The Joy Formidable, courtesy. When Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable resolved to record the follow-up to last year’s critically praised debut, The Big Roar, the band did not settle on a studio in New York, Los Angeles or their home base of London. Instead, vocalist-guitarist Ritzy Bryan, bassist-boyfriend…

Say Anything, courtesy. Pop-punk band Say Anything has a new album coming out March 13; Anarchy, My Dear (Equal Vision Records). Vocalist and band leader Max Bemis has said Say Anything’s fourth studio album was its first attempt at a true punk record. In that they have failed. There…

The first couple of songs off Echo Ono, the ninth album by psychedelic-rockers, and brothers, Pontiak, are terrific—and it all goes downhill from there. Echo Ono, (released Feb. 21 on Thrill Jockey Records) was conceived as a expressionistic concept record. You wouldn’t be able to tell by its first…

LOS ANGELES — A popular music event like the Grammy Awards tends to divide people, with fans of indie artists claiming the best “now” musicians get left out. That’s a valid claim. With the exception of The Arcade Fire last year and Bon Iver this week, the big winners…

Young The Giant, courtesy. Three minutes on stage may have made the difference between emerging success and national attention, or a career as another relatively unknown alt-rock band for the members of Irvine’s Young the Giant. Or, as guitarist Jacob Tilley recalls, it could have meant the end of…

Graffiti6, courtesy. “Colours,” from British duo Graffiti6, is another take on the soul-pop and dance genres that musician-producers from the U.K. seem to be so fond of right now (think Mark Ronson). In this case, we have singer-songwriter Jamie Scott and songwriter-producer Tommy Danvers (who goes by TommyD) —…

Vicky Cryer, courtesy. There are two foremost things you need to know about Vicky Cryer. The first is that the Los Angeles dance-rock collective is not an all-star band. Though it (currently) features the drummers from Muse and Nine Inch Nails, the bassist from The Killers, Julian Casablancas’ keyboardist,…

Norah Jones, Courtesy: Diane Russo. Winding down the evening listening to the second album from Norah Jones’ country side-project, the Little Willies. (For the Good Times, Jan. 10, EMI). I should admit that traditional country music is not my cup of tea; it just doesn’t have the zing of…

Trampled By Turtles, courtesy. Burrowed halfway between Minneapolis and Canada’s Thunder Bay, along Minnesota’s corner of Lake Superior, Duluth is a small city surrounded by forests, hills, streams and lakes. Considering the population is only 90,000, an annual weeklong music festival with 150 local bands may seem out of…

Listening to a pre-release stream of the new album by Foxy Shazam, in stores Jan. 24 (thanks EMI!). Foxy Shazam reminds me more and more of a mash-up of The Darkness and Queen. I’m sure these guys are fans of both bands. There’s even a little Elton John in…