The Letter T

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.

T

Tegan & Sara
Gulity pleasure? They were until The Con, which is unabashedly awesome, was released. Now there's nothin' guilty about 'em. On the surface they appear to be a gimmick (twins! from Canada!) but they're quite serious about their music and have steadily matured with each full-length release. Again, 2007's The Con is a very good collection of songs and I look forward to whatever it is they're planning to release later this year. As far as their music sound goes they've done a couple electrobeat-heavy songs and, at the other end of the spectrum, some acoustic-punk, but mostly it's sleek tinny-voiced post-new wave indie rock. Also, they rock the mullets, and there ain't nothin' you can say about that.
"Back In Your Head (Tyler Fedchuk's 1/2 ALIVE Disco Remix)"


Tilly and the Wall
Speaking of gimmicks... Tapdancing! Regardless of what you think, tapdancing does make the percussion more interesting and it does make their live shows that much more fun to watch. Tilly and the Wall are fun to listen to as well, thanks to that tappity-tap-tap. Most of their songs, in fact, utilize the toe-tapping in lieu of a drum set proper. And, for whatever it's worth they've been on Sesame Street. Is that considered selling out?
Go to their Team Love Records page for a handful of downloadable .mp3s, including:
"Cacophony"
and, if you're not a fan of the taps,
"The Freest Man (CSS Remix)"


Two Gallants
"Two Gallants" is a James Joyce short story about two young Irish men who fancy themselves players (i.e. "playas") and think nothing of using women to aquire money and cigars. But according to the dictionary a gallant is a noble and chivalrous individual. See what Mr. Joyce did there? This doesn't have much to do with these Two Gallants who compose and perform some very excellent bluesyalternamericanafolkcountry music. Murder ballads and the like. They are a bit of a throwback, but only in the best possible way.
There's a lot of music and video up for grabs on their website. Highlights:
"Las Cruces Jail (Radio Edit)" (a song that will tear your face off)
"Waves of Grain" (a nine-minute epic)



Rosie Thomas
In every interview with Thomas I've read she cracks jokes and is all funny and stuff. She has, in fact, dabbled in stand-up comedy. Then you listen to her music and it sounds so serious and diary-honest. I can't reconcile the two and have decided to treat her as two different people: Rosie Thomas the witty and charming individual, and Rosie Thomas the heart-on-her-sleeve singer/songwriter.
You can stream These Friends of Mine in its entirety over at Virb.com. I like "Much Farther to Go".
Also stream all of If Songs Could Be Held. My favorite there is "Pretty Dress".
There's also her Christmas album if, Lord help you, you're still in the Christmas spirit.
She's also done a lot of backup vocals for Damien Jurado and Sufjan Stevens and others, so she'll often sneak in when you least expect her.
And finally:
"Leftover Coffee"
"Wages of Sin" (a Bruce Springsteen cover with Damien Jurado)


Trenches
Trenches are a sludgy hardcore-ish band from Indiana. For a while their only claim to fame was owning Haste The Day's former lead vocalist. Then they started releasing snippets of music over the Internet. Then they signed to SolidState Records. Then they released a full-length album. Now their claim to fame is being really stinkin' good. There are some doom influences (everything sounds better when it's doomed), a bit of ye olde 'core, some metal, and a lot of atmosphere.
Stream whatever they've got on their Myspace.
"Eyes Open (demo)"

The Letter S

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.

Sally Shapiro
File under "guilty pleasure" because Swedish Italo-disco revival is a pretty dweeby musical genre. Audibly there isn't much to the music of Sally Shapiro, though everything about it is pleasant to the ear. The beats are firm but cool, the voice is detached yet soothing, and you could either dance or sleep to every song. But who is Sally Shapiro? NOBODY KNOWS. It's really just the moniker for the guy-girl duo. The dude who creates all the nice electro noises is named Johan. The chick who sings may or may not actually be named Sally, won't ever perform live, and rarely has her picture taken. Some have even questioned if she actually exists. Sally Shapiro is the yeti of Euro-club music.
There are dozens of remixes for "I'll Be By Your Side" floating around the internet. They're all good, but I really like this one by DJ Aven (free and easy from the official Sally Shapiro website).
I'll Be By Your Side (DJ Aven Remix)
Jackie Junior (Junior Boys Remix)
Hold Me So Tight


