Portland, Maine’s Great Western Plain float in a strange place somewhere between Americana and Noise Rock. 2014's Elastic Smile starts off with a 12 minute bass-driven jam called "Thom" which gets fun and noisy, but "Venado Negro" is the stand-out track, mixing a smooth chant-like vocal with fuzzy bass rumbling below. Their melodic but heavily processed vocals, bluesy bass lines and chord progressions have this rural quality that suits both a long drive across the “great western plain” and punks kicking over trash cans in the big city. Listen here. - Paul Jordan Talbot