Photo by Claus Peuckert
The Band: Oh No Ono
The Buzz: Here’s something suitably wintry: Danish band Oh No Ono make music that sounds like falling snow and bright white lights against a blackened sky — soft and twinkling and delicate. And fear not, the name is not a dis — the group actually met Yoko at a festival in the UK and they got on famously. Eggs, the group’s second full length, will be released stateside early in the new year.
Listen If: You tend toward the arty and atmospheric, but still like your songs to be grounded in a solid melody.
Key Track: Though Oh No Ono does occasionally kick up a herky-jerky new wave ruckus, we suggest starting with the hushed, lovely “Swim,” which is 300 percent winter madrigal — the sound of stirred cider and cinnamon.
The Band: Sharon Van Etten
The Buzz: Masterful Brooklyn singer/songwriter knows the value of a good mystery. Her songs are shadowy and beguiling, powered by her intoxicating, husky voice and brittle acoustic strum.
Listen If: You’re glad Cat Power sobered up, but miss the shadows that fell across her earlier songs.
Key Track: Any of them, really, but start with the delightfully maudlin “For You,” where Van Etten’s gorgeous, ghostly wail rises and hovers like a ghost in the Appalachains at midnight.
The Band: Letting Up Despite Great Fault
The Buzz: Lovely LA band gets right the balance between tight strumming and swooping electronics, turning out light, charming songs that are long on both melody and heartache.
Listen If: You’re sick and tired of waiting for that second Postal Service record.
Key Track: The gently surging “In Steps,” which makes an astonishing case for restraint, employing murmured vocals, tiny apostrophes of guitar and lightly lapping synths.
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily