Blogs

Who: The Magic Mice

Dossier: Formed last year, the Magic Mice feature Aaron Betcher and Chad Peterson, both formerly of O'er the Ramparts.

In Their Words: Wisely, these cats opt to let the music speak for itself.

Sounds Like: Breathy and languid one moment, on songs like "Body slash Soul," and vibrant and expansive the next, on tracks such as "Dreams of Reason," the Magic Mice play a brand of classic, guitar-driven indie pop that would be completely at home on labels like Merge or Barsuk. Download "Stormcoated" here.

Our Take:The Magic Mice have played only a handful of shows so far, none of which we've been able to catch. But if the live show is half as good as the few songs we've heard, this band will have absolutely no problem finding an audience -- and quickly.

-- Dave Herrera

Who: Debajo Del Agua

In Their Words: "Formed in Denver, Colorado, Debajo is composed of musicians from Chile, Peru, El Salvador, Mexico and the States. We fuse a vast diaspora of styles incorporating elements of hip hop, Andean music, salsa, samba, cumbia, reggae, and more. Our music is a reflection of the multicultural fruits growing from the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego to the northern tip of Turtle Island. Our music and politics come together to celebrate our differences and similarities united in a common vision of harmony, justice, and equality."

Sounds Like:The Gypsy Kings backing a trio of forceful MCs spitting tongue-twisting, politically-charged, bilingual trilingual rhymes with a tangible, fiery conviction. Or Ozomatli's more interesting long lost cousins.

Our Take:Muy caliente! Debajo's warming up for the white hot Flobots at the Fox next Friday, April 25 -- talk about a perfect fit.

-- Dave Herrera

Christopher Jak has done it again. Dude's got the midas touch, I swear. From the same production whiz who brought us the Heyday and Set Forth, comes Ride Your Bike, yet another piece of finely crafted Fort Collins-based power pop. Ride Your Bike, the brainchild of Mike Getches, is Jak’s latest Blasting Room B Room production, with in house maestros Andrew Berlin and Jason Livermore once again manning the boards. Listen to songs from the album, which is based on a screenplay penned by Getches, or download a track from the album here.

-- Dave Herrera

Alright, stop whatever you're doing right now. No. Seriously. Stop. Right now. Great, now that I have your attention, click here and give a listen to the Natural Selection, a new local act my boy Bitz turned me onto. Let's see, there's really no real delicate way to put this...on first listen, these kids fucking smash it -- even if the lead singer at times sounds alarmingly like Donald Fagen. This is the freshest shit I've heard in a while, particularly "15 Up to Colfax," which does a TV on the Radio flyby.

-- Dave Herrera