White Denim - Fashionable Rock

 Combine amazing dueling guitar licks with psychedelia, a bassist that looks 15, and a prog-rock influenced drummer and you have White Denim. Out of Austin, TX, they've been wowing audiences locally and at South by Southwest for a few years. I like their old stuff, but with the welcome addition of a second guitarist their newest release, D, is one of the best rock albums, song for song, I've heard in some time.

Also, they put on a great live show. Saw them at the Rock and Roll Hotel with a bunch of hipsters who wouldn't move because they were too cool, but I was rocking out because I'm way too old to care about being hip.

Honestly, I can't even pick my favorites b/c they're all filled with great hooks. Though there's some nice variety over the course of the album, their sound is pretty consistent, so if you don't like one song, you probably won't like the rest. I'd recommend listening to the whole album a few times through. It will invade your headspace.

You can see how good they are live in this video for, It's Him. The guitar lick around 1:15 in reminds me of St. Stephen by the Grateful Dead in such a good way.

Enjoy.

Walk Right and Hit 'Em Up Style

So there was this band, Maata Haari, and they made this song, Walk Right, and then they broke up. It's a grinding, blues riff that makes my lip snarl like I'm doing an Elvis impersonation. She Goes Til' She's Gone is pretty solid, too.

Walk Right by Maata Haari






Carolina Chocolate Drops are the rare modern-day bluegrass band that's composed entirely of black folks. Aside from the novelty, they got chops. I particularly like their cover of Blu Cantrell's Hit 'Em Up Style. The other song I like from their latest album is Snowden's Jig.

• Hit 'Em Up Style by Carolina Chocolate Drops

More Carolina Chocolate Drops music on iLike

Mellowdrone - Angry Bear

Drone is a good name for these guys. They have a lo-fi aesthetic that is reminiscent of Morphine, Neil Young, or Lou Barlow (Folk Implosion and Sebadoh). The songs have a slow burn, but don't hesitate to meander into the realm of catchy choruses and ooh-oohs. There's even a rock-a-billy vibe going on some of the tracks.

Standout Tracks: Big Winner, Esmerelda, Wherever You May Go

Angry Bear - Mellowdrone

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

Sounds like Prefuse 73 with a strong folk flavor. Hip-hop with melody and soul. Badly Drawn Boy finds Pro Tools. Most of the songs feel like their made up of found sounds, or a guy in his underwear sitting around in his sparsely furnished flat upstairs with a computer and a guitar. My favorite is Lovers' Carvings, which relegates the computer to merely a beat machine in the background, while Bibio's voice and guitar take center stage. Unfortunately, the intro to the song is about 90 seconds long and not as good, so fast forward past it to get to the good part.



Standout tracks: Ambivalence Avenue, Fire Ant, Lovers' Carvings, S'Vive, Dwrcan

Unfortunately, you can't get the full tracks on Lala this time, so listen to it on YouTube or just preview it.