It was recently announced that Swedish singer-songwriter Anna Ternheim will be touring North America again in July. And she has a new album out in the US called Halfway to Fivepoints (Decca). We don't know where fivepoints is, but we do know where you can watch her entire set from the Bowery last month. We'll give you a hint: it's right in front of your nose.

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We wouldn't go that far, but NPR seems to think so. In an effort to predict the vice presidential candidates, they've likened the race to picking an opening act for your favorite band... and you can help decide which bands represent which candidate.

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With a release date of upwards of six months ago, the hype surrounding Weezy F Baby's tha Carter III could not have been any higher. Common released Finding Forever, Ye released Graduation, Jay released American Gangster, and Lupe released the Cool, leaving hip hop fans thirsty for nothing more than the next installment in the carter series, an album which, based on the previous success of tha Carter II, could have been Lil Wayne's claim to the throne in the form of a much needed classic. Finally released on June 10th, tha Carter III would unfortunately come as close to meeting its expectations as the Lakers would come to winning game 6 of the 2008 NBA finals.

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It's just another sunny day in the season of indie-pop. If you like the melancholic folk-ish songs of past sensative male/female duos, this is for you. Nothing too offensive, or too off the beaten path... just good old fashioned heart-on-the-sleeve tunes.

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photos by Elana Yakubov. See more photos HERE.
The musical equivalent of peeling the accentuated flesh away from the fundamental bone that lay beneath, this devastatingly simple performance from Swedish singer/songwriter Anna Ternheim reveals the true art behind going it alone. These are not the tightly engineered tracks of excellent new disc Halfway to Fivepoints (Decca). This is a performance of a much more poignant nature. Acoustic guitar, piano, and voice are all Anna needs to craft haunting, human stories that unfold at a slow and elegant pace. Her approach might be humble. But the sentiment and emotion behind the everyday characters that inhabit her songs are not.

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After selling out (in the good way.. i.e. touring) during May/June, rock act The Kooks announced more dates in the US come this fall.

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Yes, the phrase "underground hip-hop" gets thrown around a lot, and occasionally refers to that guy in the jersey in Union Square who tries to sell you his illegal mix tape for five bucks. However, there is a real rap game out there, below the radar of radio play. Any fans of the genre owe it to themselves to be constantly searching for emcees with a worthy flow. Luckily for us, a combination of old friends and frequenting birthday parties at bars led us to run into a guy who was pretty much a ghost: a rapper named Cause.

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The Montreal masters of heart-ache, indie-pop quintet Stars just announced some dates in the fall for a US tour. This comes on top of their already listed international dates, as well as some dates in their great home nation of Canada. We have our doubts about Canada, but boy, does it crank out some good music (think Arcade Fire).

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Boy, Sweden is hot right now. We don't mean wanna-go-to-the-beach or sweat-shop hot, we mean hot with new and, for lack of a better phrase, cool bands (think Shout Out Louds and El Perro Del Mar We shot her, remember?). And now, they are bands that conjure up "catchy and melodic" as well as "arty and emotional." And a nod from Gossip Girl? Dare we say, buzz worthy?

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After receiving some love in the general blog community, this pysch rock afro-pop act has our attention. Hailing from Kenya, they are like a legitamate, more authentic Vampire Weekend, similar to the sound that all of Graceland tried to capture (we think). Hopefully, the interest in this breed of musical styling isn't just a passing fad; we think Extra Golden is a band to watch.

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Besides a spot at the much talked about/anticipated Glastonbury Festival, not to mention All Points West, rock act Kings of Leon has a great summer to look forward to. And when it's all over, we have a new album to look forward to; the bands fourth studio record: Only By the Night.

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Photos by Stefanie Giglio. See more photos HERE.

The weather this past Saturday was strangely tame; as neither the heat wave nor the freak rain storms pummeling New York City lately made an appearance. Instead, After The Jump Fest went on to the tune of temperate, sunny weather and an incredibly diverse collection of independent artists jamming on multiple stages, one outside on North 6th Street, one in Galapagos and one in Music Hall of Williamsburg.The Baeble crew was lucky enough to not only attend and enjoy the festivities (plus food and beer), but to film some of the bands. We ran around and talked to a few of them, and they all seemed pretty excited to be there.

