PitchforkMedia: 5 Bands to Watch in 2004

[DudeAsInCool]

>>Fri:03-19-04

Five New Bands to Watch in 2004

by Ryan Schreiber

With the first quarter of 2004 drawing to a close, the year so far has been anything but compelling for new bands. While great releases from Sufjan Stevens, Kanye West, The Walkmen, and others have seen heavy rotation at the Pitchfork offices, and albums are still due from Trail of Dead, Animal Collective, Beck, Interpol, Bjork, Clinic, Sonic Youth, Les Savy Fav, Modest Mouse, Spoon, Wilco, etc. But it's led us to wonder: Who's coming up this year to attack us from behind with surprise debuts we never saw coming? Well, we've been digging, and finally, things are looking up. Today, in lieu of reviews, we give you five promising new bands to watch in the coming months.

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.: The Hold Steady :.

Ex-Lifter Puller frontman Craig Finn's new band situates his strained, throaty vocals and ridiculously awesome lyrics against a shredding indie-rock bar-band. Their debut, The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me is dropped Tuesday on Les Savy Fav's Frenchkiss label.

.: Leisure :.

They don't even have a website, and even the bandname is tentative, but this Boston-based band are already in talks with Rough Trade on the strength of their three-song demo, unbelievably recorded in one day.

.: Ratatat :.

Formerly known as Cherry, this Brooklyn duo blends searing Robert Fripp-style guitarwork with bass-heavy drum machines like a gritty, indie-minded Daft Punk. Their self-titled album is due on April 20th via XL Recordings.

.: Tussle :.

These scummy San Francisco-based dub-punks have a handful of incredible EPs to their name, most recently their Don't Stop single for Troubleman Unlimited. The full-length is scheduled for August.

.: Patrick Wolf :.

Discovered last year by lap-pop pioneer Capitol K, Patrick Wolf calls himself a folk musician, but if that's the case, his beautifully structured, organic indie pop songs, backed by intense beat-programming, aren't letting on. His debut album, Lycanthropy, is out early next month on Tomlab.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/

[jipper]

"They don't even have a website"

now thats some underground shit!