10 Artists to Watch: Gratitude

Who Northern California vets of the emo and pop-punk scenes.

Sound Supercatchy, soul-baring power pop. Eighties-rock riffs meet soaring, passionate vocals on the single "Drive Away" -- which sounds like Dashboard Confessional jamming with Rick Springfield.

Brothers From Other Mothers Singer Jonah Matranga, 35, and guitarist Mark Weinberg, 29, say that they're an unlikely pair. "We're very different -- like in Adaptation, where one brother is hyper-self-analytical and the other is carefree," says Matranga, the introspective one. Seven years ago, Matranga was opening for the Deftones with his band Far; he decompressed from the alt-metal world with the spare, mopey bedroom recordings he released as Onelinedrawing. Weinberg cut three albums of zippy alt-rock with Crumb. When both found themselves free two years ago, Matranga suggested writing songs together. "I was kinda joking," he says. But it took.

Blame Bono However different they may be, there's one thing both guys can agree on: U2. "Bono taught me to sing, practically," says Matranga. Weinberg adds, "The song 'Someone to Love' was me wanting to write 'With or Without You.' You can't get any more cliche, but when Bono sings it, you fucking believe it, you know?"