They’re one of the most adventurous bands making music today, an experimental-metal act in thrall to a grab-bag of influences ranging from King Crimson and Emerson Lake and Palmer to Dream Theater and Mars Volta. Like Dillinger Escape Plan and Mastodon, Between the Buried and Me’s arrangements are equally intricate…

Like the bottle cap or happy hour, seems Junior Brown’s been with us forever. A talented guitarist with a voice booming enough for fracking, in ’85 he hired Michael Stevens to create the “guit-steel,” an idea Brown conceived several years earlier. The combination six-string/lap steel may have taken some practice,…

Brooklyn trio Pterodactyl just keep getting better. Their 2007 self-titled debut showcased a squalling math-rock act that combined the disjointed angularity of Don Caballero with the noisy atonality of early Sonic Youth. The largely instrumental album was more intriguing than particularly enjoyable, though their live show tapped vibrancy and dynamism…

They’re spiritual kin of the Butthole Surfers, which is to say wild-eyed freaks bent backward at the psychedelic altar of mind-expanding drone, gritty cacophony and sputtering industrial beats. If there were a soundtrack for America’s financial meltdown and the ensuing recession, Indian Jewelry could have scored it. Formed in Houston…

A.A. Bondy is well into his second act as a musician after the dissolution of his band, Verbena. That Alabama outfit released one of the best unsung albums of the ’90s, 1997’s Dave Fridmann-produced Souls For Sale (Merge), full of delicious boy/girl harmonies and Sticky Fingers-era Stonesy country-rock swagger. They…

Twin cellos and drum trio Rasputina formed two decades ago, uniting Gothic sensibilities with Victorian style and biting social commentary. Garbed in corsets and flowing turn-of-the-century gowns, history buff/leader Melora Creager draws on forgotten events and faded eras for songs whose subjects still resonate today. There are several concept albums…

Willie Nelson called him “the best songwriter alive today,” and Kris Kristofferson compared him to Hemingway. For the last four decades, the 72-year-old Shaver has burnished his reputation and overcome personal tragedy while creating timeless country music befitting his humble roots. With but an eighth-grade education and missing two fingers…

Had he come of age in the ’70s during the golden age of the singer/songwriter, Sondre Lerche (pronounced “Sonder Lerkay”) would likely be an international star rather than a Norwegian phenom/cult favorite. Lerche took to music early and recorded his acclaimed debut Faces Down at 18. It displayed versatility and…

The difference between a good band and a great one is in the evolution. Given enough time, any band can write a decent debut fueled only by youthful ambition, piss and vinegar. A good band can then replicate that energy the next time out. A great band is able to…

Frank Turner is finally shaking the old Billy Bragg comparisons with his fourth album, England Keep My Bones. He spent his early 20s in knotty post-core band Million Dead, then embraced a solo career when they broke up in ’05. These early recordings are where the Bragg influence is strongest,…

Though hardcore never completely disappeared, it spent plenty of time in the wilderness before its resurgence the last half-dozen years. The same might be said of Agnostic Front, bellwether of hardcore’s New York strain, purveying a gritty, no-nonsense, in-your-face style that echoed the grimy combativeness of their ’80s environs. Their…

Adulthood is tough on boy geniuses. Really: How does it feel to have peaked at 22? This is not to suggest that Conor Oberst’s some hack on the backside of his career. Bright Eyes is simply an example of indie cred’s Newtonian aspect (what goes up must come down), which…

They’re pegged as glam-rock at times — perhaps because of the prominent use of organ or the way the melody of “All Die Young” seems to echo “All the Young Dudes” — but, sonically, the Smith Westerns are more consistently reminiscent of ELO, which is especially interesting since the Chicago…

The Dwarves harken back to a time when punk was more of an insult than a marketing term. Rebellious teens trafficking in outrage and anything else they might procure with $20 and offers of warm beer, they formed in Chicago during the mid-’80s, quickly making a name for themselves with…

There’s a bittersweet warmth to Death Cab for Cutie’s music that’s reminiscent of their Pacific Northwest origins. Like Washington state weather, their atmospheric indie pop feels shrouded by clouds moving to a melancholy lilt behind frontman Ben Gibbard’s tender, understated boy-next-door tenor. The guitars gently waft amidst keyboard drizzle while…

They’re the odd couple of indie dance, two Germans with disparate gifts that unite to create a balance of throbbing beats and glimmering melodies. Fair-haired Jens Moelle, who’s a little more techno, and swarthy Ismail Tüfekçi, who’s a little more rock ‘n’ roll, formed Digitalism in 2004 and became an…

There’s a sweetness and innocence to Avi Buffalo that’s as indebted to leader Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg’s tender age as it is the lilting indie pop he makes. The 20-year-old Long Beach, California, native started the band with schoolmates while in high school and connected with producer Aaron Embry (Elliott Smith, Jane’s…

Jessica Lea Mayfield was 19 when she released her 2008 full-length debut, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt. The album expanded upon the dark, claustrophobic emotions of 2005’s White Lies EP, which offered early proof of her ample, surprisingly mature talent. Between her Appalachia-tinged vocal twang and the spare, harrowing lope, the…

Kid Cudi’s a polarizing rapper whose sonic creativity is either weighed down by gloomy self-indulgence or enhanced by his soul-baring vulnerability. His music’s labyrinthine psychedelic arrangements sometimes verge into dance, like on his biggest hit, “Day N’ Nite,” thanks to a world-beating remix by Crookers. This paean to the “lonely…

Lyle Lovett emerged in the mid-’80s when, for a passing moment, Nashville invested as much in talent as looks. Lovett’s first eight singles broke country’s Top 25, and he scored six straight gold records from the late ’80s to late ’90s. He’s more than a quarter-century removed from the College…

Taking Back Sunday’s current tour represents a sort of homecoming for the emo-punk icons. After going gold with their 2002 debut, Tell All Your Friends, the band almost immediately imploded. In 2003, guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left Taking Back Sunday to start Straylight Run. Now, though, eight…