Glasvegas

Perhaps too cleverly named, this Glasgow-based band had fans among the likes of Lisa Marie Presley and former Creation Records head Alan McGee before releasing a proper record. Superficially, Glasvegas sounds like a lot of atmospheric rock traversing the world these days. But there is a grace and gorgeousness to the outfit's songs that point to an unlikely yet logical fusion of Phil Spector-produced girl groups, the gauzy guitar of the Cocteau Twins and the Jesus and Mary Chain at its most meditative. Too gritty and inventive to be destined for adult contemporary radio, the act nonetheless has an accessible sound polished enough to cross the divide between the underground and the mainstream. With music that highlights life's downstrokes with a shimmering beauty and a loungy aesthetic, maybe Glasvegas has an appropriate moniker after all.