Blog-achella Goes To '11: The Kings of Who Knows Where?

You know, I've been doing the Blog-achella for a few years now... and I can't remember ever finding so many bands I'd never heard of that I've dug so soon into it. Does this mean that this year's undercard is simply better than ever or that I'm simply more out of touch with cool music than ever? Discuss...

Monarchy



Who they are: A mysterious duo, allegedly originally from Australia, but it's more fun to say "FROM PARTS UNKOWN!" MUAH!

What they sound like: Just some of the catchiest Synth Pop I've heard in forever. And gloriously lacking in obvious '80s signifiers, which scores major bonus points. Shit is just good, yo...

Monarchy - The Phoenix Alive (ysi)

What I think: I'm down like a clown, Charle Brown. And in tune with being all mysterious and shit, they played their first ever concert at Cape Canaveral and beamed the shit into space, supposedly becoming the first band to do so. Um, ok...



But despite all the wackiness, are they friggin' good or what? I can't even be as snarky as usual. Run, do not walk...