Feeding the Indie Rock Beast

So rather than diving into my record collection to unearth something that is ten years old I chose tonight to surf around looking for some new music. (Actually it started with listening to the new JIMMY EAT WORLD record which got me thinking that they sounded alot like another band I liked called THE KILLINGTONS which led to the following search...)

THE SECRET 6 are a Long Beach, CA band that formed after The Killingtons fell apart. Although the sound is still very similar in that it relies heavily on some of the great emo tricks of the trade, there is a little more subtlty and depth to the new material. I particularyl enjoyed the poppy "1992" (you can acutally picture the audiance pogoing to this song live) and the acoustic "Lost" Their site says they have a record coming out this month so stay tuned for more from these guys.


After that I took a jaunt over to one of their friends, a four piece band call MODERN MEMORY. With a flair for the Radiohead-esque, these guys turned out to be pretty decent. Using synths to flesh out the darker guitar sound and then layering some breathy vocals over the top, the band would not feel out of place in the brit rock scene of about 8 years ago. They have a record out now that I might actually buy.


In an attempt to move away from the emo/shoegaze world I checked out a a 5 piece band called REPEATER who are also from Long Beach (clearly something is going on the LBC lately). More theatrical in their music than the other two, this band dips its pen in the David Bowie ink jar and mesh it with a brit rock feel (most likely an Americanized version of Suede). I could have really enjoyed this band except the singers voice isn't the best. But it is musically very enjoyable.




The last stop on my bried Myspace tour was a four piece band called ESKIMOHUNTER. You know how some band names just seem to fit, while others are widely misleading when it comes to the music. Well, these guys could not have picked a better name if they stumbled onto it by accident. You literally feel the chill of the music. Classic shoegazer rock in the vein of Spaceman 3 or My Bloody Valentine. Very enjoyable for when the December frost hits the ground.


As always if you have any suggestions of artists to check out please let me know.