Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet to find the ones you need to hear now.
The Band: Fever Ray
The Buzz: Solo outing of Karin Andersson of Swedish electro-Gothers the Knife. Sounds kind of like the Knife.
Listen If: Grey is your favorite color, or grim is your favorite mood.
Key Track: "If I Had a Heart," a bleak, pulsing funeral march where Andersson's wisp-of-smoke voice curls around fat blue bands of synth.
The Band: New Villager
The Buzz: Bi-coastal duo bang out brawny indie pop.
Listen If: You wish Animal Collective's fangs were a bit sharper.
Key Track: "Rich Doors," a thumping combo of mantra-like vocals, tribal percussion and cascading keyboards — it's "Life in a Northern Town" writ very, very small.
The Band: Ghost Hunter
The Buzz: It's all eerie: weird wind chimes, whistling keyboards and thudding percussion combine to create the sound of the woods at night.
Listen If: You're looking for a good accompaniment for your next bout of hypnosis.
Key Track: "Through the Haze of the Green Glasses," which is nothing but weird soprano synthesizers and off-kilter percussion — like a Kate Bush song without Kate Bush.
