November 21st, 2013 
Tarynn Law 
Hey there! I’m Tarynn Law, and this is a weekly column I’ll be writing that spotlights some up and coming indie pop/alternative/hipster/hype/buzz bands/you-get-the-idea groups that you should be checking out before they become massive. I mean, we all want to be that person that says “I knew them way back when,” don’t we? I thought so. I’ve got Little Comets, a trio of lads from the UK, the Americana-tinged alt rock of Nightmare & the Cat, NYC-via-Los Angeles dream-pop trio Wet, and the brooding, emotional work of another band from the UK, MMX.
Here we go!
If you’re reading this column right now, I’m going to assume that you either a) enjoy Vampire Weekend or b) are familiar with the band and at the very least know what they sound like. Newcastle’s Little Comets are what I would imagine would happen if you put Vampire Weekend in the UK and gave them a little bit more sugar. While their latest record Life Is Elsewhere has been out in the UK for a while now, it just saw a proper US release in August which they coupled with a run of headlining dates. I was lucky enough to catch them while they were in Minneapolis, and they nailed every noodly guitar part and syncopated rhythm to a T. What strikes me the most about Little Comets is while they certainly have some damn catchy tunes (I wake up with “Jennifer” stuck in my head more often than not), they’re also able to discuss serious topics in their tracks, like women’s rights and rape culture in “Violence Out Tonight,” which was the one of the first singles from the record – read more on the track here. They were also just out on the road with Atlas Genius and Family of the Year so I’m sure they’ll be back stateside quicker than vocalist Robert sings “semaphores on the lawn, are you coming or not?” In addition to writing some incredibly well thought out lyrics, they’ve also got some fantastic blog posts reflecting on their time in America and other topics which I’d highly recommend you check out at their website. Little Comets are a band that are incredibly passionate about what they do and in today’s musical climate where money and business seems to rule everything, it’s a breath of fresh air to see a band doing what they love for that reason alone – they love it. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
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I was introduced to Nightmare & the Cat this summer at Lollapalooza, as they played before The Mowgli’s and I had gotten there early to fight my way through the crowd, and I was hooked. Once I got past Sam and Django Stewart’s incredible sparkly jackets (evidenced in their video for “Be Your Own God”) I fell in love with their atmospheric Americana-tinged alt rock sound. The riff at around 3:45 in “Blackbird Smile,” the fourth track on their latest EP Simple, is so hard hitting and dripping with rock and roll that it makes you want to rock out like in those old school silhouette iPod ads. They opened up for Bastille’s first ever US tour which was completely sold out, and recently played with We Are Scientists and grabbed an opening spot on the Phoenix date of 30 Seconds to Mars’ tour, so I think it’s safe to say other people are seeing what I saw in them that hot afternoon at Lollapalooza. Grab Simple on iTunes, and follow the band on Twitter and Facebook for tour updates and more!
“Some days just aren’t good for anything at all” is the opening line of NYC-via-Los Angeles trio Wet’s EP, and while that may be true, I’d venture to say that just about any day is a fantastic one for spinning their self-titled debut EP. Their spacey-dream pop sound would calm and entrance even the most tense of souls with Kelly Zutrou’s vocals purring over the track. The musicianship on Wet is simple, but it’s that simplicity and the way they transform it into something magical and emotional that truly makes them special. The trio started making music together in 2006 when Zutrou was located in Rhode Island and rhythm section Joe Valle living in Los Angeles. They started collaborating on some projects that would later become the demos for Wet; fast forward about six years and they’re winning over audiences left and right at CMJ and will be opening for breakout indie pop group CHVRCHES later this year – find their tour dates here. They managed to grab one of the best Twitter handles I’ve ever seen at @_kanyewet, and you can stream their whole EP below.
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I’m going to really up front right now and say this – I love The 1975. One of my favorite bands of all time, and they have been for close to four years now. That being said, when I came across fellow English band MMX a while back, I knew they “got it.” They had the maturity of a band twice their age and at first I wasn’t sure why, but once I did a bit of digging I realized MMX have risen from the ashes of another beloved UK group, Francesqa, who broke up in 2011. I mentioned The 1975 previously not because the two groups share similar aesthetics (although they do), but because their sounds are so complimentary to each other that it’s almost unbelievable. Their dark, brooding lyrics and tremendous vocal range truly gives them their own unique sound amongst their contemporaries. They just wrapped up a supporting slot on The 1975’s European tour and are heading back on the road later this fall on a headlining tour, and you can find those dates over on their Instagram. If there’s a new British band I could see America falling in love with like they’ve been infatuated with Bastille and The 1975 as of late, it would be MMX. You can pick up their EPs on iTunes, and follow them on Twitter here.
That’s all for this week! I’ll be back next Thursday, and until then you can follow me on Twitter and let me know who you’ve been listening to lately!
- White Girl Dance Corner featuring Waters, RAC, Mother, and Wild Ones - March 27, 2014
- White Girl Dance Corner featuring Broods, Eliza and the Bear, Clean Bandit, and Tei Shi - February 20, 2014
- Watch Bruno Major Perform Acoustic Rendition of “The First Thing You See” - February 11, 2014
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