Like a sexy snake slithering through your bushes, the Swayback moves swiftly, stealthily and unpredictably. The swaggering trio of Eric Halborg, Bill Murphy and Martijn Bolster melds influences – from glam to goth, MC5 to MSTRKRFT, pretty to perverse – into a sweeter-than-sugar and harder-than-nails alloy of rock boogie. On their latest long-player, Long Gone Lads, the Denver-based outfit struts its stuff with 11 tracks that veer across stylistic lanes with reckless intent. Live, the Swayback stuns audiences with its effortless musicianship, thrilling stage presence and undeniable attitude.
theswayback.com
myspace.com/theswayback
The Photo Atlas are the young Einsteins of the cacophonous dance party. Their dynamic post-punk tinged dance jams brings any audience their feet. The group’s music blends the angularity and drive of Fugazi, the gut-punch of At The Drive-In and the infectiousness of Bloc Party all into one explosive little package.
thephotoatlas.com
myspace.com/danceatlasdance
Red Orange Yellow was conceived in the purity that those it involves were all capable of creating a sound that was a monument to the friendship that brought it together. Since it's initial birth and repeated revivals, Red Orange Yellow has experienced an evolution that has mutated it into what is now. Almost three years since the first incarnation, periods of off and on...well, more off than on have provided for the development of a sound that was not meant to be stowed away on some laboratory shelf.
Astra Moveo is an unbeliveably hot, unbeliveably unheard of dance indie band that’s about to rock your world (pun intended?) Made up of Christophe Eagleton, Tyler Hayden and James Cromwell Holden, the trio sounds more like a soap opera cast than a raging band, but don’t let the names fool you, these three know what they’re doing. With fresh punky tunes reminiscent of predecessors like Goose, The Faint and The Rapture, Astra Moveo is bound to rise up on the scene, and quickly, especially with hints of an official LP in the works.
astramoveo.com
myspace.com/astramoveo
The Chain Gang of 1974 – brainchild of Kamtin Mohager, formerly of the Vanity – makes the kind of organic electro music that would make LCD Soundsystem and the Juan MacLean proud. In just a little over a year, the act has drawn an impressive following with its bass-banging, party-starting live shows and generous MySpace downloads.
myspace.com/thechaingangof1974
Much like the Human League a generation ago, Pictureplane has used entirely electronically generated sounds and avant-garde leanings to create a new form of pop music. Unlike the League, though, there's nothing detached about Pictureplane, live or otherwise. The music is a cascading collage of analog and digital synths and drum machines that burst forth and fill the room with a buoyant energy. (Words by Tom Murphy, Westword)
