Black Lips
This notoriously offensive foursome from Atlanta, Georgia are as much known for their outrageously disgusting stage antics as their seemingly substance-induced garage punk. With a sound that screams '60s-revivalism, Black Lips, headed by Cole Alexander, has been gathering a head of steam since their latest live album recorded in of all places, Tijuana, Mexico. What's most astonishing about the foursome is their reputation for being even more ramshackle than the Brian Jonestown Massacre if that's even possible, with jangly guitars, slurred vocals and broken tambourines gracing every recording. That said, nothing can prepare you for their live show, which has consisted of such feats as the four young lads playing in dresses, peeing on the audience, breaking beer bottles to use as guitar slides and guitar solos with their own phalluses. True punk originals to the frightening core, their album Let it Bloom has been the talk of music blogs. Tracks to download include "Boomerang" and "Everybody's Doin' It."
The Long Blondes
As if rocketing straight from a '70s French gangster movie, the Long Blondes add a touch of glamour to the U.K. punk scene while keeping that violent edge that makes them oh-so-hard-not-to-love. Hailing from Sheffield, England, the same town as other young upstarts like the Arctic Monkeys, the Blondes live and breathe their own independent brand of standoffish coolness. Fronted by siren Kate Jackson, who has been compared to Ari Up of the Slits and Debbie Harry, the band's sound recalls an infusion of '60s pop, the Buzzcocks and New Wave. The band gained notoriety for proclaiming they refused to listen to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix or the Doors, commenting on the derivative nature of modern music. If there's something this quintet is guilty of besides unabashed bravado, it's that they sound like no band you've ever heard before and with their debut album Someone to Drive You Home getting endless press from U.K. music magazines like NME you can trust that they're here to stay. Tracks to download include "Lust in the Movies" and "Swallow Tattoo."
The Horrors
Rising from the dusty tomb of such bands as the Misfits and Bauhaus, Southend, Essex, band the Horrors are poised to return gothic punk to its former ghoulish glory. Claiming band members with such names as Faris Rotter, Spider Webb and Coffin Joe, the Horrors craft a uniquely spooky sound with the use of specially made distortion pedals and their own organ at each show. The band has been the center of a whirlwind of press in their native England due in part to their notoriously violent stage antics and bizarre sense of horror-fashion, big hair and tight black jeans not excluded. However, with only a single self-titled EP to their name, the Horrors have done remarkably well for themselves, even bringing the brilliant music video director Chris Cunningham out of retirement to record their first music video for the single "Sheena is a Parasite," which was promptly banned by MTV for gore and graphics. Tracks to download include "Sheena is a Parasite" (obviously) and "Death at the Chapel."
CSS
This electro-punk band from Sao Paulo, Brazil packs the dance energy of a thousand Justin Timberlakes while maintaining a fierce punk aesthetic that hurdles genre barriers effortlessly. CSS, which stands for Cansei de Ser Sexy, was a name derived from a quote by singer Beyonce who said she was "tired of being sexy," a phrase lead singer Lovefoxxx deemed idiotic and quickly christened her band with it. Originally formed as an excuse to drink together, the members of CSS grew in popularity due to online downloads in the vein of the Arctic Monkeys and quickly gained notoriety for their ability to turn a crowd into a raucous dance party. With a sound like Le Tigre and The Faint combined and thrown in a Spanish blender, CSS is poised to unseat the president and take over the U.S. Tracks to download include "Music is My Hot, Hot Sex" and "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above."
These Arms Are Snakes
So you think you know your post-hardcore? You don't know jack until you've heard These Arms Are Snakes, a Seattle-based quartet boasts the energy of the Blood Brothers and the atonal noise-rock wall of sound of bands like the Boredoms. With an intense touring schedule that has sent them traveling with bands like Hot Water Music and Against Me!, TAAS has gained an underground following the hard way. However, after their latest tour with Christian-hardcore band Underoath, the band went on to record their most blisteringly political and satirical album yet, Easter, which lambastes the Christian Right and takes dead aim on the current administration. Known for jumping into the crowd before the music even starts, frontman Steve Snere rocks circles around most other alternative bands working today. Punk rock at its undiluted finest. Tracks to download include "Mescaline Eyes" and "Angela's Secret."
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