Future Farmer started in California's farm-rich San Joaquin Valley, bringing the world a ragged new indie rock hybrid that fuses old fashioned rock and roll, country, and pop.
Beulah
The San Francisco branch of the Elephant 6 Collective creates crafty and precise psych-pop songs a la the Beach Boys' celebrated Pet Sounds album. The winsome melodies will charm your socks off.
David Dondero
As rootless as a tumbling tumbleweed, singer-songwriter David Dondero taps into his modern day drifter's existence to create agreeably rough-edged, confessional country-folk.
for Stars
Think of the sweetest, most sensitive guy you know. Now, remove the sap quotient, give him a tender and evocative voice, and immerse him in a stew of southern California beaches and classic Neil Young albums. Mix in a band and you might have something half as good as for Stars.
Nik Freitas
Central Valley native (and former Thrasher staff photographer) Nik Freitas offers offbeat pop fare that strikes a pleasant balance between the mellow vibe of '70s mainstream singer-songwriters and the quirky song structures of contemporary indie rock.
Granfaloon Bus
San Francisco-based Granfaloon Bus exhumes the old bones of America with rambling narratives of boozy heartbreak. "Slanted folk-pop" their sound's been called, an appellation the band says it finds quite appropriate.
Jackpot
Jackpot melds good ol' fashioned rock and roll with country twang and mean blues riffs in a way that will bring a smile to your face and a shimmy to your shake. Go ahead: take the day off work, throw your dog in the pickup, and hit the open road.
Joaquina
Grab a cooler, pull up a spot on your favorite porch couch, and listen to Joaquina. These are songs about the days when pickup trucks, not SUVs, ruled the road, kids played in the neighborhood until the last streetlight came on, and anything seemed possible.
Matt Keating
Idiosyncratic New York singer-songwriter Matt Keating is a well-kept secret among Americana music enthusiasts, equally at home with stripped-down acoustic music and rousing power pop.
The Mother Hips
This criminally underexposed Northern California country-rock quartet plays earthy, optimistic, heartfelt music aptly described as "California Soul."
Yuji Oniki
Yuji Oniki proves that pop music can be jangly and sweet without being sappy and cloying. These lovely, haunting songs are perfect for pondering lost loves or cultivating new ones.
Rizzo
Jangly, harmony-filled girly pop, topped with honey and a sprinkling of bop-your-head guitar riffs. Fans of the Crabs or Lois should stop, drop, and download. From the Inbred compilation.
Kevin Salem
Onetime Dumptruck contributor Kevin Salem is an accomplished producer and solo musician. His albums offer cleanly produced, neaty arranged, lyrical rock music with hooks aplenty.
Virgil Shaw
Singer-songwriter Virgil Shaw emerges from the acclaimed and wacked-out counry-rock band Dieselhed to paint wistful watercolor portraits of rural life at dusk, of the dusty empty highways of the heart, with his delicate, personal folk songs.
M. Ward
Young Portland-based singer-songwriter M. Ward makes stunningly stark modern folk music in the tradition of John Fahey, Townes Van Zandt, and Steven Stills, but with just a bit of less-than-wholesome, cracked oddness. Desolate, haunting, and gorgeous.
Wonderlick
Fans of quirky and offbeat indie pop with hooks aplenty will find favor in this delightfully peculiar project from the former principals of Too Much Joy.
