The first installment of our new playlist series, Bands That Rock! was a huge success, introducing thousands of people worldwide to Lunaria and The Doups. There are many bands that we have lined up for this on-going series in the weeks and months to come, so if you are a rocker, you'll want to check back often.

Brooklyn's A Place to Bury Strangers deliver a wall of shoegaze noise, driven by big, aggressive guitar riffs, thunderous drumming and chunky bass playing, supported by the dark, loud vocals of singer and effects-pedal specialist, Oliver Ackermann.

Last spring, the band signed to Mute Records, who released their sophomore LP, Exploding Head, this past summer. The band has just wrapped up a successful tour of Europe where they dazzled fans with their unrepenting energy and killer light shows.

In Febuary, the band will play two shows in Australia before embarking on an extensive North American tour with fellow shoegaze rockers The Big Pink. The spring tour will kick off at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on March 10, 2010 and last through the end of April.

"In Your Heart" - A Place to Bury Strangers from Exploding Head (2009)

"To Fix The Gash in Your Head" - A Place to Bury Strangers from 10" single (2008)

A Place to Bury Strangers on MySpace


Back in June, we featured the Swedish band, The Legends. Since then, we've been listening to their other releases as well, including their break-through, widely-acclaimed debut LP, Up Against The Legends. and have some more songs from the band to share with you.

The Legends' 2009 LP, Over and Over, featured the mini-hit, "Always The Same," featuring Liane Moccia from Tralala on lead vocals. The nine members of The Legends, hastily formed in 2003, belt out melodic power-pop with guitar and percussion driven white noise that has an energy and confidence similar to A Place to Bury Strangers.

Although The Legends are difficult to place in one music genre, they readily admit to being strongly inspired by the Motown and C-86 genres, with a particular affinity for post punk trailblazers like Television Personalities and Comet Gain.

The Legends are signed with one of our favorite European labels, Labrador Records, and in the U.S., they are distributed via Lakeside Records. The song, "When The Day Is Done," was featured in the official soundtrack of the film, Wicker Park, and their track, "The Kids Just Wanna Have Fun," was used by Nike to promote the 2006 ASEAN Football Championship.

"Always The Same" - The Legends from Over and Over (2009)

"Seconds Away" - The Legends from Over and Over (2009)

"The Kids Just Wanna Have Fun" - The Legends from Up Against The Legends (2006)

The Legends on MySpace

Labels: A Place to Bury Strangers, Bands That Rock, The Legends