Justin: Birdmonster are a local band to San Francisco that recently came my way via a friend at Launch:Commit after they posted an interview with them . It's some dancy, jangly indie-rock that's just enjoyable enough without feeling like it's going to annoy your face off. I'd liken it to a less electronic From Monument to Masses or an angrier, less jazzy Colossal. The band is preparing to release their new album A New Midnight and has tracks from it streaming at their Myspace page. "Cause You Can" combines that dancy rhythm that is making the tight-pantsed crowd swoon these days with a bit of raw energy that is infectious, while "Bar In The Back" has this weird galloping pace that has been stuck in my head for days.
Birdmonster at Myspace Birdmonster - The Resurrection Song Brian: I don't know why I let myself work 12 hours on some Fridays, but I do, and I could probably pass out comfortably on a pile of bloody syringes right now as a result. Austin, TX's Exit the King is basically the aural equivalent of the opposite of that feeling: complex math metal that takes from the Fall of Troy and early Dillinger Escape Plan for a nutty brand of go-get-'em rock. If you like this, there's another song streaming on their myspace page. Both are from a self-titled CD-R EP put out last year.
Exit the King - Carthorse Adam: I'm not remarkably informed about Milwaukee's Modern Machines, but they seem like a band whose name has been popping up here and there on the site for years now. Thankfully Dirtnap Records is on my radar and the more I hear about their new record Take It, Somebody the more I'm looking forward to it. Of course there's more than a heavy dose of Replacements / Hüsker Dü influence in the band's sound, but that's quite alright with me. There's something remarkably comforting about songs like "Flash Infatuation."