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There’s always been something slightly slimy about pigeon holing My Morning Jacket. Yes, Louisville KY’s native sons did kick their career off with three recorded efforts that played like whiskey soaked forays into the heart of Southern rock; discs that never sounded entirely like Skynyrd, yet somehow felt authentically close (even more so when the band churned their way through a rendition of “Free Bird” in Cameron Crowe’s 2005 flick Elizabethtown). But Jim James has never seemed completely comfortable with such Southern touchstones, and the assemblage of musicians surrounding him too talented to be one dimensional. Splayed with bits of dub, reggae, and soul, their ’05 album Z felt like the final swan song of their still mostly Southern sounding pedigree. The writing was on the wall. My Morning Jacket could do something different…something extreme even.

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Coming off a performance on Jay Leno (see below), Ed Harcourt is prepping for a US tour. For those of you not familiar with the whimsical singer-songwriter from Sussex, see his October 2007 release, Until Tomorrow Then: the Best of Ed Harcourt (it's a retrospective, he's been around for seven years or so in the UK). Or check out his new album, The Beautiful Lie, out in the US now.

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No MC carves out quite the mark on hip hop that London England’s Dizzee Rascal does. His is a completely unique take on the genre; one guided by a solid sense of self, and the confident perfection of tailor made skills he’s spent a lifetime developing. Never does he slip his accent under the radar; never does he fail to stay true to himself. No, the Dizzee Rascal you see here is most likely the same passionate cat who feverishly tuned into every slice of hip hop coming out of New York when he was a kid.

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Remember those guys we called grizzly bears? And mountain men? Well they are also (surprisingly) an up and coming minimalist indie rock duo, and yes, you guessed it, they will be sharing the main stage with Health and Titus Andronicus. They also look like they belong in the woods chugging maple syrup... but speaking of syrup, their jams are sweet and sticky. Say hello to Pattern Is Movement.

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After a long hiatus of hibernation, the follow up to Neon Golden (which emerged in 2002), is the same kind of electronica-pop which made the band infamous, while capturing a kind of foreboding with it's on-the-edge constructions. Each track feels closer and closer to disaster, and that's part of the appeal of the record: the movement to darkness is beautiful and intricate. Almost like music to watch a natural disaster to... in slow motion. Something equally depressing and awe-inspiring. Marcus and Micha Acher dare the world to "bring in the trouble."

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We all know Tokyo Police Club is planning a European tour this summer, but luckily for fans of Elephant Shell, (us included), they released plans to return in the fall to North America. Oh, and on a semi-related note, they are fighting Lupus too. "Fighting Lupus" almost sounds like a TPC song...

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Our good friend Lincoln Schatz, a professional video artist, has been busy working on a project for Esquire magazine's 75th anniversary. It's called "Esquire's Portrait of the 21st Century." It's definitely an insanely cool concept; take a bunch of infamous faces in popular culture, stick them in a cube, and create a "living" portrait through a combination of video and computer technology. The coolest part is; whoever is the focus has creative control with they want to do for their portrait. Examples include George Clooney dancing with a handful of different woman (typical) to LeBron James playing Xbox (also typical). We knew it was only a matter of time before some of our favorite musicians made appearances... and we're proud to have the exclusive scoop on two of them: Danger Mouse and M.I.A.

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Here we go, music lovers; Feed The Animals is out today as a pay-what-you-want, and is it worth paying anything for the latest set of Girl Talk mashing? We think: of course!

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In the burgeoning market for unique music, and in a world of copycats and imitation, is there anything original left to be done? That has always been the question in the world of music, but more so today than ever before. Thus noise rock rises from the ashes of pop, and suddenly kids with tight pants and too many CD's have something to worship at the feet of: here it is, originality: form without form. Post-post-modern anti-pop. Noise. One step further and we're literally listening to white fuzz and calling it Mozart. But while we're teetering on the edge, lets meet the up and coming of noise rock: our next ATJF band, HEALTH.

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Everyone remember when St. Elsewhere came out, and a whole generation of twelve year olds thought Gnarls Barkley wrote a great song called "Gone Daddy Gone?" Well it was actually written by a guy named Gordon Gano, better known as the front-man for The Violent Femmes. And it's time for revenge (or just evening the score); the Femmes are releasing a cover of an infamous Gnarl's hit. And it's...well...crazy.

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Rolf Klausener is no easy nut to crack. He admits to only being able to go as far as his crooked legs can take him, then pairs such self-depreciative confessions to impressive, cinematic, nylon pluckers that skirt along to robust, percussive pulses (See “Crooked Legs”). I suppose that just makes his band, Ottawa based band The Acorn, worthy of Baeble’s praise. After all, triumph in the face of adversity is the result of perseverance. And who can’t get behind that?

