2008's New Bands
The SiS Preview by Dany & Rusty

It's 2008 and the cycle begins anew with us Stranded In Stereo-types searching for yet more new bands to share with you. As evidenced by the list below, many of these bands sort of fell into our laps and while the world is starting to catch up with a few (Foals & Bon Iver), this new year is still wide open for these other guys. Most importantly though is that there are more where these came from -- you can find about more over at the SIS blog (http://strandedinstereo.blogspot.com).

FOALS (http://www.myspace.com/foals)
If you don't like hype, then run very far away from this band (pictured above) as the hype machine has already swallowed them whole. But if you're looking for someone that has the feel of early Bloc Party, than these are your guys. Their Sub Pop debut drops in April.

CAJUN DANCE PARTY (http://www.myspace.com/cajundanceparty)
My introduction to the band was the solid "Colorful Life," a tune that kept me interested, but it didn't elevate the group above the fray. Upon hearing "Amylase," I knew they had hit their groove and were destined for the great things -- they even made a great video to boot. Here's to hoping that this potential is fulfilled when their full-length drops later this year.

CHAIRLIFT (http://www.myspace.com/chairliftmusic)
I happened upon these guys by accident when I was browsing their merch table in Montreal this past October. Since then, their songs have become an important part of eleventy billion playlists with tunes that range from fucked up electronic noise to Sarah McLachlan outtakes. No shit!

SKY LARKIN (http://www.myspace.com/skylarkinskylarkin)
This Leeds group has been dropping gems of '90s influenced indie rock on the interweb for over a year now and I have yet to get sick of any of their tunes. With any luck, we'll get more music from them this year and maybe even some gigs in the States.

BON IVER (http://www.myspace.com/boniver)
After self-releasing his debut album For Emma, Forever Ago last year, buzz started to build for one Justin Vernon (pictured on the side), better known as Bon Iver. While Pitchfork gave him the Best New Music tag and slotted Emma at the #29 spot on the Albums of ‘07 list, the New York Times even got in on the fun, calling the album “irresistible.” The album is quiet, the album is eerie, and puts you in the woods of Wisconsin where he went to lay his laments to tape. Now with the cred of Jagjaguwar behind him, who knows where Vernon and his skinny love will be when 2008 ends.

PANTHER (http://www.panthertouch.com)
It was a balmy North Carolina night when I was introduced to Panther and his should be smash single, “You Don’t Want Yr Nails Done.” Tuning in to Subterranean, a show that is what’s left of the alt nation hullabaloo 120 Minutes, I found a man named Charlie dancing around in a cardboard box, screaming “motherfuckers!” with a high falsetto in to a cardboard cell phone. Months later, he would drop Secret Lawns, and gained some notoriety for his dancing skills in a video by his Portland neighbors, The Thermals. Now augmented by live drummer Joe Kelly, the duo that Panther is now have already put to tape 14kt. God, their Kill Rock Stars debut. I’m sure its grooves and falsettos will put Prince to shame.

TIMES NEW VIKING (http://www.myspace.com/timesnewviking)
A lo-fi revolution is on its way, and it is in the form of the near dissonant pop of Ohio’s Times New Viking. Everything is there, and it is buried under hi treble fuzz, throbbing guitars, and clashing cymbals, yet also lies something surprising underneath it all: catchy pop melodies. The opening moments of their Matador debut Rip It Off, in the form of “Teen Drama,” rings like an outtake from Bee Thousand. The catchy riff and what appears to be a farisfa organ, before the boy/girl duet of “My Head” gets in your head for days to come. 16 songs, 30 minutes, what is there not to like?