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Dead Sara
This L.A. foursome — based around the chiming guitars of Siouxsie Medley and throaty howl of Emily Armstrong — marry big heartland-rock hooks with scrappy intensity. Their self-titled LP is out now on Pocket Kid Records.
The Dø
Named for the first note on a music scale (as in “do, a deer, a female deer”), The Dø are Olivia B.Merilahti and Dan Levy, a cute-as-a-button French duo who crank out jazzy, soul-stirring rock songs with R&B inflections. Their sophomore LP Both Ways Open Jaws was released last fall.
Emika
U.K.-born, Berlin-based Emika released her self-titled debut on Ninja Tune last year; it’s a mix of West Country dubstep bass throbs with inexorable Deutsche beats, and spectral, indistinct electronics.
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound
Brush the thin layer of dust from Daptone’s myriad throwback soul recordings and you’ll have a general idea of where JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound are coming from on Want More — a horn-stabbed, 21st-century attempt at recapturing the magic of Motown.
Otherwise
Fresh off the success of their hit single “Soldiers,” Otherwise recently dropped their debut, True Love Never Dies, a slab of molten, melodic metal that’ll appeal to fans of their recent tourmates Lacuna Coil, Buckcherry and Puddle of Mudd.
Twin Atlantic
The righteous Glasgow quartet Twin Atlantic have toured with Gaslight Anthem and My Chemical Romance, and have said that Foo Fighters’ The Colour and the Shape convinced them to be a band. Add those up and you have their latest LP Free: big hooks, big heart and guitars to reach the rafters.