​Today sees the release Unto The Locust, the seventh album from California-based metal band Machinehead.

The heavy follow-up to 2006's The Blackening, which beat out Slayer and Lamb of God for "Album of the Year" at the Golden God Awards, Unto The Locust displays the band's varied styles and prowess.

There's only one track on the record that is under six minutes long--just barely--and the the tracks veer wildly in different directions. On one track, you hear layers of children chanting "this is who we are"; on another, soft acoustic guitar or intertwining guitar riffs; and on yet another, Flynn's signature growls and screams.

Singer/ guitarist Robb Flynn talked with Up On The Sun about Machinehead karaoke, the new album, and why he just had his first singing lesson 19 years into his career.

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Twin Sister - In Heaven

​Twin Sister is a Long Island-bred indie-pop quintet that creates lush, dreamy music. The songs are an outburst of melody enriched with a deep sense of emotion and atmosphere, personified by lead singer, Andrea Estella's warm, whispered vocals resulting in a remarkable set of songs that can only be described as a feeling of calm euphoria.More >>

Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley

​Initially filled with mystery and intrigue, indie pop/lo-fi duo Summer Camp bust onto the scene in 2010 with their dreamy, bedroom pop -- much to the delight of the blogoshpere. No one quite knew exactly who the duo was or where they hailed from --  Chicago was mentioned as a hometown, as well as possibly Sweden. Those ruminations were all put to rest, however, when Summer Camp was revealed as London duo Jeremy Warmsley, an accomplished singer/songwriter with two albums to his name, and Elizabeth Sankey, a journalist who had worked with NME and Platform. It seems the mystery was due to both Warmsley and Sankey, who admitted they didn't think their project was going to go public.

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Era Extraña, the highly anticipated sophomore album from Neon Indian

​September 13 may just come to define new music for all of 2011 -- St. Vincent, Blitzen Trapper, Wooden Shjips and Neon Indian all have new albums due out. No one album, however, is as anticipated as the sophomore effort from Neon Indian, Era Extraña. Alan Palomo, the man behind Neon Indian, spent this past winter in Helsinki writing and recording what would eventually become Extraña, adding all the more intrigue to an already fascinating musician in Palomo.

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Fair Ohs - Everything Is Dancing

​Imagine, if you will, that there exists somewhere out there a less shitty, English version of Vampire Weekend -- a band that employs Afropop stylings yet with more of an edge to their sound. East London trio Fairs Ohs are just that. The band does not don loafers and sweaters, nor do they sing about Mexican rice beverages or Cape Cod -- yet, like Ezra Koenig and co., they do have a distinctly tropical punk, