Who: Three rowdy Scotsmen who are veterans of both Glasgow's rich rock & roll tradition and its raucous party scene. The trio was discovered at a Franz Ferdinand afterparty and offered a record deal on the spot.

Sounds Like: Pub-ready sing-along rock featuring hand claps, witty one-liners and a cast of debauched characters straight from the Glaswegian streets.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Singer-guitarist Jackie McKeown used to play in a band called Yummy Fur with future Franz members Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson. And before they called themselves 1990s, the trio served as the live backing band for Damo Suzuki of legendary krautrockers Can.
2. When the 1990s sing about drugs, rest assured they've done their research. "The first time me and my friend took ketamine, we stood in this kitchen stock-still for two hours," McKeown remembers. "Afterward, my friend was like, 'I was in space.' And I was like, 'Me too!' We were floating around with stars and planets, but our friends had to keep wiping our noses."
3. Though the 1990s licensed their clever pop song "You're Supposed to Be My Friend" to a recent Nissan ad, they promise they'll never sell their most precious track. "'See You at the Lights' is a little flower," McKeown says of the catchy track. "He's a nice little guy, and you wanna take him under your wing."

Get It: The 1990s' debut, Cookies, came out July 31st. Check out the video for "See You at the Lights" right here.

››Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Who: Dan Snaith, a Canadian-born electro-pop visionary who used to perform under the name Manitoba.

Sounds Like: Folktronica on acid. Caribou's latest album, Andorra, hits like an unearthed gem from the heyday of psychedelic rock with layers of chiming bells, warped strings and trippy flute loops.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Snaith was forced to ditch his Manitoba moniker when Dictators frontman Handsome Dick Manitoba sued him for trademark infringement.
2. Snaith is scary smart: His father, mother, and sister all hold degrees in mathematics, and multi-instrumentalist Snaith graduated from London's Imperial College with a doctorate in algebraic number theory. He sees a shared abstractness between math and music: "It's all about playing around with ideas until you have a breakthrough," he explains.
3. The name Caibou emerged during an acid trip Snaith indulged in somewhere in the middle of the Canadian prairies. "It was just miles of nothing," Snaith recalls. "So we stopped the van, sat in a field and took some acid." During his adventure, a bear appeared to him and told him to change his name to Caribou.

Get It: Andorra came out this week on Merge Records, and the band will embark on a large-scale tour in the fall, which hits the U.S. in October and November. Check out the video for Andorra's opening track, "Melody Day," and stream the track right here.

››Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Welcome to Introducing, a new RollingStone.com feature where we'll be throwing a spotlight on recommended up-and-coming artists.

The Hook: New York-based quartet the Virgins play a brand of soul and R&B-tinged rock -- think a more jagged Maroon 5 had Adam Levine and Co. been bigger fans of Lou Reed and Gang of Four -- that's already gained the approval of punk icons and fashionistas (they opened for Patti Smith in front of 3,000 people during Paris Fashion Week -- it was their third-ever show).

Secret Weapon: They're slaves to pure songwriting and the gritty spirit of rock. "We are much more interested in writing songs as opposed to some sort of tone or crazy mood," explains bassist Nick Zarin-Ackerman. "There is a structure, there are rules to rock & roll and we respect them," adds singer Donald Cummings.

Must-Hear Track: In "Rich Girls," a fantastically funky bassline bobs and weaves while two angular guitars battle it out. Meanwhile Cummings' vocals (alternately drowsy, falsetto and energetic) explore his fascination with the inner psyche of a "Rich Girl" as he croons, "I'll tell you everything I know / Every little thing I know / You've got a lovely way with words / Is that the way you see the world?"

What's Next: Recently signed to Atlantic records, the Virgins got a song onto the HBO series Entourage earlier this month; they're set to record and release their full-length later this year.

Where To Find Them: Check out their MySpace or Web site.

Who: Gainesville, FL, punk band with one of the year's best rock records, the Butch Vig-produced New Wave.

