Ross Gilmore, Redferns Despite homegrown accolades from sources as illustrious as the BBC, BRIT Awards and MTV European Music Awards, Marina and the Diamonds still have one big area left to fully conquer: America. "The thing is, it's not easy to break in America because it's so massive," Maria Diamandis, the UK pop singer-songwriter at the ...

Alessandro Bergonzoni It would be easy to expect the son of legendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and supermodel Jerry Hall to carry himself with attitude and swagger, but there's something weirdly unassuming about Jimmy Jagger. The 25-year-old sings and plays the guitar in his own band, Turbogeist, but he refuses to play on the ...

Chop Shop Earlier this year, Marina and the Diamonds principle Marina Diamandis flew from her native UK to Los Angeles to record with Britney Spears/Ke$ha producer Benny Blanco and TV On the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek for a possible follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut LP, 'The Family Jewels.' On paper it seems both strange and kind of ...

Chromewaves Ever since the March release of their LP, 'Big Echo,' produced by Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor, the Morning Benders have boasted a "buzz band" label. But it's taken some time for the San Francisco indie pop outfit to get to where they are today. "A lot of people think it's an overnight thing, but the fact is, we've been going ...

Ninja Tune Kid Koala has been indulging his louder tendencies of late with the Slew, but he's not ready to dedicate himself to rock just yet. Finally finished work on his second graphic novel, 'Space Cadet,' the Montreal-based turntablist has also been putting the finishing touches on its accompanying soundtrack, a score that he calls "almost ...

SekondHandProjects Kid Koala's thirst for rock hasn't been quenched just yet. Last September, the Montreal DJ released '100%,' a supposed one-off collaboration with Dynomite D under the name the Slew. Now nearly a year later, the project has expanded into a full band with a second album in the works. This time, however, they've brought a few ...

Tim Snow, Osheaga Most people tend to mellow with time, but the members of Devo just seem to be getting stranger. Through a full set of hits, the New Wave veterans indulged in their sillier tendencies to great effect. They may have been relegated to an Osheaga Festival side stage, but the famous "devolutionists" approached their set with all ...