Ten Beat Groups For 2006

1. THE CREEPING PHLOX

This neo-psych trio is tearing up the Ho-Ho-Kus scene with their distinctive brand of "paisleyed rampage". Guitars, sitars, and dulcimers bang out a streaming, swirling brew. Debut single "More To Tell The Babes To Tell The Babies" b/w "Wild Carrots For Jodie" has sold more than 500 copies and a second pressing is on the way.

2. JOHNNY AND LUTHER HTOO

Despite the name, actually three sisters from Madison, Wisconsin with a winsome, folky sound all their own. Check out the high harmonies and witty wisdom of "Do I Really Look Like A Fox?", recently bleAT Quarterly's "Song of the Week".

3. ADVENTUS

A mysterious six-man collective, hailing from various points across western Canada. One moment, they're reciting mysterious "hobo poetry" over a sparse panpipe melody; the next, they're whipping up skeletal funk that owes more than a little to their countrymen in Tootle-Oo. A self-released CD-R, "A Joke On A Capture Of Perplexes", has been turning heads ever since it appeared late last year.

4. TACKS NAILS NAILS

Spearheading the Avant-Boogaloo movement, this sibling tag team crafts playful fist-pumpers designed to provoke a dance party. Mandy Drollkin handles the beats, while brother Steve switches between rapping and a smooth croon. "Rascal Am I" is in heavy rotation on several Shreveport-area college stations.

5. THE FENCE THAT SKIRTS THE TREE

Bearded sage by night, travel agent (!) by day, Sasha Camforra is The Fence That Skirts The Tree's sole constant. His deceptively simple songs, usually plunked out on toy piano, alternate between cryptic whimsy and startling vehemence. The dark subject matter of "A Crabwalk For Cindy" has already spurred debate among the online community.

6. RON APE

A rebel-rouser of the old school--in the person of a seventeen-year-old Boston Brahmin! Mr. Ape (born Asa Ronald Strawfellow) leads his band, the Apiary, through twisty triple-guitar anthems that would appeal to unreconstructed Confederates. Catch him at U. Mass-Lowell this Sunday, on the Basquelieber stage--if you're lucky, he might play his local hit, "Burn Any Blackstrap Molasses (You Find)".

7. SATRAP

Two violinists, a violist, and a cellist...playing obscure 90's hardcore covers? Says Dana Charlap, the "low end" of the group: "We just think it's great music. People just hear the anger and the screaming, and miss the melodies". A nonpareil version of "I'm Back Sleeping Or Fucking Or Something" is currently streaming on their website, www.satrapstrings.com.

8. HIRSCH TWEMBLANT

Conshohocken trio pairs tricky guitarchitecture with eccentric lyrics penned by their "guru", local nursing home resident Jessie Varnedoe. Their recent double album, Shirrs Of Un Gilted Glass/Wombers Pas The Unterwolmm, is available on Twemblin' Leaf Records.

9. LIVING IN ARMENIA

The tragic events of September 2001 affected us all, not least singer-songwriter James Oren Catley. "With all that flag-waving, all I could think of was the song 'Living in America', except I changed the words in my head into 'Living in Armenia'," he explains. With a few dorm buddies on keys, bass, and drums, Catley (who is not of Armenian heritage) uses Living in Armenia to express his opinions on living in our society. Those in search of a "New Dylan" might want to check out his latest release, "Everyone Does...Alright".

10. MUMP

Two Sacramento composers (working under the pseudonyms MUP and PUM) have set themselves a difficult task--making an entire oeuvre out of a single 4-second sample from early teen comedy Lord Love A Duck. They have succeeded, and brilliantly: the surprisingly melodic "Purple Passion?" is proof.