In order to highlight some of the musicians currently honing their craft and quietly building a reputation for quality on the fringes of the spotlight, PopMatters brings you an updated and serialized "Now Hear This!". The formerly annual feature caught some bright young stars just before everyone else caught on to them -- the Darkness, Goapele, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Joanna Newsom, Richard Buckner. Having been re-launched as a regularly recurring music feature, "Now Hear This!" promises to continue to feature artists who, for one reason or another, have yet to stake their claim as major media players, but are no less worthy of attention.
Make no mistake, however. The goal of "Now Hear This!" isn't to predict the next "it" band or artist. Instead, its purpose is to provide a featured space for performers who truly deserve a closer look. These are acts worth paying attention to because they're fun, engaging, exciting, and plain old interesting. Some may be fresh new faces on the scene, others might have toiled in relative obscurity for years, and whether or not they become superstars is beside the point. In all cases, these are merely artists that the PopMatters staff feels should not go overlooked, recommendations from our own writers of bands they personally find compelling. So listen up!
Tuesday, September 6 2005
Ponies in the Surf
These powerfully quiet traditionalists perform folk songs with a pan-American touch. It's only a shame that music this delicate and warm doesn't garner more notice.
Tuesday, August 16 2005
VOY
Percolating beneath the current crop of retro retreads and bland noisemakers is an art punk band that looks back to the past for inspiration to reclaim the gallery space for music.
Wednesday, August 3 2005
Goldspot
Goldspot proves that an international background in pop can combine to create a formula that's ripe for commercial success without compromise.
Wednesday, July 20 2005
Moonbabies
Joining the host of superb pop bands coming out of Northern Europe over the last several years, Moonbabies do it their way, from start to finish, with astoundingly assured results.
Tuesday, July 12 2005
The Ladies and Gentlemen
With light and airy electronic melodies forming a rich, warmly organic sound, this one-man show stands out from the pack of recent Canadian collectives.
Wednesday, June 29 2005
The Gun Shys
Casually confident and ready to rock, the Gun Shys are quickly ascending the ladder of the Los Angeles scene.
Friday, June 17 2005
Jackdaw4
Sticking within the pop tradition, and claiming all the usual influences, Jackdaw4 manage to turn out intricate and unique songs that concentrate on craft, placing them in the company of the best the genre has to offer.
Thursday, May 26 2005
Groundation
Do you like your reggae planted firmly in its roots? Can you accept that real reggae can come from California and not the Caribbean? Then you just might be ready for Groundation.
Thursday, May 19 2005
Eluvium
Eluvium's lambent ambient goes straight to the heart and the mind, weaving a mysterious and captivating sound into the landscapes of internal emotion, making him one of the most intriguing and successful ambient composers currently working.
Thursday, May 12 2005
The V.Cs
Bizarre, brash, powerful, compelling, surprisingly good, and thoroughly unique, it's the sci-fi future of yesterday... today!. Robots and rockers, it's the V.Cs!
Wednesday, May 4 2005
Akron/Family
Akron/Family creates a world of sonic pastiche so carefully crafted that the band had to develop their own philosophy/creed just to categorize it for themselves, and the result is a gorgeous and complicated exploration of song and sound.
Wednesday, April 27 2005
Rose Hill Drive
A rock band in a sea of jam bands, Boulder's Rose Hill Drive has captured the heart of their typically hippie hometown for their skill as much as their style, and they've turned heads across the country by building their reputation one touring stop at a time.
Tuesday, April 19 2005
Introduction
Some may be fresh new faces on the scene, others might have toiled in obscurity for years, and whether or not they become superstars is beside the point. In all cases, these are merely artists that the PopMatters staff feels should not go overlooked. So listen up.
Thursday, January 1 2004
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Now Hear This 2004
Can't figure out what to listen to? Listen to us. Once again, PopMatters' music team presents a highly opinionated, undoubtedly superlative but ultimately revelatory examination of 18 artists that demand your attention. NOW.
Wednesday, June 11 2003
Saturday Looks Good to Me
Frontman Thomas and his gaggle of musicians are masters of the AM sounds of the '60s, with a penchant for psychedelica; indeed, Thomas often seems a direct disciple from that musical era, as if frozen by prescient scientists to offset the catastrophic downfall of pop music brought on in the new millennium.
