One of those new UK bands that's getting all sorts of hype as "The Next Big Thing". The Joy Formidable toured last year with Passion Pit, and they've got a new LP coming out this spring. Desribed as "primal epic grunge rock á la The Breeders, Arcade Fire and Yeah Yeah Yeahs"[.

This is the catchiest, most intriguing power pop band to emerge out of the no-name pile in some time. Brooklyn’s The Dig has one self-released EP and a growing live following. Even so, they’ll most likely be news to you, the way they were news to me. That’s good news, though, The Dig is fairly crackling with potential