Motel Motel's raw, emotional brand of indie-infested country rock creates the insatiable need to wear a cowboy hat, drink coffee and strut down the New York streets with a slight attitude. The band's tunes breath new life into the idea of Americana, yet smack of the angular garage rock of The Strokes as well as older folk acts such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Dylan. The honesty that comes rising from the blazing guitar, keys and chameleon-esque vocals, fills the songs with a feeling of desire and camaraderie. There is a humbleness and openness that allows the listener to feel comfort in every song and, instead of a wailing wall of noise, the band comes out plodding sweetly and gives the listener the impression that there's more where that came from. - Read Lauren Piper's Q&A with the band here.

We've never been huge fans of teen bands - "early teen bands" in particular, just to be more specific... Yeah, there's something about that which somehow bothers us a little ("rock'n'roll" always brings to mind those two other words starting with "s" and "d" that nobody feels comfortable mentioning in the presence of kids). But it's not just that: firstly, there's always the feeling that these bands are not exactly spontaneous gatherings of like minded musicians but groups assembled (and directed) by their parents; secondly, we are often dissatisfied by the songwriting for obvious reasons (we don't care THAT much about perfect performance, it's only rock'n'roll after all...) But somehow Supercute! conquered us from the first few chords. Maybe the fact that the band stems from an established musicians' collective that has the words "family" and "slideshow" in it reassures us (Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players). But all prejudice aside, the bottom line is that these girls have some really good songs - particularly reminiscent of our favorite rock'n'roll genius: Syd Barret, a man who - quite fittingly - never grew up. This allowed him to be free and - most importantly - to sound free. Isn't this sense of freedom - a "sound of freedom" - one of the things we look for when we listen to indie music?

New songs from the Glint’s self-titled EP could be considered dreamy, sexy, and even haunting. No matter what they’re called, the tracks on this EP are down right satisfying. Check out “Freak”, which offers sleek vocals from lead singer Jase Blankfort, and catchy guitars that would make any indie girl’s heart skip a beat. If that song doesn’t reel you in, “Friends,” explores the band’s infatuation with electronica, and “Damaged Goods” is another eerily stimulating tune. The EP is a follow up to the band’s 2008 debut album, SOUND IN SILENCE, which was released on Rely Records. The Glint will be at SXSW this month, so make sure you stop by and see the band’s official showcase on either nights: March 18th @ The Dirty Dog Bar, or March 19th @ The Blind Pig. Visit the band’s blog page for photos from the latest live shows. - Melissa Wong

Somehow we missed this video by lovely Dawn Landes, who recently released a new album entitled Sweet Heart Rodeo. Dawn is definitely going to be one of the hot "items" this year at SWSX - enjoy the video!

If you live in Williamsburg and work in Manhattan, you may have a very crowded trip back from work today: buzz blessed Freelance Whales have scheduled a Live Subway Performance TODAY At the Bedford L Stop At 6 PM. As this picture demonstrates, the band has a history of busking in weird places... this one is going to be interesting!