Sounds Like: New Wave is full of terrifically propulsive agit-prop like the anti-war anthem "White People for Peace." But it's also long on smart, catchy tunes, thanks partly to the band's array of non-punk influences, which include Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Not long before forming Against Me! as a solo acoustic project in 1997, singer Tom Gabel began a career as a teenage activist, joining lefty causes like Food Not Bombs and running a leftist zine called Misanthrope, for which he interviewed ex-Black Panther Bobby Seale.
2. Since the current lineup solidified around 2002, Against Me! have been one of the hardest-working bands in show biz, having done well over 1,000 shows in all fifty States and Europe. They've accumulated enough dumpster-diving stories to write a definitive guide to surviving poverty-stricken tours. "We used to make condiment sandwiches," says drummer Warren Oakes. "You know, get packets of onions and relish from a gas station and make a sandwich."
3. The Boss likes them. In March, Against Me! played their biggest headlining gig yet to nearly 2,000 fans in Jersey -- including Bruce Springsteen, who saw the show and popped backstage. "When I saw him, I almost shit my pants," says bassist Andrew Seward. "He's a really nice guy," Gabel adds. "He said that we're very soulful."

In Today's News: Gabel was arrested last night in Tennessee on battery charges after allegedly slamming a fellow patron at All Saints Cafe's head into a countertop. Witnesses say the frontman tore a story about his band that had been defaced with obscenities off of a wall, and then assaulted Jared Smith when he asked why.

›› Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Who: Six nature-loving mountain men from Portland, Oregon, who play roots folk with a contemporary twist.

Sounds Like: Sunbaked lyrics about mountains and rivers merged with ramshackle guitar grooves and cheap keyboards.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. The band got their big break when the Hold Steady asked Blitzen to open for them in May.
2. Music runs in frontman Eric Earley's family. His grandfather was a traveling harmonica virtuoso from the Ozarks. "Family reunions were all about banjos and bluegrass," Earley recalls.
3. Earley recorded most of the band's third record, Wild Mountain Nation, himself in a makeshift studio that used to be a telegraph station using vintage Casios, an old piano and a four-track recorder.

Get It: They're always available on their official Web page, and you can check out "Wild Mountain Nation" right here.

››Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.] Video produced by FOTG Films

Welcome to Introducing, a new RollingStone.com feature where we'll be throwing a spotlight on recommended up-and-coming artists.

The Hook: New York-based five-piece Harlem Shakes sound like they were made for a groovy loft party: jagged riffs and '50s doo-wop-inspired backing vocals, all layered atop fast-paced tracks.

Secret Weapon: The Venn diagram approach. "All five of us have very different musical tastes and there is a very small area where all five circles in our Venn diagram intersect," explains drummer Brent Katz. "It often means it takes quite a bit of time to reach the finished product, but when we get there, that makes for something that we are all really proud of," bassist Jose Soegaard adds.

Must-Hear Track: "Sickos," a beautiful intersection of artful guitar downstrokes, '60s-inspired background melodies and spooky keyboards, while singer Lexy Benaim urgently recommends, "If there's a bomb in your hand, just throw it!"

What's Next: After self-releasing their EP Burning Birthdays in February, Harlem Shakes are currently flirting with a variety of labels from across the globe and plan to release an album in February '08. When they do hit the studio it will be with Les Savy Fav and Asobi Seksu producer Chris Zane. Until then, check out one of their awesome live shows where their Venn diagram approach leads to Radiohead-meets-Explosions in the Sky-esque mini jams.

Where to Find Them: Check out "Sickos" and more tracks on the band's MySpace, or visit their official Web site.

Who: Calgary-born identical twins who started touring Canada on Greyhound buses in 2000.

Sounds Like: Smart, nuanced guitar-and-keyboard pop that merges Sara's angular, hook-filled ditties and Tegan's melancholic odes to heartbreak.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Tegan and Sara have five albums out, but 2004's So Jealous put them on the map in a major way: The album won a Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) and the White Stripes released an EP named after the girls' angular pop gem "Walking With A Ghost" that included a high-wattage cover of the track.
2. The 26-year-old identical twins may look and sound alike, but they insist they're totally different. "It's impossible for me to think Tegan sounds like me," Sara says. "I literally might as well be in a band with Nick Cave."
3. They've been gleeful self-promoters since they were three years old. "For Christmas, my parents got us one of those Fisher-Price tape records," says Sara. "We were total narcissists: All we wanted to do was listen to our own voices."

Get It: Tegan and Sara's new album The Con is in stores now. Check out our video for footage of the band working in the studio with Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, debating what to name their record and chatting about their favorite live shows.

››Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]