Ryan recommends:

Our Lady – I heard of this group in passing through being invited to a house show in Columbus (which I sadly did not attend) but I was forced to actually pay attention to this band in a chance run-in at the Barista Parlor in East Nashville. This band combines post rock, emo, math rock, and does it all with class, angst, and an electric cello. So what’s not to like? I regret very much missing that Columbus house show and look forward to catching them next time. In the meantime, I’m enjoying this Little Elephant session they filmed.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9L3-jdAXKs[/youtube]

Little Lights – This trio from Cincinnati takes chill out music to the next level. Not content within the chill wave or dream pop spheres, this group wants to calm you down – a lot. I had the opportunity to see them play in a large, cold theatre at the Live at the Garden Festival and those in the audience sat in their chairs, transfixed yet zoned out. It was hypnotic and therapeutic. That’s the power of a sampler, synth, violin, and electric guitar combined with the ethereal vocals of Emmie Bishop. Check out their bandcamp here.

Gaffer Project – If a band like Comrades (one of my favorite discoveries from last year) chooses a band to tour with, they are basically guaranteed to be awesome. So I had high hopes for Gaffer Project out of Roanoke, VA. This one man project takes the form of more subdued spoken word that will have you bobbing your head subtly and very focused on his lyricism. It doesn’t have the raw emotion of Levi the Poet nor the blatant hip hop focus of Keyoung, but is genuine all the same. Check out his bandcamp here. (promo photo credit: Jon Shup)