Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas
The Band: We Were Promised Jetpacks
The Buzz: Coy and charming Scots write demure and charging indie rock songs, full of passion and promise
Listen If: You’re buttoned-up on the outside but pleading and aching on the inside
Key Track: “Roll Up Your Sleeves,” whose taut, tight strum slowly evolves into a yelping, yearning chorus

The Band: Georgia Anne Muldrow
The Buzz: Neo-soul chanteuse summons mystic visions from the beyond
Listen If: You still have black lights and incense and a fondness for free-form R&B
Key Track: The awesomely elastic “Mr. President,” where Muldrow’s cracked voice decries governmental corruption over a chugging funk backdrop

The Band: The Strange Boys
The Buzz: New York cut-ups play falling-apart garage songs, with minimal skill and a wicked sense of humor
Listen If: You wish the New York Dolls were just a tad less professional
Key Track: The shambling “Woe is You and Me,” which serves as a kind of theme song/statement-of-purpose for the band’s damaged rock songs