Haunting, angelic vocals made of molasses and Ambien. Warm, humming organs like heating your ass on an old furnace. Empyreal slide guitar played by smiling ghosts. Simple drumbeats that sound like heartbeats. When singer/organist Victoria Legrand and guitarist Alex Scally tie these sounds together with a glittery gold ribbon, it’s hard to ignore the "dream pop" label that some have bestowed upon them. Beach House, an experimental indie duo from Baltimore, creates ethereal, meditative tunes that chaperone you into a state of deep relaxation — like you’re a popsicle melting away on a summer sidewalk. Victoria claims that Beach House makes music that takes you to another place, instead of creating songs that remind you of where you are. On their recent sophomore release, Devotion, each track serves as a portal to another place, places that are particular to each listener — proving that sometimes imagination makes for a better ride than reality. (Appearing with Papercuts and Night Owl Choir at Schubas on March 26) --text: Katie Knaub--photo: Liz Flyntz

The Japanese impresario known as Eye started this world-renowned group back in the '80s. Since then, he and his bandmates have formed a vast following both in their hometown of Osaka and in the U.S. Also known as the Voordoms, their music has alternated between earlier Japanoise and no wave to more ambient and krautrock inclinations in the past few years. Drummer Yoshimi (as in the Flaming Lips album) contributes to the group and also perform in OOIOO. Boredoms’ sound can also be accredited to fellow no wavers Sonic Youth, with whom they’ve toured. After securing a major label deal in the U.S., Boredoms released classics Pop Tatari, Super æ, Seadrum/House of Sun and the Super Roots series. Last summer on 07/07/07, Boredoms performed a concert called 77 Boadrum in Brooklyn. 77 drummers participated, simultaneously playing the drums. Hopefully this summer there will be a sequel because in concert, they consistently amaze. (Appearing with Soft Circle and Human Bell at the Congress Theater on March 26) --text: Garin Pirnia

Capgun Coup, the latest Omaha band to join Conor Oberst’s Team Love line-up, embodies the well-established Omaha scene that favors playful imagery sung by a chorus of voices instead of linear story-based lyricism, packs as many instruments into their multi-part songs as possible, and gets even the most stubborn arms-folded audience member to let down his guard and clap along. Capgun falls in between the more serious guitar-driven approach of Cursive and the smiley tap-dancing Tilly and the Wall (both bands that Capgun will support this spring.) The album plays like a live album, replacing stage banter with strange sampling and deteriorating instrumentation that runs continuously from song to song throughout a one-hour set. Although the debut received mediocre reviews and the album could be cut down to a brilliant 10-minute mix, it leaves plenty to anticipate as the band moves forward. (Appearing with Tilly & the Wall and Skybox at Subterranean on March 25) --text: Joseph O'Fallon

DJ Rekha (born Rekha Malhotra) may not be the only DJ to bring South Asian music to the dance floor, but she is largely responsible for its growing popularity in the U.S. During her monthly NYC dance party, Basement Bhangra, she skillfully fuses the traditional bhangra music of the Punjab region of India and Pakistan with hip-hop and Jamaican dancehall beats. Her debut album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, exposes a broader audience to the music of these very successful and often sold-out events, now running in their eleventh year. As one of Newsweek’s “most influential South Asians in the U.S.”, she is not only a DJ and producer, but also an activist, lecturer, and curator. She even has her own production and consulting company, Sangament (from the Hindi word for confluence, a place where two rivers flow together). Now touring for her album, she hopes to show the rest of the country what all the NYC hype is about. (Appearing at Smartbar on March 27) --text: Ariel Sundel

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