Band(s) of the Day

M.I.A. - Kala
Sri Lankan-born MIA has made a name for her self in Britain's underground hip-hop scene, blending world rhythms and funky flair to create something brand new.
America took notice with MIA's last album (2005's Arular) and it's hit track Bucky Done Gun but MIA has hit a real chord with American audiences with this follow-up album and tracks like Boyz, Bird Flu, Jimmy and Come Around (featuring "it" producer Timbaland.)
With a sonic and visual style that is both loud and irritating, it ultimately becomes both endearing and infectious.


The Bumblebeez - The Printz
Australian Hip Hop Group compiles two Australian-only EPs into the Printz suitable for international release.

A menagerie of hip-hop punk emcees who collectively sound like they honed their musical styles using a Casio drum machine and a broken guitar amplifier come out of down under with tracks that can only be described as loud, obnoxious and poorly crafted.

Could it get any better?



The Detroit Cobras - Tied & True

The Cobras must almost join that tragic category of "best band you've never heard of."

They've been not-so-quietly turning out records for nearly ten years now, and yet really lack any recognition for their rag and bone efforts.
The fault is largely their own: the costume that the Cobras have chosen to wear as a cover band would ordinarily relegate even a great band to obscurity. Where this band really stands out, however, is their choice of material to make their own.
Pulling deep from within the recesses of rock n' roll's history, the Detroit Cobras find obscure and forgotten songs by bands of yesteryear and then re-craft them to suit their own devices (mostly noticeably: frontwoman Rachel Nagy's nicotine-stained vocal chords.)