These Brit brothers are good. Alex and Tom White, the main musical brain behind The Electric Soft Parade (they tour with various bassists and drummers) have developed a very creative take on the whole dance rock/post-post punk/new British/excessive usage of forward-slashes sound. The difference between their approach and the approach of countless others is simple to ascertain: they sound better and write better songs. Acoustic guitars and pianos on some songs will exist symbiotically with the syncopated bass and fuzz that blisters through others. Instead of barking or gawking their lyrics like robots, they actually sing. With three albums and an EP of material over the last five years, most recently the new No Need to Be Downhearted, you can tell that ESP is playing for keeps. And if for some reason you don't like their music, at least you'll feel smarter and/or more cultured after listening to them. (Appearing with BrakesBrakesBrakes and Pela at Empty Bottle on June 10) --text: Billy Kenefick--photo: Mervyn Penrose

Well-known in the New York scene as having created their own underground genre of music (named "neo-primivist" or "neo-tribal"), Gang Gang Dance continues to maintain their eclectic, uncompromising creative direction. The 4-piece electro/experimental band from Brooklyn has an almost surreal sound — combining the stylistic elements of Asian, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, hip-hop, rock and electronic music. On their latest release, 2005’s Hillulah (which is made up of candidly-comprised songs from live sets and practice sessions), the band clashes light cymbals, chimes, randomly-compiled voices and poly-dimensional tones that emit the type of feeling one might experience when encountering a radically different culture for the first time. And though their sound might seem over-stylized or packed with too many disorganized, unfocused elements, Gang Gang Dance's hypnotic sound and self-governing style screams innovation, making it nearly impossible to turn away. The band has just released the new DVD/CD/art film Retina Riddim, created by band member and visual artist Brian DeGraw in advance of their next studio full-length. (Appearing with Teith at Empty Bottle on June 9) --text: Jackie Bernardo

No, Maserati is not a sports car. According to the band, "Maserati is a son of a bitch hell bent on dismembering every last vestige of the so-called indie rock establishment before it can drive the last nail in its messenger-bag-wearing coffin." More to the point, however, Maserati is an instrumental 4-piece from Athens, Georgia, who loudly go where some of their post-rock contemporaries fear to tread. It’s psychedelic. It’s proggy. It’s epic. It’s vocal-free rockin’. It’s great summer music — perfect for a drive at dusk or perhaps serving as a welcome banner to greet the cicadas. But you need not associate their music with Biblical plagues, either. Together, Coley Dennis, Steve Scarborough, Matt Cherry, and Jerry Fuchs (of !!!, Turing Machine, LCD Soundsystem) have just released the aptly named Inventions For The New Season, which should be played at mind-shearing volume as you cruise up and down Lake Shore Drive this summer. (Appearing with Del Rey at the Lakeshore Theater on June 5) --text: Brendan Dabkowski--photo: Adam Bueb

In some areas of the U.K., there’s an old superstition that saying "White Rabbits" on the first day of a month will bring you good fortune. Fortunately White Rabbits won’t need to count on that luck — their debut album, Fort Nightly, shows they’ve got plenty of talent in the bank. The Midwesterners-turned-Brooklynites have sculpted their many influences (reggae, soul, rock, calypso) into a distinct sonic swagger, walking the line between youthful ingenuity and inebriation. They take strides towards what The Walkmen, French Kicks and Cold War Kids are on about, while still maintaining their own distinguishable path. With their infectious rhythmic blows, it’s difficult to keep your foot from tapping or your body from bobbing along to the beat. Maybe the Chinese Zodiac has it wrong — 2007 just might turn out to be the Year of the Rabbit after all. (Appearing at Schubas on June 5) --text: Megan Poepsel

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