so far.) She recorded all of this in her home studio.

Complaints:
Her name. Not very accessible; people don’t know how to spell it when they hear it. People always seemed puzzled when I tell them her name. Also her songs aren’t very energetic, so if you’re not into thoughtful music skip this one.

How She Looks:
My first reaction to seeing her photos was shock and suspicion. “What are the odds?” What are the odds that someone writing music this good looks like this? Basically what I’m saying is she’s a cyborg (bent on domination of my heart). Based on those Myspace blogs I wouldn’t be surprised.

“I made myself invisible, so you will never know if I’m right behind you.”

Label: 1234 (UK) / Dim Mak (US)
Location: UK
For Fans Of: Beck, creepy guys with cool hats
Myspace: www.myspace.com/hellowhitey
Recommended Song: I Made Myself Invisible, Leave Them All Behind

Dark, dance-y, deliciously pop. Stir in a few frantic Myspace blogs to taste and you’ve got Whitey. Another highly-recommend song is “Sweet Words For The Sour” (not on Myspace). I’m really excited about this guy. Wish I had written these songs. (P.S. for the record: his name is Nathan Whitey.)

Complaints:
None really. Not going to change the world though. Doesn’t inspire any emotion in particular.

How He Looks:
He looks pretty bad ass. Socially obscure British hipster-goth girls are swooning in a humid basement somewhere. It’s a good thing too, because it makes the lyric from the top of this post even more unusual. It’s not like the guy just can’t get any.

Stateless isn’t necessarily a new band, but hailing from Leeds, England they have yet to venture to the United States. This five piece blends melodic rock with soulful electronica. They even have a DJ (but not the same kind of DJ which was a staple of all those rap metal bands in the late 90s) This band is growing fast overseas and hopefully they will enter the US Market soon to let everyone know what we are missing over in Europe.

Recommended songs: Great White Whale, Prism 1

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/statelessonline