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With a new album released digitally through a subscription service, Portland pysch-rockers The Dandy Warhols are planning a North American tour in the fall. For those that can't wait, they've got a few dates in June close to home... but the rest of the states will have to wait for the fall. Pre-sale starts on June 21st, or the 17th if you are a member of the fan-club subscription service. Or the 19th if you buy them on the website. Anyway...

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The beginning of Viva La Vida is almost the strongest part of the entire album. The pulsing electronic sound is met with an incredible array of strings and beats, which builds and swells in ways that honestly, none of us were sure Chris Martin and the boys would ever be able to do again. After the clunker X&Y bored us to tears, we felt tears of hapiness to hear the "oh oh oh" come in on the records opening track, "Life in Technicolor." And it felt like a transition to color from X&Y's bland, black and white graveyard of mediocre powerballads and falsetto droning. Coldplay, it seems, has found their way back to the map.

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With almost no ties to Shakespeare (other than the name, of course), this shoegaze lo-fi rock act will be part of the main stage evening benefit show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. They hail from Glen Rock, New Jersey... but don't worry. The music is as fierce as the cycle of revenge depicted in the play bearing the same name... and probably more fun to listen to as well. Meet Titus Andronicus.

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Anyone familiar with Shara Worden, the multi-instrumental front-woman behind the eclectic avant indie-folk rock project My Brightest Diamond? If you're a fan, or you've just heard good things, get ready: the bands sophomore album, A Thousand Sharks Teeth, is out today on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

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Girl meets guy. They each write songs, fall in love, and decide to form a band... the perfect starting point? Doomed for failure? Bands like The White Stripes and She & Him have done it (with or without the love bit). This is kind of a different vein though, a somber look at love by two people who are experiencing it first hand, and writing about it together. And it sounds just as sweet as the back story when KaiserCartel lays down a track.

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Part one of our forty part series... just kidding, folks. We will be highlighting a bunch of the bands playing this week at After The Jump Fest; the first of which hail from the home of the fest, Brooklyn. They recently played a free show with Apes and Androids, but they've also shared the stage with bands like The Hold Steady and The National. Say hello to The Forms.

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You might remember we mentioned Ponytail last week, as well as Pattern Is Movement, The Bloodsugars and Bridges and Powerlines in the past few weeks. If you're interested in any of them, as well as Health, The Form, Titus Andronicus, Wakey!Wakey!, DJ XXXchange and many more, then strap on your fest gear, because we've got a good one for you: After The Jump Fest.

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Like Beck’s Sea Change in more formal threads, the debut album from Swedish-esque (only half his blood pumps blue and yellow) songwriter Peter von Poehl’s debut Going to Where the Tea Trees Are (Bella Union) is a mostly quant affair, proving sometimes the simpler things actually are the ones worth savoring the most. Feather light, wispy, and easy on the ear drums, von Poehl sounds at ease throughout the twelve tracks offered here. If a load off the loafers sounds in order, than the sonic surroundings of Tea Trees may be just the sort of fix you need.

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Though they hail from various locals scattered up and down Californian coastal towns, Port O’Brien – a scruffy clan of musical, yet humbling salt of the earth types – could just as easily call Kodiak Island Alaska home. That’s where founding members Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin have spent their last few summers. There, Van would tend to his father’s fishing vessel the Shawnee, while Cambria served her time at a local bakery. Later, rhythm man Caleb Nichols would join the two, himself working at a local salmon cannery…all this just to keep the band going during their off time. Given the long hours, less than likable weather patterns, and what I imagine to be the simplicity of small-town, Alaskan living, the group appropriately named their first studio effort, All We Could Do Was Sing.

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O, the third record from the literally toe-tapping Tilly and the Wall, starts exactly like a Tilly song has always started; a simple guitar strum, eighth note pattern, with a simple progression and an upward moving, if not slightly melancholic melody. "When there wasn't anywhere for me to go, I stumbled into deep love with your rock and roll" cries the band in unison, and then they do just that: stumble into rock and roll with more than just the traditional piano/tap dancer combination... we have fuzzy guitars, hard electric riffs, and a lead in to the albums fiery second track "Pot Kettle Black." It's at this point where you should be sitting back and saying to yourself: this is not going to be the same old Tilly.

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If you like Feist, acoustic guitars, melodrama, or albums about breakups, you might venture to pick up a copy of the latest studio effort from Toronto singer/songwriter Hayden. It's been a long progression from his early alt-country, but In Field & Town is pure, somber acoustic maturity.

