Let the name do the talking. Datarock is just that; a seamless hybrid of synthetic and organic sounds inspired by several decades and genres of popular music. What’s left of this once 4-piece Norwegian group are Fredrik Saroea and Ketil Mosnes, leaving plenty of room for collaboration with varying Norwegians. With Saroea on guitar, drums, and keys, and Mosnes on bass, keyboard, backing vocals and programming, the boys divvy up the tasks to maintain a boisterous level of disco-pop. Quick cadences and playful piano vamps provide a pulsating background to Saroea’s effortless vocal buoyancy reminiscent of '80s pop groups like Depeche Mode and Talking Heads. Nomadic bass lines permeate and add a layer of '70s funk into the mix, while contagiously danceable electronic beats evoke a Devo-esque static environment. By cutting, remixing and reinserting clips of tracks, the band is able to constantly reinvent and rebuild their sturdy — but certainly not stiff — art form. (Appearing with Coltrane Motion at Empty Bottle on June 5) --text: Amy Kaufman

Crossing vintage keyboards with echoing melodies, Lymbyc Systym sounds like a type of incommunicable dream conveyed into notes. From Tempe, Arizona, brothers Jared and Michael Bell drew inspiration from Tortoise, My Bloody Valentine and Four Tet to form the instrumental rock/experimental band in 2001 and then debuted their first album with Mush Records. While reminding some of another version of the similar-in-shoegaze Album Leaf, the duo makes free-flowing songs that spill with analog effects and crescendos of occasional light drumming that are likely to put you in a comfortable mood. As in one of their most featured tracks, "Astrology Days," the music drowns in layered rhythms that feel like you’re walking around in an already-made dream or an unexpected flashback — which you’re bound to get lost in. And in their latest album, Love Your Abuser, Lymbyc Systym pump out an arrangement of songs that are sure to impress those with an ear for the ambient. (Appearing with Eliot Lipp at The Chicago Cultural Center on June 3 and at Empty Bottle on June 4) --text: Jackie Bernardo--photo: Amanda Longtain

Nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact sound of The Jai-Alai Savant, it’s easier to simply list all the influences pooling into this punk/hard rock/reggae/R&B/guitar/heavy funk band, creating its own category of classification based on its members' unique musical roots. Singer Ralph Darden — also known for his club alter ego DJ Major Taylor — is notorious for being among the first to spin genre-less sets at clubs back in Philadelphia, spinning anything that seemed "interesting". Likewise, the notion of clumping anything interesting and molding it into a hodgepodge of musical mayhem is something that flows both into Jai’s sound and its live performances. Their EP Thunderstatement released back in 2005 is still floating around, while the long-awaited debut LP Flight of the Bass Delegate was just released on the Gold Standard Labs label in April. (Appearing with Watchers and The Eternals for the late show at Schubas on June 2) --text: Jyn Radakovits

Gern Blandsten recording artists Watchers, a band whose bio boasts "sharp-edged anthems [of] intelligent art-pop," have just unleashed their second full-length record of energetic, rhythm-soaked party rockers. In an attempt to capture the more impulsive intensity of Watchers’ live shows, the peculiarly titled Vampire Driver is the outcome of a month’s worth of in-studio improvisational experiments in Chicago-style angular guitar jams, some found-object fuckery and the occasional spontaneous outburst of percussive madness. To further spice up this furious mix of sounds, the band — singer/keyboardist Michael Guarrine, guitarist Ethan D’Ercole, bassist Chris Kralik, keyboard/percussionist Damien Thompson and drummer Jess Birch — enlisted the talents of scene mentors Wayne Montana and Damon Locks (the Eternals, ex-Trenchmouth) with quite impressive results. The official Vampire release party is set to roar through town this month, and will surely be one for the Chicago rock history books. (Appearing with The Eternals and The Jai-Alai Savant for the late show at Schubas on June 2) --text: Mike Scales

© 2009 Innerview Media, Inc.

:: developed by InfraStrategy