91.3fm WYEP: You Gotta Hear This

School of Seven Bells is comprised of veteran space rocker Benjamin Curtis (formerly of Secret Machines) and twin sisters Alejandra & Claudia Deheza (formerly of On! Air! Library!). The trio’s perfect combination of intense electronic music and the twins’ nearly perfect, ethereal harmonies makes for some seriously spooky dance music. The fast paced debut picks up where bands like The Cocteau Twins, Azure Ray and Mazzy Star left off.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy is basically singer songwriter Will Oldham. He's been recording under Bonnie "Prince" Billy since 1999 and before that was involved in a few projects like The Palace Brothers and Palace Music. This new release is an excellent collection of minimalist indie-folk songs that are made nice and dark by Oldham's unique voice, but stay positive with his inspirational, yet intense, lyrics.

Nik & The Central Plains

Listen. Lissie is a bad@$$. She's got a ferocious cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" and history of spitting in people's faces. Those two facts are not related, but they're reasons to turn your head/raise your eyebrow when you get to know Lissie- a midwestern girl who's been living in the LA area for a few years. Soulful, rootsy, and a bad@$$.

Beach House in on their third release, but are starting to get some big attention from a lot of folks. This highly anticipated release does not disappoint. You can hear clips, information and comments on this month's YGHT.

The XX are one of those buzz bands that you maybe ignore for months and then end up falling in love with. Their a young UK group who's modern R&B indie pop sound makes you think you can sing if you just slur and mumble your words. You can hear clips, information and comments on this month's YGHT.

You might have overlooked this indie-rock sensation before, but not this time! Flaming Lips, David Bowie and Oscar Wilde have all had an influence on this unique band who's new release is backed by the power of science.

Besides having one of the best names in indie rock, Hallelujah The Hills does not try to win your affection with their experimental noisy sound, but they will find their way into your heart come hell or high water.

Fruit Bats dress to impress on their Fourth release. Sounding more like a band than ever, they will appeal to fans The Band, Dr. Dog and The Shins.

YGHT features former Eames Era members, The Generationals

New Zealand's Ladyhawke has stormed onto the music landscape with her earnest lyrics and catchy catchy synth-based pop songs

Passion Pit, a Boston area group, has decided to make a "Pet Sounds" influenced album you can dance to with their debut, "Manners"

Noah and The Whale have had quite a successful year with the release of their debut LP and an appearance in a car commercial.

Jesse Dee's got an impressive debut album with "Bittersweet Batch", drawing inspiration from soul greats Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Al Green.

Blitzen Trapper turned heads with their 2007 release and have got even more praise with their 2008 album, Furr.

Bostonish-based trio, Sometymes Why are made up of 3 super-talented ladies who have already made tracks in their main bands: Uncle Earle, Crooked Still and The Mammals

Music blog are already calling "Merriweather Post Pavilion" the best album of 2009. Listen in for yourself as Cindy Howes gives you a scope of the new record from Animal Collective

The Low Anthem are a young trio of recent Brown graduates that take heavy influence on Neil Young, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Amazing harmonies and brilliant song-writing make this group stand out among their peers. The new album, "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" does not disappoint.

Lohio has just released their album "History, The Destroyer". The album show growth in song-writing and musicianship from the Pittsburgh-based band.

TV On The Radio have put out their third album "Dear Science" and it's full of their funky fuzzy indie rock. We'll take a listen to a few samples on this much anticipated release.

Ra Ra Riot met at Syracuse University and formed in 2006. After one independently released EP, they storm onto the scene with a fantastic debut album that holds a tragic back story.

Frightened Rabbit have released their second album "The Midnight Organ Fight" to much fanfare. The Scottish band delights with upbeat songs about being very very sad while maintaining that twee accent.

The Mountain Goats have released over a dozen albums since 1991 and surround the song writing of John Darnielle. Darnielle crafts quirky indie-pop numbers that make you turn your head once you get past his oddball vocals. The new album, Heretic Pride, once again inds the band working with producer/musician John Vanderslice.

She & Him formed while Deschanel and Ward were paired up to write songs for a film soundtrack. Their sounds meshed and the product was their first album Volume One. The rough and tumble sound of M. Ward pairs exceptionally well with the silky sweetness of Deschanel. Their style seems to fit well with the era of black and white filmmaking. Their lo-fi sound imparts an immediate accessibility; one that creates a sensuous background to any activity.

Beirut couples traditional American folk traditions with a unique blend of aromatic spices from all around the world. Most notable is the influence of gypsy music from customs infused from Eastern Europe. Beirut’s sound consists of a myriad of instrumentation from the standard guitar and drums to the dense textures of accordian, mandolin, violin, ukulele, and the delicacy of a glockenspiel. Here we focus on Beirut’s first and second albums.

The 7 members of The Mountain Firework Company combine their skills to bring the folk tradition back to the mainstream. Their edgy lyrics and at-times raggedy folk style sets the scene for a rowdy pub-crawl, or a brief introspection as you go from pub to pub. Here we sit back and ponder how their songs have evolved and become transported to an intimate venue with the Mountain Firework Company.

With their vocal styles compared to Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, and other ethereal songwriters, Band Of Horses pairs these similarities with their own atmospheric indie sound. Their Sophomore effort “Cease to Begin” was hardly a slump. Topping the Billboard Charts at #35. Here we take a peak at some of their notable songs off of both their first and second albums.

Before she formed The Weepies in 2003 with Steve Tannen, Deb Talan had a pretty sweet solo career in the Boston music scene. She has released 3 excellent solo albums. We dig a little deeper into her musical past from a couple of those solo efforts.

Jenny Owen Youngs can write the heck out of a song and make you have a new appreciation for the F-word. Armed with snappy hooks and sassy lyrics, Jenny’s making waves on and off the Internet. We take a listen to snippets from her debut album “Batten The Hatches”.

Cindy Howes takes a look at a release that you have to hear about from an artist named Royal Wood.