Shearwater
I know two things about Shearwater:
1) Shearwater features at least one member (used to be two) from Okkervil River, a band that is awesome.
2) This is a band that is awesome.
And really that's all you need to know. You could even skate by only knowing Shearwater fact #2. Musically they're pretty low-key, yet are capable of some good quality jubilant rockout. Epic, but in no way pretentious. They're actually comparable to The National in these ways and others, so if you like The National you'll like this (and vice versa).
Since I honestly don't know much else about the band I can only recommend songs. Here you go. Eat up.
The World in 1984
Red Sea, Black Sea (via Insound.com)
Rooks (via Insound.com)


St. Vincent
Another dude-with-a-moniker performers, but NOT just another dude-with-a-moniker performer. St. Vincent is Annie Clark, a New York-based singer/songwriter/instrumentalist born in Oklahoma. In fact, both she and I are the same age and from the same state. That's where our similarities end, however, as she is musically very talented and I am musically very talentless. She's recently made her rounds in the indie scene by touring with Sufjan Stevens (like, as a part of his band) and guitar-playing with the Polyphonic Spree. To date she has only one full length album and one EP (well... two EPs if you count the one she self-released in college). I like her because she's like an American-in-the-2000s version of Kate Bush. Her songs are sharp and almost at odds with her angelic voice. Also if you're interested in amusing little penned-by-Annie Clark snippets, she's got, like, two or three blogs floating around.
Now Now
These Days (cover song)
Jesus Saves, I Spend




Starflyer 59
It seems like Starflyer has been around forever, and it's difficult to remember what the world was like before they began releasing albums (and it's difficult to imagine a world existing after Starflyer ceases to be). Of course I'm being dramatic, but for fifteen years this band has been producing some of the best music in the world. Being dramatic again? Skip the rest of these words and listen to the tunes yourself.
The music itself is remarkably consistent. That is, you could probably identify a Starflyer song just by listening to it. The guitars are dense and shoegazey, the drumming is tick-tocky, and Jason Martin sings like he just woke up. Despite this, many of their songs are insanely catchy. Their earlier material is gloomier and maybe even a bit primitive when compared to the band's latter-day work, but it's no less awesome and really quite groundbreaking when you consider it was released to a Christian market.
Jason Martin is the genius behind the guitar fuzz, and it really is astounding how prolific the guy is. Apart from the dozens of releases full of outstanding music, he's also contributed to a handful of side projects, including Bon Voyage, which he duoed with his wife (and holy crap, they've got a new album out, the first new one in years... it's a blast from my high school past!), and that Neon Horse nonsense.
Anyway...
Download "Wake Up Early" from Purevolume, then stream the other five songs.
Good Sons (via Insound.com)
Play the C Chord


Suffering & the Hideous Thieves
S&tHT is one of the few bands that are capable of being lyrically provocative and instrumentally moving... all within the same song. Indeed, this band has performed some of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard, yet I fully realize these guys aren't for everybody.
If that name and voice sounds familiar that's because you're vaguely recalling Jeff Suffering from the spazz-punk band 90lb Wuss. Initially just a straight up punk band, they matured and explored new ground with each release, and perhaps The Hideous Thieves are the culmination of that. Sounding like a band of disgruntled rock and roll gypsies, The Thieves brilliantly back Suffering's warbly voice as he chronicles the best and worst (usually the worst) of human nature. Lyrics explore the farthest and darkest recesses of man's emotions and motivations, and more often than not the songs are completely depressing. Yet there still remain glimmers of positivity and glory, songs about hope and rebirth. Listening to Suffering & the Hideous Thieves is almost exhausting, but the investment is certainly worth it.
Go to Purevolume and download "I Am Tomorrow" and "The Collector"
Lujo Records has a handful of downloadables. ISound.com has a couple more (at a higher bit rate). Of those I recommend... ALL of them, but especially:
St. Elizabeth
The Other Side of the Moon
[Note: the song "Twice in Water Color" is actually sung by The Hush Hush, with whom S&tHT did a split]
Also listen to:
Return

The Letter R

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.


