Gauntlet Hair

Gauntlet Hair - Lights Out

hometown: Denver, CO

categories: Experimental, Psychedelic

for fans of: No Age, Animal Collective, Cocteau Twins

why you should check them out:
Audible, articulate lyrics that “make sense” are wildly overrated - the world’s had enough of that. Give us nonsensical, indecipherable, trippy falsetto vocals that make as little sense as this band’s quixotic name. Typified by their single “Top Bunk” from their self-titled 2011 album Gauntlet Hair (Dead Oceans), Gauntlet Hair guitarist and singer Andy Rauworth’s vocals have almost completely dissolved into a cavernous echo chamber, ensconced in vast layers of fuzzy reverb. His sometimes diminutive, sometimes shouted voice is used as another instrument to be modified, stretched or inflated, bubbling up through a massive ocean of sound, punctuated and hemmed-in only by booming, percussive beats. We think “Top Bunk” may be a love song, of sorts, but also owes a nod to contemporary mainstream hip-hop with it’s big bass, boom-tic beats and tinny top notes. The soundscape of “Top Bunk” more closely resembles the latest Kanye or Drake club banger than the indie bands they’re frequently associated with. Another sparkling single from Gauntlet Hair, “Keep Time”, has an apt title: built on a staccato, stop-start rhythm that builds into a powerful head-nodder, with Andy Rauworth’s guitar work tying the whole enterprise together with golden twine. “Keep Time” also inspired one of the creepiest music videos of 2011, all shot in Portland’s warehouse district.

Born Gold

Born Gold - Wrinklecarver

hometown: Edmonton, Canada

categories: Synth Pop

for fans of: Baths, Yeasayer, Purity Ring

why you should check them out:
In today’s hyper-clichéd world of indie rock, it would be doing Born Gold a disservice to simply call them refreshing. Describing their sound as the feeling of overdosing on pure bliss at a circus in the middle of a neon war seems ridiculous, at least until you experience the eminently catchy and gloriously spastic sonic delirium of last year’s mind-melting album, Bodysongs.

Ringleader Cecil Frena’s surreal lyrics run wild across the ten ADD-infused snyth-pop gems, many of which were harvested from previous releases under the band’s old moniker, GOBBLE GOBBLE. A true visionary, Frena pushes the boundaries of song until they collapse upon each other and form the perfect dance floor. Glitchy, subversive and unrelenting, Born Gold may not be for everybody, but that’s everybody else’s fault, not theirs.

Eight And A Half

Eight And A Half - Scissors

hometown: Toronto, Canada

categories: Electronic, Indie Pop

for fans of: Broken Social Scene, New Order, The Stills

why you should check them out:
With a pulsing rhythm and moody electronic tones, Eight And A Half is not the band that was expected when word of the newly formed trio made the rounds late last year. Hook laden and heavy on dreamy atmospheres, the collaboration between Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff and both Liam O'Neil and Dave Hamelin of the Stills is new ground broken for each artist and new leaps in unfamiliar territory. Although, it never shows that Eight And A Half is in their infancy, as the polished singles and teasers for the band's upcoming debut LP are both stylized and addictive gems of indie pop wonder.

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