SPIN Picks 7 Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen

MP3

By Spin Staff on March 20, 2009 8:19 AM Comment

Spaceships Are Cool / Photo courtesy of Vicki Smith

Recently, SPIN and music community website Sonicbids teamed up to bring worthy new bands the attention they deserve. Tonight at midnight (EST), Boston radio station WFNX will broadcast the eighth and final installment of the SPIN/Sonicbids Emerging Artists' Showcase, featuring seven cool unsigned bands from around the world, hand-picked by SPIN.com staffers from more than 500 submissions. (Tune in to 101.7 FM in the Boston area or listen live online via wfnx.com). Scroll down to meet these up-and-comers, snag a song from each, and click their website links to find out more!

Click here to discover the bands from earlier episodes!

Spaceships Are Cool

	Hometown: Nottingham, U.K. Recommended if you like: The Beta Band, Grandaddy Why we picked them: Glitchy psychedelia, matched up with sunny harmonies.
Listen: Spaceships Are Cool, "Let Things Go" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

Stealth Like a Canoe

	Hometown: Chicago, IL Recommended if you like: Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams Why we picked them: Sparse, melodic folk, with multi-instrumentalist Adam Gramling's accordion adding a grim sonic flourish.
Listen: Stealth Like a Canoe, "Madame Birkin's Man" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

Stem

	Hometown: Boston, MA Recommended if you like: Primus, Godsmack Why we picked them: Jam band-inflected funk, mixed with '90s-nü-metal vocals and lyricism.
Listen: Stem, "Like You" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

The Barettas

	Hometown: Ontario, Canada Recommended if you like: The Black Keys, Luscious Jackson Why we picked them: Bluesy power-trio rock and '90s riot grrrl snarl -- why didn't anyone think of this before?
Listen: The Barettas, "I Dig the Alley Cat, But Not the Birds" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

The Death of Me

	Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Recommended if you like: The Killers, The Raveonettes Why we picked them: Fizzy, fuzzy, big and buzzy boy n' girl guitar rock -- catchy enough for pop fans, too!
Listen: The Death of Me, "Who Is That Guy?" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

The True Jacqueline

	Hometown: Northampton, MA Recommended if you like: Liz Phair, Cub Why we picked them: Sprightly, female-fronted indie-pop that's coy enough to get away with namechecking They Might Be Giants in their lyrics.
Listen: The True Jacqueline, "Instead" (DOWNLOAD MP3)

The Vandelles

	Hometown:NYC Recommended if you like: The Jesus and Mary Chain, A Place to Bury Strangers Why we picked them: Noisy, guitar-driven shoegaze that's as antagonistic as it is melodic.
Listen: The Vandelles, "Bad Volcano" (DOWNLOAD MP3)