Magik Markers, originally from Hartford, Connecticut, caught the ear of Thurston Moore, who invited the three-piece to join Sonic Youth on its 2004 tour. After that, Moore released the act’s debut, I Trust My Guitar, Etc… on his Ecstatic Peace imprint. The Markers’ original sound evoked no wave’s tortured, abrasive…

Readers of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle will never forget the final image of Bokonon thumbing his nose at God while the terminal freeze of ice-nine overcomes him. That unapologetic spirit of defiance against authority and tradition is summoned throughout this entire album. Oh, sure, a lot of the guitar work…

With a name like Pink Hawks, you’d be forgiven for thinking the band was some kind of acoustic-punk duo. But Pee Pee’s sax man, Yuzo Nieto, and a rotating cast of bandmates shred the conventions of music as well as your expectations of a live band. When performing, Nieto’s aim…

With haunting synths that recall the first three New Order records and a charming collection of songs that otherwise echo the Smiths’ twee moments as fed through a Wall of Sound, Rediscover Lovers, Kissing Party’s new disc, finds the act imbuing its dependably upbeat and catchy tunes with distinctively neo-romantic…

Fronting the now-defunct Ultra Boyz, Milton Melvin Croissant III was a frenetically intense, commanding performer. He brought a dark and mysterious charisma to an outfit that was so often like an amped-up hardcore band from some distant future. With his solo project, he comes off more like Cat Stevens if…

Those old enough to remember Pee-wee’s Big Adventure surely recall being haunted by Danny Elfman’s spooky soundtrack, the demented carnival music heard throughout the movie. A similar eccentric and darkly compelling sensibility informs the moods and sounds of Abracastabya (due at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs on Friday, September…

The adventurousness of Kate Bush’s quirky and consistently innovative music didn’t just inspire Tori Amos’s intense, introspective songwriting. Clearly, Annie Clark, performing under the name St. Vincent, has learned a thing or two from Bush’s unique and artistically ambitious vision. Clark’s songs have an oddly nostalgic feel to them, as…

The opening salvo of Astronautilus, New Ancient Astronauts’ second long-player, is the bombastic and campy “Catasteroid.” Who else but maybe Blue Öyster Cult could take the idea of a gigantic asteroid about to hit the earth and end all life on the planet as we know it and not only…

With a keen sense of pacing and melody, the music of Widowers has drawn easy comparisons to psychedelic-tinged pop from the ’60s. But anyone who has seen Mike Marchant and company’s handful of shows thus far knows that they’ve already moved beyond their influences and have established a sound and…

James Yardley may be best known for the brutally intense hardcore he doled out in V-tech Orchid or the dark and moody psychedelic rock he dealt in with Pinkku, but with Hawks and Doves, he brings an unexpectedly reverent evocation of bluesy, psychedelic classic rock. Combining acoustic and sinuously energized…

A Shoreline Dream’s debut full-length, Avoiding the Consequences, showcased a band exploring the breadth of dream pop with an immediately compelling sound. On Coastal, its latest effort, the act builds upon Avoiding’s ideas with noisier backdrops and less floating-in-the-ether-style digital delay. The disc also exhibits a greater sense of urgency…

Breathe Carolina plays a particular brand of synth pop that has worn so thin, it’s practically transparent. Yet in the hands of the group’s architects, David and Kyle, the songs, which are tinted with a swirl of screamo, work in curiously refreshing ways. Recalling Jeff Lynne’s joyful abuse of pop…

With a bevy of ex-punk rockers and faux bohemians exploring electro-pop and hip-hop these days, the field is getting a bit crowded. All Teeth and Knuckles sets itself apart by bringing a defiant, energetic attitude and an undercurrent of irreverence to its songs. Seldom has such a scathing set of…

If Jad Fair had access to all the electronic gadgets and gizmos the Tudaloos have at their disposal today, the music he wrote back in the early ’80s might have sounded a lot like this. To call what the Tudaloos are doing simply indie pop would be to ignore the…

The Constuct (formerly known as Orwellian Math Project) nimbly pushes the boundaries of what punk and indie rock can be as it mates aggressive, fiery songs with lonely, contemplative material. Instead of opting for a traditional band, the Boulder-based two-piece has forced itself to be more creative through the use…

It’s probably just as well that emo, and not indie pop, has become the soundtrack to so many suburban teenage lives. It could’ve gone either way, really. Thankfully, it didn’t. Otherwise, acts like Red Pony Clock might be less inclined to perform at more intimate, non-traditional venues such as Rhino…

On Friends and Lovers, Married in Berdichev’s last release, Brittany Gould crafted delicate, hauntingly beautiful pop songs that featured girlish yet poignant and affecting vocals, qualities that have carried over to the new record. Listening to Cold Feet, Warm Hearts! is like waking up from a restful night’s sleep after…

As the backing guitarist for Sara Thurston’s Clotheshorse, David Lack displayed an impressive knack for crafting moods and turning rhythm parts into unconventional leads. This gift, coupled with his natural songwriting ability, carried over into his latest project, Stung By Bees, which has frequently been compared to Modest Mouse but…

Nearly a decade before the current wave of nostalgia-tinged music, the Elephant 6 collective almost single-handedly reinterpreted the genius of the Beatles and the Beach Boys for a new generation. The Ladybug Transistor is another act that looked back to the ’60s for inspiration, but rather than attempting to recreate…

No one burns bridges with as much unwitting determination as Goodbye Time Bomb’s David McGhee — except for maybe Roky Erickson and Daniel Johnston. While he’s not in the same league as those two genius songwriters, McGhee does share a frustrating knack for self-implosion. Known mainly for peppy, punky pop…

Epileptinomicon’s latest is kindred to the more cutting-edge releases on the Kranky label or even Denver’s own Pteranodon: It’s not music so much as an arty vehicle that captures moods and expresses things that are difficult to get across with words. It’s remarkable to think that Mike Reisinger and Kevin…

The musical and cultural time warp of this modern era has cultivated a flood of retro-leaning bands doing third-rate versions of the vital, foundational music that inspired their members to pick up instruments in the first place. The Nicotine Fits stand out from the countless poseurs by invoking the same…