Baltimore

Dream pop two piece, Beach House, has that vaguely familiar sound that you just can't place, a result of being accessible yet innovative. You hear history in their sound like they spent some time with with Mom's old 45s.

Prepare to have your minds blown. Not sure where to place 'em: rock, pop, electronic, psychadelic. Whatever the case these guys rock! Hmm... Baltimore who'da thought?

Animal Collective makes wildly experimental sound collages its members describe as "sonic, freeform, electronic, horror, gospel, hip-hop, soul, pop madness." To some, it's more noise than music. But to the group's fans, Animal Collective is making the most inventive and playfully refreshing sounds of the year. Hear the band in a full concert, recorded live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

Food for Animals is a Baltimore-based hip-hop group clearly following in the footsteps of earlier avant-garde rappers like Busdriver, El-P, Deep Puddle Dynamics, and Prefuse 73. Noisy electro-thrash complimented by stuttery beats and quality rhymes augment a sound that draws from almost every genre of music.