MEN came to be from the minds of Le Tigre bandmates JD Samson and Johanna Fateman. According to Samson, their music is trans-genre, but they often refer to their dance-pop sound as "shredding at the club." Spinner took the time to talk to Samson before the group's upcoming SXSW appearance. Describe your sound in your own words. As a band we ...

With an apt self-description of her own music as "psychedelic chamber folk rock," Miranda Lee Richards' gentle but lush pieces will hook you, especially if the idea of Fairport Convention and Cat Power joining forces appeals. Spinner caught up with Richards in anticipation of her SXSW appearance. Describe your sound in your own words. I ...

Mini Mansions' sound may be reminiscent of the Beatles, with their catchy melodies, or the Beach Boys with their tight harmonies. But Michael Shuman, Tyler Parkford, and childhood friend Zach Dawes draw from personal experiences and introspection, influenced by the Beatles' and Beach Boys' originality rather than purely from their musical styles. ...

A female singer-songwriter may often be pigeonholed to a particular genre, but Melissa Ferrick says up front, "Think Billy Bragg rather than Jewel." Ferrick's music marries rock 'n' roll to folk, and her latest album, 'Enough About Me,' has her covering a wide array of pop songs you might not expect to find in her list of inspirations. With ...

Sex Worker is the side project of Mi Ami singer and former classical guitar student Daniel Martin-McCormick that sculpts an experimental, electronic soundscape on the 2009 LP 'The Labor of Love.' It is a labor of love -- a ritualistic offering to the healing that music can provide to both its creators and its listeners. Martin-McCormick'will also ...