Reminiscent of the Strokes’ early days, Spoon, or even Weezer, Swiss band Choo Choo harnesses the raw power of 60’s pop rock and turns it into what they call “steam powered garage rock.” The extra steam billows from their organist, Lili, cutting through the distorted guitar crunching to bring out melodic lines that are easy to hum along with. When the organ lines aren’t catchy, they outline chords to add that extra flare. Lead guitarist and vocalist, Dan, embodies the typical power-chord pounding and slacked singing one can expect from a garage rock band. Yan and Sam, bass and drums/backup vocals, keep things nice and tight, shoveling in the coal that keeps this stream train rolling.

The Magpies
The Cleveland, Ohio based band embraces alt country and gives it a bluesy embrace. Roger Hoover’s textured growl seems to have transported to the present day from a whiskey soaked bar room in mid-70’s middle America. Standout tracks from their latest album Eastern Standard Time include the mournful “Girl on a Hill” and the bar stool stomper “The Waiting”.

Edith Backlund
Neil Young put the Swedish singer’s “Rosie” on his website Living with War and it was voted as one of the 10 best anti-war songs. Combining the pecularities of …