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Who: Philadelphia soul singer Jazmine Sullivan, who at the age of 21 has already gained fans like Kanye West, duetted with Stevie Wonder and released her first album Fearless.

Sounds Like: Sullivans voice recalls both Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill, and on the Missy Elliott-produced Fearless, Sullivan jumps from roots reggae on Need U Bad to the girl group sound of One Night Stand to the Winehouse-esque Bust Your Windows,...

Who: Deerhunter, a quartet of Atlanta shoegazers that follow indie acclaim and opening for Nine Inch Nails with their most accessible album to date, Microcastle (read our review here).

Sounds Like: Deerhunter combine My Bloody Valentines atmospherics, Sonic Youths knack for experimentation and the girl group vibe that channels Phil Spectors Wall of Sound. Microcastle features everything from billowing dream pop like...

Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Illa J
The Buzz: Brother of legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla salvages some of his brothers unused beats and uses them to build an album of relaxed R&B.
Listen If: You (rightfully!) have no fear of the phrase late-period De La Soul.
Key Track: R U Listenin?, where rapper Guilty Simpson joins Illa for...

Who: Six-piece Oklahoma City indie pop band the Uglysuit, who went from opening for the All-American Rejects and the Roots to headlining their own packed CMJ showcase.

Sounds Like: Bound by no genre, the sextet jump from from Brit-pop-style ballads like Happy Yellow Rainbow to atmospheric, jazz-tinged explorations on Brownblues Passing to gorgeous piano-powered anthems like Chicago on their self-titled debut album.

The first tune to drop off Michael Naus (who was once known as Page France and is now making music under the moniker Cotton Jones) January 27, 2009 LP *Paranoid Cocoon* (Suicide Squeeze) is a Doors-esque Sixties groove with a recession-ready title. Check it out right here:

Gotta Cheer Up

Who: The Subways, a British trio who turned two years on the road touring with the likes of Foo Fighters and Oasis and a potentially career-ending throat ailment into their edgier second album All Or Nothing.

Sounds Like: Led by singer/guitarist Billy Lunn, the Subways are a pop-perfect combo of three of the bands favorite artists, mixing together Nirvanas power chords, Smashing Pumpkins ferocious tribal drumming and...

Ex-Mellowdrone rocker Camila Grey and *The L Word*s Leisha Hailey, who cut her alt-rock teeth in 90s band the Murmurs, are the duo behind the thumpy, glittery electro-pop of this years *Common Reaction*. Click below to download their lush single Not a Love Song, and keep reading for the rest of their fall tour dates.

Not a Love Song
[right click and select save as]

Who: Jacks Mannequin, the SoCal quartet fronted by piano player Andrew McMahon (formerly of pop-punkers Something Corporate) whose second album The Glass Passenger has already scored a top-ten debut.

Sounds Like: Known for his intimate lyrics — the bands debut record aired the details of a break-up with a long-term girlfriend — Passenger tracks McMahons life following his 2005 Leukemia diagnosis and blends...

Photo: Soren Solkaer Starbird

Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Jones is back. The smooth new tune If He Should Ever Leave You is the debut cut from *24 Hours* (S-Curve Records), due November 25th and you can hear it right here. The track, produced by Future Cut (Lily Allen, Estelle), will appear alongside a cover of Bruce Springsteens The Hitter on the crooners first fresh studio set in 15 years.

If He Should Ever Leave You

Three former members of Seattle screamers Blood Brothers (Jordan Blilie, Morgan Henderson and Mark Gajadhar) plus Devin Welch (who was with the group briefly) recently unveiled their new project, Past Lives. The bands debut EP *Strange Symmetry* is due November 4th via Suicide Squeeze, and its title track has a dance-punk groove with a David Bowie-esque swagger. Check it out for free right here:

Strange Symmetry

Who Rachael Yamagata, a Philadelphia singer who, after backing up artists like Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes and Rhett Miller, is ready to step into the spotlight.

Sounds Like: With her second album Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart, Yamagata abandons the chick flick soundtrack feel of her first album with a darker, more intimate double-disc affair. On Elephants, Yamagata channels macabre ballads like Fiona Apple while...

**Who**: Cleveland-born singer-songwriter whose second record of hushed folk-rock, *Simple Times*, topped the iTunes album chart after he rocked the lesbian wedding of 2008: Ellen DeGeneres invited the 34-year-old to serenade her and Portia de Rossi at the pair’s August nuptials (Ellen then aired a clip on her show). “I played a few songs, then stuck around for some vegan red-velvet cake,” says Radin, who struck...

In *Rolling Stone*s recent review of Lou Reeds *Berlin: Live at St. Anns Warehouse*, Barry Walters writes, The Kurt Weill-like class commentary of Men of Good Fortune gains severity: Guitarist Steve Hunter embodies privilege with flashy heroics, and Reed represents unskilled labor via blunt six-string bursts. The album is out digitally now via iTunes and drops on disc November 4th, but weve got a freebie download of that very track...

The Pretenders latest album, *Break Up the Concrete* hits stores tomorrow, but weve got the whole record for you to hear right now. Click below to listen to each of the records 11 tracks, and check out our Q&A with Chrissie Hynde and behind-the-scenes footage of the bands Boots of Chinese Plastic music video.

• Behind the scenes of the Pretenders Boots of Chinese Plastic music video

• Q&A:...

**Who:** Electro-pop artist Sam Sparro, a soulful, Aussie-American vocalist whose hit single “Black & Gold,” soared to Number Two on the U.K. singles chart, and made it into the Top 10 in Ireland, Australia and Turkey.

**Sounds Like:** If Daft Punk took off their helmets and turned up the emotion setting on their vocoders. Sparro draws from a pool of funk/soul influences ?— Prince and Chaka Khan and...

Photograph by Arion Doerr for RollingStone.Com

Every week, Hype Monitor wades through the most buzzed-about bands all across the Internet.

The Band: Passion Pit
The Buzz: Squirrely electropop where speedy beats carry high, girlish vocals across bands of synthesizer.
Listen If: You wonder what Built to Spill might sound like if someone stole all of Doug Martschs guitars.
Key Track: Cuddle Fuddle, which uses...

Who: Alabamas own Jamey Johnson, a shit-kicking, hard-drinking badass who is well on his way to being country musics biggest outlaw.

Sounds Like: To start, think Steve Earle and Merle Haggard, not Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. On his album That Lonesome Song, Johnson mixes tender ballads like In Color with barnstormers like High Cost of Living and raw country tales influenced by booze, drugs and his own divorce. I was...

Weve been fans of Kanye West-approved Chicago MC Kid Sister since catching her set at last years CMJ fest in New York. Her album Dream Date is out November 25th on Downtown Records, and you can check out the bouncy Family Reunion (featuring a sharp verse from David Banner) right here:

Family Reunion [right click and select save as]

New Yorks Secret Machines are about to drop their third album of psychedelic epics anchored by monster drumming. The trios self-titled record — their first effort with new guitarist Phil Harnats, who replaces Ben Curtis — comes out October 14th and you can download the ear-smashing Atomic Heels right now:

Atomic Heels [right click and select save as]

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