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We anticipated Wolf Parade would make a solid record, but no one could have anticipated the kind of quality it would possess: like coffee or good wine, these nine tracks are an acquired taste. And it's not that it is a bad record, but one that needs multiple listens. Perhaps its the plethora of side projects behind the boys (Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes, and Swan Lake... whew) that makes the album inaccessible at first. With all the songwriting muscle, and the development of Dan Boeckner as an equal to Spencer Krug (at least while they're on this mountain).

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Ever since 2005, when the instrumental opus Donuts was becoming one of rapper J Dilla's last works, our boys MF Doom and Ghostface Killah have recorded over some of the tracks. A few made it onto Fishscale in 2006... however, other rumored tracks, including a Dilla-Doom collaboration project, were all postponed indefinitly after Dilla's untimely passing. But good news for fans all around: two of the tracks, "Sniperlite" and "Murder Goons" will soon be available to the public.

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Mash-up prince Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, is sampling more than just sound clips for his upcoming release Feed the Animals. He is sampling business models too, specifically the pay-what-you-want price tag that many have tried and Radiohead made infamous. The album will be available on the Illegal Art website in the near future.

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In light of recent events, we're forgiving British rockers Coldplay for all fifty minutes of 2005's X&Y (we'll give them a few minutes of decent material that needs no apology). Other than that, the album was a low point in the career of Chris Martin and the boys, one that child-of-Coldplay Apple Martin will leave out when she brags to her friends about her parents. However, there is no way she will leave this one out: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is available for streaming around the world just a week before it's release, and to our surprise... we like it.

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Unconventional NYC label SirLady Records, founded by rocker Kristen DeHaan, announced the second annual NYC Indie Rock Launch at The Galapagos Art Space tomorrow night (Thursday) at 8 PM. For those who aren't familiar with the event, it's a showcase of up and coming independent artists in the rock field and it's derivatives, right here in New York. Not to mention the presence of several progressive industry companies, including some prominent promoters, who sponsor and support the event.

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More good stuff coming out of Brooklyn, and it's no surprise. The borough seems to be a ripe breeding ground for music making. Joining the ranks of other infamous Brooklynites with a new album are the guys of Takka Takka.

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Dev Hynes has the party kid blues. The goofy getuped, one time guitar noodler for famously named British outfit Test Icicles, Hynes’s latest persona as Lightspeed Champion favors sensitive, country kissed acoustics over the outrageous, dance driven dramatics of his last band. Apparently though, everyone knows SXSW hates people with acoustic guitars (his words). So for this performance from the Domino Records Showcase, Lightspeed packs both an axe and his Star Wars blazoned acoustic. The result, though, is still the same deliciously, hooky, Middle American folk we’ve come to expect from Lightspeed.

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You might remember us talking about the song they released a few weeks ago sounding like Animal Collective covering Dave Matthews Band's "Grey Street." You also might remember their recent video for the same song racking up some serious NSFW labels and feeling vaguely voyeuristic. And now, good news for all of you wondering what other craziness will be present on the album: starting today, the entirety of Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, the new record from Iceland's favorite sons, Sigur Rós.

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Photos by Lyndsey Matthews. See more photos HERE.

We were fortunate enough to get some spots at the sold-out Jamie Lidell show at the Bowery Ballroom. Ol' Jim was in rare form at the end of his U.S. tour, jumping and moving for a solid hour and a half of play. We got some of the old and some of the new. Jamie's signature "table" was in use in the middle of the show, as the members of his band danced around the audience with tambourines.

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In an interesting move, Radiohead surprises us once again by covering a Portishead song on their site. Check it out. -joe puglisi

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The anti-pop movement seems to dominate every generation, and blows up just as hard as traditional songwriters like The New Pornographers. In the world of No Age and Battles, there is a new kid on the block, and they are just as full of loose ends in their pop tunes: Ponytail.

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The Walkmen are darn near classic at this point. I know this because they’re still around. Back when they were birthed from the demise of Jonathan Fire Eater – that would be 2000 – these chaps had plenty of high profile, hometown colleagues vying for city dominance. Now they’re one of the last bands standing. This, of course, is just fine with me (though I do wish Julian Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr. had one more worthwhile recording nicked up their sleeves…strictly for nostalgic purposes of course).

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"Don't be surprised what you discover" from this Philly lead-singer-producer-turned-solo-artist. There was a lot of hype about Santi White and her credits, including writing and producing on How I Do (Res) . Now she has donned the moniker of Santogold and made a pretty solid R&B, dub and hip-hop crossover album that keeps us jumping and dancing even after several listenings. You could say... its gold?

