About ten seconds into your first listen to Dream Diary’s debut album You Are the Beat, you’ll know that the New York band is well acquainted with the Sarah records catalog. You’ll get the idea that their favorite incarnation of Primal Scream is the one who released “Velocity Girl;” that they are well-versed in the melodic arts as practiced by groups from the Monkees (“Daydream Believer”) to Belle & Sebastian (“Another Sunny Day”); and that they’ve had their young hearts broken a few times. Though their sound has clear antecedents, don’t get the idea that their tenderly constructed, brilliantly played songs are merely recreations of the past glories of bands like Brighter, the Orchids or East Village.

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Wanna hear some real rock & roll, like the kind you heard when you were a kid? The kind that peels the paint off the walls and makes you wanna drink, fight and frolic? Don’t turn to the radio unless you are in the mood to hear Bad Company for the millionth time or listen to some Nickelback-y belter boring you to tears with his pervy needs. Don’t look to major labels to help you because by the time they get ahold of a decent band they’ll figure out a way to ruin them. Sorry kid, you need to do some digging. What you need is to get hip to the underground sounds. Follow me past the jump and I’ll explain.

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Of all the bands reviving, revisiting and reliving the age of shoegaze, Soundpool may have the most original approach. Sure, they have sighing vocals (female), walls of loud and fuzzy guitars as expected, but on their new album Mirrors in Your Eyes, the band adds shimmering disco-inspired rhythms. It’s not a total shock to hear since so many of the original shoegaze groups grafted dance elements onto their sound (to varying degrees of success). What’s surprising here is how well the group integrates the dance floor-friendly feel into their dreamy songs. Check “Kite of Love” for an example — and while you’re at it, enjoy the hazy video that expertly captures the blurred dreamvision that extreme heat and allergies can bring.

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Unless you keep your ear to the ground at all times, you might miss out on free stuff and that would be sad. Who doesn’t love free stuff? In an on-going effort to make you, our loyal audience, happy – here’s some free stuff that looks pretty darn interesting…..

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If you live in the metro New York area, you really need to get your pop-loving self to the Cake Shop tonight. Veronica Falls is playing and if you have any affinity for rumbling, madly tuneful pop with a slightly sinister undertone, this Scottish group should be right at the top of your bands to totally crush on list. If you’re like me and you can’t make it out to the show, here are some videos to help ease the sting.

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Three Lobed Recordings and Fina Music have joined forces to assemble a sprawling, ambitious benefit project Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose. This massive collection includes covers of traditional material and original words and music inspired by his example . Forty artists participated in the project, which is over six hours long. Given the length, the album is only available as a digital download for the extremely nominal price of $15! All proceeds go to Rose’s family. To listen to music from the record, get more information, or participate in the memorial by purchasing it, go to the Fina store here. The complete roster of participating artists is below, and each song can be heard on the Fina site.

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Is there anything better than free music? Well, maybe unconditional love or a large inheritance, but how often do those come around? You have a much better chance of scoring some inspiring jams for free because all it takes is a little poking around. We took a few minutes to do some bargain shopping today and decided to share the results with all our friends.

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The Secret History has a history to envy. The band was built from the ruins of the much-loved group My Favorite, and carries on the tradition of making records that will be loved to death by those lucky enough to hear them. Unlike My Favorite, which sounded like a perfect blend of icy synth pop and majestic guitar pop, the Secret History aims for a more organic, more expansive, and tougher sound. The guys writing the songs — Michael Grace, Jr. and Darren Amadio (both hold-overs from My Favorite) — still write heart-stopping choruses and huge hooks, so that hasn’t changed. They just sound more like Dexy’s Midnight Runners and less like OMD now.

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