Röyksopp
Norwegians excel in two things: metal and electro-pop. (They also do the Americana thing better than Americans, but that doesn't fit into the point I'm trying to make.) There's something about the frigid and isolated country that instills itself into its citizen's songwriting. This might seem at odds with the POP in electro-pop (or techno-pop or whatever other -pop we're dealing with), but pop, when you think about it, really is a cold and removed sort of thing. Enter Röyksopp, an electro duo from Tromsø, who plug together the most magnificent and chill beats ever conceived. There is an iciness to their music, but there's an underlying warmth to it as well. Norwegians, see, are passionate about whatever it is they do, and "cold" as their music might be there's still that human passion that weaves itself in and out of each song's DNA. I don't know if any of that makes sense, and I know I'm making wide generalizations about Norwegians (for all I know they could all actually be robots, a nation of Johnny 5s), but these are the impressions I get.
Whatever. Let the music speak for itself. And instead of linking .mp3 files I'm going to post their music videos which, in addition to perfectly matching the music, are mindboinks.
"Remind Me"

"What Else is There?" (featuring Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife, though that's not her floating around in the video [though that IS her sitting at the dinner table])

"Poor Leno"



Red Sparowes
Epic wordless landscape-ish music in the same vein as Explosions in the Sky and all those other epic wordless landscape-ish bands. What sets these guys apart? Two things, at least. One, a couple of the guys are also members of the doom-core band Isis, which certainly influences some aspects of their sound. One-and-a-half, one of the Red Sparowes was also in Neurosis, but he's no longer a Red Sparowe. Two, slide guitar! Two-and-a-half, their song titles, as you'll see below, are absolutely ridiculous.
Two .mp3s via their Neurot Recordings page:
"Like the Howling Glory of the Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous And the Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts And Clutching Our Innocent Awe" (10:08)
"Alone and Unaware, the Landscape Was Transformed in Front of Our Eyes" (8:27)
"A Brief Moment of Clarity Broke Through the Deafening Hum, But it Was Too Late" via Stop Okay Go.


The Rapture
Not to be confused with the Finnish metal band or Jesus' triumphant return, The Rapture are a electro-punky-dance-rock band from New York. Their songs are beat heavy, but there's definitely a rock 'n' roll edge in there. On their first full-length album, Echoes, they follow up songs fit for clubbin' with songs fit for punching you in the face. Their last full-lengther, Pieces of the People We Love, was released in 2006, so they're probably about due for something new.
Check out their MYSPACE and enjoy a handful of their sweet sweet music, including the funkin' little ditty found on the GTA IV soundtrack.
Also, and I don't remember where I got this (though YOU can find it on their The Chair That Squeaks 7-inch released in 1998), here's a cover of the agitated Psychedelic Furs song "Dumb Waiters."
"Dumb Waiters"


Radiohead
Obviously.
Instead of waxing poetic, and instead of dropping tracks you've already heard, I'll link up some fun remixes.
"Videotape (Amplive Remix Feat Del The Funky Homosapien)"
"Street Spirit (Funkagenda Remix)"
"Nude (Let's up the Beat of them Blues, TAET Remix)"
"Unravel {Pocket Mix}"


Rogue Wave
You know a band is popular when it appears on the soundtracks of every hip new movie and TV show. I don't actually know much else about Rogue Wave except that they used to be on Sub Pop. Now they're not. By definition a rogue wave is something that could potentially do a lot of damage, especially if you're having an adventure on a boat named Poseidon, but this Rogue Wave is fairly non-threatening. A nice easy listen-to. A bit of The Shins, a bit of Belle and Sebastian. A lot of good.
"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" via Stereogum's Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic for the People.
"Lake Michigan" via Insound.com.
"Publish My Love" via me, because I want you to hear it.

The Letter Q

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.

Q

Gordy Quist
Gordy is a Texas-based singer-songwriter (and if you're going to do the countryfolk thing then you best either be from Austin or Nashville) whose musical output is actually fairly diverse. He'll rock your socks with some honkytonk, or he'll still your soul with a gothy bluesy ballad. Quist is also a member of the group Band of Heathens, but I'm not interested in them right now because their name doesn't start with Q. If you go to Quist's official website you can actually stream 7/11ths of his latest album, Here Comes the Flood, released last year. Listen to "Judas 'Scariot Blues".
Also listen to this demo of "Green and Blue".

Queens of the Stone Age
You know who these guys are by now, and by now you either love or hate 'em. Launch that music player! Pirate lightbulbs!

