The Joy Formidable: Welsh trio with a cute petite frontwoman but a powerful shoegazer-rock sound. April 6 at 7th Street Entry.
The Vaccines: Fell on the right side of the 50-50 good/bad ratio of bands that come with enormous U.K. hype, boasting a charismatic frontman and cocksure, anthemic pop-rock sound. May 28 at First Avenue (with Arctic Monkeys).
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears and Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Both standouts at SXSW two years ago, neither has played a local club gig yet. Each has gotten even better live. The horn-rocking Texan blues punks finally land April 3 at the Cedar, while the fuzz-poppy New Yorkers play April 25 at the Triple Rock.
TV on the Radio: No duh, but also no signs of wavering. Their new stuff was riveting. April 23-24 at First Avenue.
OTHER NEWBIES OF NOTE
Wild Flag: Carrie Brownstein's and Janet Weiss' post-Sleater-Kinney band sounded poppier and just plain friendlier, if not as powerful (not trying to be).
Beach Fossils: Even while trashing the venue's sound, these scrawny Brooklynites offered up a meaty serving of high-energy, Feelies-like drone-pop.
Das Racist: Smart and smart-ass rappers who made fun of Mel Gibson, MGMT and far less obvious targets.
Fitz & the Tantrums: The L.A. band's lively, blue-eyed party-soul proved tireless even when they were playing their third gig that day.
