Photos by Benjamin Leatherman

12th Planet tears it up at Madison Event Center last night. See more photos from the event in our slideshow.

​Not to be too dramatic, but I probably suffered some permanent hearing damage last night while watching 12th Planet. It would take a doctor to confirm (perhaps even Doctor P), but there's been a constant ringing in my ears after getting blasted with the deadly drops, filthy hooks, and the screeching sirens inherent to his gorey electronica and dubstep.

And you know what? It was completely worth it. Being able to witness an artist as skilled as 12th Planet (currently one of only a handful of truly great dubsteppers in the world) perform an epic set both in his prime and at the apex of his popularity is something any EDM fan should do.

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Mystery Lawn Music/Minty Fresh Records

Allen Clapp, center, and his Orchestra light up the night.

​If sunshine were audible, it would probably sound a lot like Allen Clapp's music. Based in the Bay Area, the Northern California native has been producing a gorgeous soundtrack to the Golden State lifestyle for almost two decades under his own name and with his band The Orange Peels.

Mixed Greens is the second album from Allen Clapp and his Orchestra, but while the artist name may change on his releases, the sweet pop hooks and marvelous melodies are instantly identifiable.

While The Orange Peels' efforts blend twee indie guitar pop and strummier power pop and Clapp's releases bearing his own name are more keyboard driven, Mixed Greens comfortably splits the difference.

As is often the case with Clapp, nature and its ever-changing seasons figure prominently in his lyrics and some natural element is name-checked in almost every song. Of course, they're usually metaphors for love and its ever-changing moods, a timeless poetic touch exemplified here by "If The Wind Is Right" and "Autumn Heart," among other songs.

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​Today at 4:20 p.m. (get it?), Odd Future member Domo Genesis, who we profiled earlier this year, when right as he was leaving ASU, dropped a brand new mixtape, Under the Influence.

Over 14 tracks, Domo positions himself as the sleepy-eyed mellow member of the Wolf Gang. While his buddy Tyler, the Creator has been showing up super aggressive on tracks by The Game and Pusha T, Domo is more apt to rap about weed ("Let's Smoke," and Pokemon ("Smokemon").

Tyler shows up on "The Whole City Behind Us," rapping about "label crackers" over fuzzed out psych guitar samples.
Domo sounds particularly great rapping over Kanye West's "We Major" beat -- but he wisely trims the song down to under two minutes. "Shine" is nice, too, a funky old-school soul sample (sped up vocals during the verses, of course).

This is a good thing from Domo -- here's hoping he brings the same smoothness to his upcoming solo debut. You can download the whole thing for free over at Domo's Tumblr.

Big Hassle Media

The timeless power pop of Los Angeles' Army Navy makes for a great summertime soundtrack.

​Like your favorite comfort food, power pop music is familiar, tasty and satisfying... and, sometimes, it's the only thing you want.

If you consider The Raspberries' 1972 self-titled debut album and its absolutely perfect single, "Go All The Way," as the genesis of the genre (and I do, with apologies to Badfinger), it'll turn a venerable 40 years of age next year. Over the course of nearly four decades, power pop's hallmarks of concise song structures, ringing guitar hooks, catchy choruses and sweet harmonies have gone in and out of fashion, but the genre's never gone away. It's evergreen.

Power pop's genealogy may not boast the biggest names in rock 'n' roll, but it certainly contains some memorable and respected ones: Big Star, Cheap Trick, The Romantics, The Cars, Marshall Crenshaw, Tommy Keene, Redd Kross, Hoodoo Gurus, The Smithereens, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet, The Posies and Fountains of Wayne to name a handful from the first three decades of the genre.

The 21st century is not without its proponents of power pop either, consider: Phantom Planet, OK Go and Rooney, among others.

The summer of 2011 featured a three-horse race for power pop album of the season, with Army Navy, Locksley and The Postelles all releasing new albums. Let's take a closer look at each of these discs to see how they fared at the finish line.

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​Incubus fans expecting the band's popular brand of guitar rock are in for a shock with the group's seventh album, If Not Now, When?, released today. Listening to all twelve of the slow, concise power ballads here, one might even start to think they were listening to a Coldplay album.More >>

The New F.O.'s EP Real.Life.Feel.Good.

​According to its own polished hype, the aptly named Hype Music is "a remarkable talent-incubating, hybrid, music licensing company fueled by some of the world's hottest, emerging, independent artists." More >>

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Second Motion Records

​As we've detailed previously here, Second Motion Records is in the midst of reissuing much of Australian alternative music legends The Church's catalog. Following single-disc versions, with bonus tracks, of the quartet's first four LPs, comes this double-disc, stand-alone offering of the band's beloved, best-known album.

Their commercial pinnacle, 1988's Starfish was also a creative peak for a group with a mountain range full of them in their long and varied career. It boasts The Church's signature single, "Under The Milky Way," which charted around the world, including a Top 25 placement in the American Top 40, and was the band's mainstream breakthrough outside of their native land. A whole new generation fell under its spell when it appeared in the cult classic film Donnie Darko in 2001.

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Merge Records

Jonny features Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake, left, and Euros Childs, formerly of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Childs: "Why don't we record some music together, Norman?" Blake: Why, that's a fine idea, my friend!"

​You know indie rock has reached full maturity when longtime genre protagonists are forming "supergroups." Well, that and Arcade Fire winning a Grammy, Pitchfork holding its own music festival, Pavement reuniting, Pomplamoose performing in car commercials, etc.

Guess what comes after maturity, kids? The inevitable decline... so best to enjoy your favorite musical style while it lasts!

Here's a couple of distinctive debut discs from indie supergroups to help you do just that.

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​The New York Dolls' new album, Dancing Backward in High Heels, comes out today, June 7. As one of the most influential acts in the punk and glam rock genres, the New York Dolls' body of work mostly consists of gritty garage rock and glam punk songs -- you know, the types of tunes you could listen to while either applying lipstick, slam dancing, or both.

For anyone familiar with the Dolls, Dancing Backward in High Heels will surprise them. It's not what one would expect from the same band that pioneered east coast glam, punk, and New Wave. This album is a big departure from most of their previous albums. It consists entirely of '50s bomp, '60s pop, and '70s Motown-type tunes, with some dark folk sounds thrown in.

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