Adam: There's something to say about the pedigree of the New Pornographers, as they're a finely bred animal that's resulted from a long line of great indie rock acts. The Vancouver supergroup features Zumpano's Carl Newman, (non-touring member) Dan Bejar of Destroyer, Kurt Dahle of Limblifter and critical-darling Neko Case just to name a few. Their debut album is "top 5" shit for me, so getting new material from them makes me quite happy:
New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed
Check Mint Records or Matador for more info. The new album "Electric Version" drops on May 5th.

Scott: Due to my car blowing up last week, I was unable to attend Gods Reflex's last show which took place this past Friday at the Fireside Bowl. In lieu of flowers for my car, all I ask is that you download some of these MP3s [most of which are graciously provided by Arms Reach Recordings] so you can better understand just how amazing Gods Reflex was, and how much I'm going to miss them:
Gods Reflex - I'm Not Sorry Gods Reflex - Why I Hate Texas Gods Reflex - How I Learned To Unwind Gods Reflex - Or Ever Be Lonely Again Gods Reflex - Perfect Blankets For November Gods Reflex - Put Down That Guitar Gods Reflex - That They Should Never Weep Gods Reflex - Unfastened In Your Car Gods Reflex - Careering [live on Illinois Wesleyan radio] Gods Reflex - Careering
Gods Reflex - Of Self And Promise
The band's webpage is now defunct, but a few good sites to find out more about the band and buy some CDs are ArmsReachRecordings.com, JohannsFace.com, and RedLineDistribution.com.

Oh yeah, and as for revealing my pick for the new best unsigned band in America: I know I promised it for this week, but there is a small problem - the band is from Germany. I'm currently hard at work getting them physically imported to America, and hopefully all the paperwork will go through by next Sunday. What I can tell you about the band, however, is their name: Gestalt. Get ready for a musical revolution.