Quo Vadis
Montreal metal, though sadly they don't sing in French (as if you'd be able to tell anyway). But they are all about the metal brutality, and they're FAST. If you think it's all just studio tricks, listen to their songs from the Live in Montreal album. The band's drummer is fairly well known in the Canadian death metal scene as he's been featured on the cover of several drumming magazines. He's also a physicist, for whatever that's worth. Quo Vadis has been around since the mid-90s so they've had lots of time to practice their precise chaos, and they probably know the exact chord progressions necessary to make your head explode.
Lots of .mp3s on their official website.
Lots of streamies on their unofficial Myspace page.

Quasi
Also making music since the mid-90s is the trio named Quasi. For a long time they were a duo, the husband and wife sort. The husband and wife part didn't work out, but even as divorcees the band lived on. I have no idea how their new third member (officially inducted into Quasi in 2007) fits in relationshiply. ANYWAY, the music is unique (poppy indierock, yet very experimental) and incorporates various un-rock'n'roll instruments like the rocksichord, synths made to sound like rocksichords, and classical stringed instruments. You can find them on Touch and Go Records, and I suspect they're due for a new album soon.
Quasi on Myspace.

Sara Quin (feat. Kaki King)
Cheating, I know, but Q's are hard. Here we have Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara fame doing an REM cover with Kaki King. This song is from Stereogum's tribute to Automatic for the People, and the rest of the covers can be found HERE.
As for this tune, it sounds like Tegan & Sara high on Nyquil.
"Sweetness Follows" .mp3.

The Letter P

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.


P


Britta Persson
It may or may not be worth mentioning that Ms. Persson is from Sweden (though it would explain why, despite not having an entry on the regular ol' English Wikipedia, she does get a brief nod in the Svenska Wikipedia). There is a detectible accent, but it certainly doesn't detract from the goodness of her music. It's probably a very ethnocentric thing to assume that it would, and you're a very bad person for having thought so. ANYWAY, Britta sings wide-eyed whole-voiced mellow rock. I detect some 1970s influence (even though she herself was birthed in the 1980s) in a lot of her singer-songwritery tunes, especially the ones I've heard from her newest album, Kill Hollywood Me. I think I also detect a lot of lyrical wryness (see, 'cause I've got a wrydar detector). Good stuff, all of it. Even her forlorny songs have enough groove and bop to them to warrant a casual hip shake (except for "Defrag My Heart"... I don't know what's up with that song OR the video).
There are four streamies (all from the new album) and some videos on her Myspace.
Also, "You Are Not My Boyfriend" (.mp3).


The Psyke Project
On the same side of the pond, but in a different realm of music altogether, from Denmark here's the brutal doomy metalcore stylings of the Psyke Project. The Nordic region is renown for its metal progeny, and this band represents well. As you would expect, the music is dense with atmosphere and at times slogs along. But in a blink of an eye (or a punch of a fist) things can/do get violent and speedy. The vocals are well-done, too. Not too shrill, not too gutteral... very enthusiastic. I hope one day they come stateside (Canadianprovinceside?) so I can see them in action. The Psyke Project: something excellent in the state of Denmark.
They've got a bunch of streamed songs on their neat-lookin' website.
Their four songs on Myspace are awesome and downloadable.


Pure Horsehair
I think they're a duo, though sometimes it's just one guy, other times there's a full band. Other than that I don't know much about Pure Horsehair. I know the music is nice in a folksyrootsy sort of way. I also know it's experimental as much as it is traditional, which is actually very refreshing. After hundreds of years of backwoods gee-tar strummin', sometimes it's hard to do something new with the genre. Somehow they/he/they make music that is both haunting and inspiring at the same time.
Those first two songs on their Myspace page, "Grasshopper" and "Trees (EEG)", are really good.
"H.D. Told Me" (.mp3)


Panda Bear
The man who calls himself Panda Bear is probably a mad genius. His work, both as a member of Animal Collective and his own solo material, is so far out in left field that he has to be completely nuts to have ever conceived it in the first place. And he calls himself Panda Bear. But when you try to peel back the layers and sort it all out (the rhythms, the instrumentations, the meanings) you'll find it's like figuring out a pulsing rubik's cube. Of course sometimes it's just too much and therefore too annoying. But Panda Bear's good parts far outweigh the bad, and if you can acquire the tastes he offers, then you'll ultimately end up redeemed.
Two streamed Myspace songs.
If you like "Comfy In Nautica" then you can download that one and three others over at Insound.com.