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What is this guy? He is very under the radar, even after several years of music making in New York City. He releases hip-hop, hails from Brooklyn, and occasionally has vocals that sound like a cut from the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?. We're confused and intrigued.

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Sarah Assbring has stowed two previous albums worth of life’s little letdowns away inside the exquisite, yet heart flattening collection of songs she pens under the nom choisi El Perro del Mar. And while the Swedish Songwriter continues to sound something like a delicate, wounded bird, her latest long-player From the Valley to the Stars (The Control Group) suggests she may be ready to pull the plug on the pity party at hand, if ever so slightly.

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Have you been roaming the forest in search of a preview of the new Deerhunter? Look no further than their Myspace, where they are streaming tracks off of their future release, Microcastle, for free.

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The "Ken Burns Effect" is a technique used primarily in documentaries, when little or no video material is available. Instead, pictures are brought to life by panning and zooming in to areas of interest in stills. The music of Stars Like Fleas certainly feels like trying to bring stills to life; we're zooming and panning left and right on a still picture, but somehow, we're unable to find the main area of focus. Thus the multi-instrumental Brooklyn collective moves in confusing and awe inspiring slow motion with what seems like millions of layers of sounds.

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Yeah... that was bad. Anyway, "it smells like record 3" according to Karen O and the boys of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their site proclaims they've been cooking in the kitchen, working hard on the new album. And we just might have a feast on our hands.

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Ever listen to Jacopo Peri? Yes, he is from the 1600's or something, but four part baroque harmony is definitely being channeled on Fleet Foxes new album, Ragged Wood (Sub Pop)... that is, if Peri was also influenced by the old American west and folk songs. Other influences include a love of nature, simplicity, flowers, trees, the 1960's, and many of their contemporaries. But hey, it's some pretty solid stuff.

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Ever hear of Dr. Dog? You may have read a lot of graphic novels in your youth, but if you didn't, Dr. Dog sounds less like a band than like a villain from a defunct 1970's series called "supercat" (or something). But fear not, they are not nefarious. In fact, they are a psychedelic rock band with lots of street cred and really catchy tunes, who have appeared on Conan, and toured with My Morning Jacket, Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah, The Strokes, The Black Keys, and The Raconteurs.

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Nebraskan song writer Maria Taylor has always penned the kind of pretty and purposeful tunes it’s all too easy to turn to when the going gets a little rough. Her knack for sad, semi-self-depreciating tales – especially those set to the stand alone strum along her godforsaken acoustic guitar – are the stuff of tragedy. Naturally, of course, we love it…

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We're not really sure what the deal is with this mixtape, but neither is rapper Wale. Actually, he basically lays it out over a very familiar sounding opening track: "this is a mixtape about... nothing." And why is Julia Louis Dreyfus on a track, saying how f***ing cool she is? Oh... that's where we know this music from.

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So young, so very volatile! That, though, is the way we like it…which makes this SXSW performance from the Domino Records Showcase by angular up and comers These New Puritans one of Baeble’s brand new favorites. Intense and mood defining synths, steady percussive explosions, and the dare deviling dance of a forbidden, electric guitar; the sonic shockwave which main man Jack Barnett sets his commanding testaments to may just plow you over if you’re not too careful. Watch These New Puritans spark the Austin evening with this electrifying performance. - David Pitz

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With a lengthy tour starting tomorrow, and an awesome 2007 CD, (Oracular Spectacular), it will be difficult to disobey a direct order from MGMT, when they tell us "do what you feel now." Well, we want to see you guys live... especially with highlights like late night TV, Lollapalooza, McCarren Pool Party, and Austin City Limits (not to mention shows with Radiohead and Spoon!)

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We've got another shining pop-folk gem for all you people who like word-play and records that read like stories. Yes, this is another abroad based broad (she lives in the UK), but luckily she grew up right here in our backyard: Long Island, New York. Don't worry, these songs have less to do with new haircuts, and more to do with love in New York City. Meet Jaymay.

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You've heard tracks from all those typical producers, with their overused stock sounds, right? Well, look out unoriginality, Black Spade is here with a laundry list of unconventional influences to serve us beats that are anything but stale.

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New dance-rock coming at you from New York: The Bloodsugars. Despite front man Jason Rabinowitz's diabetes (and the ironic source of the band name), there is no shortage of sweet on the BQEP: its four tracks of the good stuff. None of that indie-rock artificial sweetener (sweet and lo-fi?).

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If you were really into that new Sigur Rós track we talked about last week, and you like tranquilizers and androgynous vocals, you might find this band from Calgary interesting.

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