THE REALISTICS

The Realistics play wholehearted rock that winks and beckons with bright melodies and vibrant layers of gritty synth and mighty guitar. They've got a rhythm section that are impossible to shake and lyrics that plant themselves firmly in your memory. Between the brilliant falsetto and potent growl of singer Dennis, the songs manage to inspire sing-alongs and mad dancing. It's a clever trick and not easily pulled off with weary rock fans. Their new album, Real People Are Overrated, is charismatic and strong, evoking the best of old favorites like Elvis Costello and The Jam without being contained by them. In fact, the quartet is building something novel and generating a much-deserved buzz.

-KAREN CORREA

ROCKFOUR

This avant-garde pop band is making a splash in the U.S. on the strength of their debut album, Another Beginning (Rainbow Quartz). This year, they've impressed jaded audiences at both the SXSW and CMJ music conferences, which is no small achievement. Jon Pareles of The New York Times says, "Rockfour heads for the late 1960's to merge the tunefulness of the Beatles with touches of early David Bowie and the burgeoning psychedelia of early Pink Floyd.

WATCH OUT FOR

The Coral

Hailing from Holyake, Merseyside, a small village on the west coast of England, The Coral are James, Ian, Nick, Bill, Lee and Paul -- six young men between the ages of 18 and 21 who are causing a bit of a stir in the UK.

They marry modern psychedelic sounds and ancient sea ballads, while at the same time drawing lyrical inspiration from a cultural kaleidoscope of subjects, from the WWF to the Origin of the Species, Hemingway to Huckleberry Finn. Now The Coral are heading out into the world, and England's NME says: "The opposition don't stand a chance." The Coral are PRS members who license their music through ASCAP in the U.S.

Matthew is Brian McSweeney (guitar & vocals), Jason Sipe (guitar), James Scott (bass), and Matt Sumpter (drums). Formed in 1999, the young Chicago rock band came together from the ashes of Lackluster. With frontman and primary songwriter McSweeney's pop sensibility and distinctive vocals anchoring their sound, Matthew has been steadily building a following on the Chicago club circuit with their powerful live performances. The band's energy has now been captured in the studio on their debut, Everybody Down (Rykodisc), co-produced by Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Hole).

Barely out of high school, California alt rock quartet Something Corporate (songwriter/ pianist/vocalist Andrew McMahon, drummer Brian Ireland, bassist Clutch, and guitarist Josh Partington) carved out a sizable following of skate punks and were signed to indie label Drive-Thru. Defying conventional wisdom, they retained their punk street cred after moving to the majors and playing one-off gigs opening for bands like Sugar Ray and Better Than Ezra. But then Something Corporate has always mixed their brand of punk rock with polished yet passionate radio-ready emo-alt-rock. Their debut EP, Audioboxer, was released in late 2001.

Vue are a San Francisco based rock band in the vein of the White Stripes and the Strokes. They have weathered many a personnel change since they began playing gigs as Portraits of the Past in 1993 in Southern California. Their eponymous Vue LP was released on Sub Pop records in February, 2000, after which they toured around the states. With the current line-up: Rex Shelverton (vox, guitar), Jonah Buffa (guitar), Jeremy Bringetto (bass), Rafael Orlin (drums), and Jessica Graves (keys), the band recorded the Find Your Home LP, the "Pictures of Me" UK single, and did numerous tours of the United States and Europe with bands such as the Faint, BRMC, and Trail of Dead.