Poni Hoax
You like crafty Euro-disco, you say? A lot, you say? Weirdo. But Poni Hoax is good. They make groove-able shake-able funk-able remix-able SLIGHTLY PARANOID dance rock from France. Their music creeps around nice and rhythmically and allows you, with your huge tinted glasses and European trash 'stache, to scope out the fine foxes scattered about the club. Their music also reaches loud and triumphant apices, doing so as you simultaneously come across the one hot fox who won't throw her Red Bull and vodka cocktail (black market and expensive, of course) into your face.
Poni Hoax's pièce de résistance is the song "Budapest", a pseudo-apocolyptic and catchy ditty about... I don't know... Budapest, or something. Listen to it and like it. Do so from their Myspace space.

The Letter O

In this series I spotlight five bands and/or artists whose names begin with the same letter. I try to feature active (or recently active... it's hard to keep current with all the break-ups) performers so as to reflect who I'm listening to and enjoying at the moment.

Again, with the tracks from Insound.com, if you've saving them to your harddrive you may actually have to physically type ".mp3" at the end of the file name. Don't let typing four extra buttons prevent you from enjoying these songs.

O

of Montreal
Not actually of Montreal. Of Athens, Georgia. Like REM. But despite being from Georgah, of Montreal's music is otherwordly. I don't know specifically what world, but it's fancifal and bouncy and probably looks a lot like Pepperland. The music, then, is in that same sort of sub-psychadelic vein, though the band is not opposed to dishing out some thick trance beats or, at the other end of the musical spectrum, unplugging entirely to coo something nice and folky.
If it looks like I'm dumping a ton of tracks on you it's because they're so dang prolific. There's so much of Montreal to hear.
"She's My Best Friend" (Velvet Underground cover) .mp3 from The Elephant Six Recording Company. There's also a bunch of live tracks and a demo I haven't listened to yet.
"Heimdalsgate Like a Promethian Curse" .mp3 via Insound.com.
"So Begins Our Alabee" .mp3 via Insound.com. Good song.
"Disconnect the Dots" .mp3 via Insound.com. This song has been played everywhere.
"Doing Nothing" .mp3 via Insound.com. Also a good song.
"Spoonful of Sugar" .mp3 via Insound.com. Some of that folksy stuff I mentioned. A VERY good song.
"The Past is a Grotesque Animal" .mp3 from Under The Rotunda blog. Twelve minutes of sweet awesome goodness.
Also, for fun, check out the track list for The Early Four Track Recordings.


Okkervil River
Okkervil River is a bit hard to define, but I could get away with calling it rootsy indie rock. They utilize non-conventional rock 'n' roll instruments like accordians and mandolins and whatnot, but still lean more towards rock than folk. Their lyrical imagery is often pretty dark and usually tells some sort of coherant story. It's those big musical hooks that'll nab you, though. Just good songwriting all around.
I don't know. LISTEN.
"Westfall" .mp3 via Insound.com. Probably the best song ever. Evil don't look like anything.
"Red" .mp3 via Insound.com.
"The War Criminal Rises and Speaks" .mp3 via Insound.com.
"For Real" .mp3 from the Jagjaguwar Records site. This song is super good. For real.
"Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" .mp3 from the Jagjaguwar Records site.
"The President's Dead" .mp3 from the Jagjaguwar Records site. Not morbid, but no less real.
"No Key, No Plan" .mp3 from the Jagjaguwar Records site.


Oneida
Oneida might be a bit of an acquired taste, but once you figure out how to appreciate them then you'll find their awesomeness knows no bounds. The band's songs are all at once hazey, hypnotizing, weird (like a nebula causing a traffic accident is weird), dense and heavy. Fundamentally, though, it comes down to the rock, and your face will eventually come off due to the rock.
Like Okkervil River, they've also released a bunch of albums through Jagjaguwar.
"Run Through My Hair" .mp3 via the Jagjaguwar Records site. Very cool.
"Up With People" .mp3 via the Jagjaguwar Records site.
"Wild Horses" .mp3 via Jagjaguwar. Not a Stones cover, but still a great song.
"Each One Teach One" .mp3 via Insound.com.
"To Seed and Flower" .mp3.
"Turn it Up Loud" .mp3. Bizarre, but in a good way.
Also, www.myspace/oneidarocks.com.


