COED’s 10 Bands You Need To know, But Probably Don’t

Music is a funny industry. Like most other art, you’re praised if you’re even remotely aware of the underground and expected to, invariably, recognize the acts of the current mainstream. Myspace has managed to simultaneously make it easier and more difficult to keep up. Sure, there are thousands of new bands on Myspace that you would have never heard of before had it not been for the website–and it can all be very crowding to your musical mind–but they’re also all just a click away now. So get your little fingers ready for some intense clicking action. These Myspace links are probably gonna blow you away. Or…um…I hope at least one of them does.

ONE DAY AS A LION
Were you ever into Rage Against The Machine? How about The Mars Volta? Well, if you said yes to either one of those questions, you should hear the new project between Mr. Political Activism himself; Zach de la Rocha and the previous Mars Volta drummer; Jon Theodore. It’s like they were bored on some Cali beach one day, sipping Pacificos, when they looked at each other and said, “Shit, you know, lets just undo all of the wrong that Audioslave has done.”

Listen to tracks from all the bands after the jump!

PORTUGAL. THE MAN
The thing I like most about Portland, Oregon/Alaska-based Portgual. The Man is that they are smooth. They’ve got a totally unique bluesy sound…but not the kind of blues that makes you think of a cheap bar in Texas. Nah, it’s more like that whole hoodoo/voodoo Louisiana soul when it comes down to their sound. But they’re from the northwest. These guys have been touring their asses off for YEARS and they have turned down multiple major contracts for the sake of their artistic integrity. That’s code for: you need to check them out.

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
FIRST OF ALL, they’re called Eagles of Death Metal. IF, for some insane reason, that doesn’t inspire you to check them out; consider the following: Josh Homme is one of the founding members of this band (Queens of The Stone Age, Kyuss, The Desert Sessions…). They’re not at all death metal. In fact, they’re more something you’d expect in a Tarantino flick. Self-described as “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals”, I think you owe these California boys a shot.

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT
Like metal? Yeah? So you like fast guitar parts that you could never ever ever ever in a million years play yourself? Yeah? So check out The Human Abstract. I’m not even typically crazy about driving metal bands who can shred with diabolical speed, but The Human Abstract just blows everyone else out of the water. Their music is actually music (go figure) and their lyrics are actually poetic. Check out what these SoCal boys have to contribute to the metal scene. ‘Cause, it’s f**kin’ epic, braaa.

JEFF KLEIN
Need to have a moment? You know, a moment to yourself? (Opposed to a Snickers moment) No girls bitching, nothing to do with work,..just a moment of nothing? Jeff Klein makes this beautiful music that intoxicates a room. In the spirit of Tom Waits, Jeff manages to make calming music; a soundtrack for soul-searching, if you will. (I hope Scarlett doesn’t try to cover his songs.)

MINUS THE BEAR
At first, I didn’t like Minus The Bear. But then I realized that was because I wasn’t listening. Featuring former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving, these five Seattle dudes have managed to make math-rock-guitar sound simply charming. They’ve managed to stick it out for seven years already, so check them out before they break up. (Cause lets be real; seven years is pushing it these days…)

METRIC BAND
Do you have a girl singer who you get totally star struck about? You know, you just sorta wanna kiss her on the forehead and tell her thank you for not being a dumb skank on stage? No? Well, now you do. Her name is Emily Haines and she fronts Canada’s Metric. With album titles like ‘Grow Up And Blow Away’, Metric somehow touches on existential lyrics while making dance-worthy music with some actual substance.

COLOUR REVOLT
I never had a favorite band from Mississippi until I heard Colour Revolt. Colour Revolt makes it all look pretty easy: southern soul, driving rhythms, and provocative lyrics (“Eden is a Hell of a place”). Match that with a mesmerizing singer and you’ve got a band well-equipped to blow people away. And that’s just what they’ve been doing…since high school.

FAKE PROBLEMS
Their name describes the problem with EVERYBODY. And their Myspace headline reads “Too Cute To Hate”. And they’re right. The Naples, Florida boys have been die-hard about their quirky/punky/absolutely rocking music since the beginning. They’ve been touring relentlessly with acts like Against Me! and, no matter how many months they sleep in their van, they always have a blast on stage.

LIGHTS RESOLVE
It’s really about time a threesome, besides Muse, could grace the scene with some power-while still being original. Luckily, Long Island’s Lights Resolve is getting some attention, thanks to their hard work, great music, and recent tour with The Used and Straylight Run. But they’re not getting enough attention. You owe the underground a click on their page.