The Out_Circuit
Several bands rose up from the ashes of Frodus. One of them, founded by Frodus' last bassist Nathan Burke, is called The Out_Circuit (with or without the underscore). The Out_Circuit continues in that same bass-heavy paranoia-ishness that made And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea so good. In fact, I highly recommend checking out that album (the fourth track, non-coincidently, is called "Out-Circuit the Ending") very soon after checking out these Out_Circuit songs.
There are currently four downloadables on the Lujo website. They are:
"Glasgow" -- Cold and atmospheric, listening to this song is like losing a fight to an arctic ghosttown.
"We Will End" -- The music is so rich, the mental imagery it provokes is outstanding.
"Across the Light" -- New song from the new album, Pierce the Empire With a Sound. I spy guest vocals.
"Come Out Shooting" -- Watch out for those unexpectedly abrasive vocals. Be lured back by the beauty of the music. Fantastic song.
A couple other listen-worthy streamies on the band's Virb.com website.
And appearing on a Lujo Christmas compilation, this is the best version of O Come Emmanuel (.mp3) you've ever heard.


Ozma
Ozma is awesome, but you already knew that. They broke up in 2004 but came back together earlier this year and released an album. Unfortunately, probably because I'm stupid, I haven't listened to that album yet. I bet it rocks. I bet you can't tell me otherwise.
Now I'm listening to some of those new songs on Myspace.
Now I'm done. They're a little world-weary, but still quite excellent. "Eponine" is great.
Other songs of excellence --
From the Kung Fu Records site: "Apple Trees", "No One Needs to Know", "Flight of the Bootymaster", "Bad Dogs", "Gameover".
And personal favorites of mine: "Natalie Portman", "Battlescars", "Korobeiniki".

The Letter N

As you may or may not remember/care, I've been profiling five bands/artists that begin with a particular letter. I started it over on my personal xanga site, did the letter M on the Bipedal prototype, and then got distracted and forgot all about the alphabet.

But now I'm back to let you know I can really shake 'em down.

N

The New Pornographers
I suppose it's a little weird that I heard of the band first and then Neko Case and AC Newman later. I work supergroups backwards. Anyway, peppy bouncy (yet perfectly restrained) indierock. For those of you expecting the sultry country stylings of Case you're going to be disappointed. For those of you expecting candycane rock 'n' roll... well, here you go. Their new album, from the bits I've heard at least, is more subdued (but no less awesome) then their previous releases.
"Myriad Harbour" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"My Rights Versus Yours" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"Twin Cinema" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"The Laws Have Changed" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
[Note: for the tracks from Insound, you may have to physically type .mp3 at the end of the file name. Or you might not.]


A.C. Newman
Speaking of Mr. Newman...
His solo stuff is very similar to that of the New Pornographers (he is the band's principle songwriter), just not as zesty. That's not necessarily a bad thing as his solo style leaves the door wide open for introspection and soft little nuances.
Give the two songs on the A.C. Newman Matador page a listen.


Nurse & Soldier
An Oneida side-project, Nurse & Soldier is a male-female duo (though I think they've added more members now) specializing in foggy rhythmic fuzzrock. While the cloudy guitarwork may be reminicent of Oneida, the vocals and song presentaton are more pop oriented (though no less rewarding).
You can download the entire Nurse & Soldier 7" as well as an excellent hypnotizing track from their Marginalia album HERE.


Salim Nourallah
Some nice contemporary Texas-based folk music about love and unlove and 1978. There's nothing terribly striking about the music or the vocals, just sit back and enjoy the good songmanship. In fact at times Nourallah comes across as mellow George Harrison (as if George Harrison could be any mellower). Salim also has a brother named Faris who's got his own records too, and sometimes they'll record together as the Nourallah Brothers.
"The World is Full of People Who Want to Hurt You" .mp3 (via Insound.com)


The National
Low-key (but driving) indierock with some strings and stuff. Sounds about what Interpol would be if they went a different direction. You'll first notice the deep vocals (no sissy high notes here), then you'll notice the layers of surprisingly beautiful music. Sometimes a guitar or some sort of horn will pop out and say hi, and sometimes (like on "Slipping Husband") the band will for a brief moment go ballistic, but for the most part The National's music is pretty steady.
Three tracks are available for download on their website (along with a terrible picture of somebody's toes).
"All the Wine" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Son" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Beautiful Head" .mp3 (via Insound.com)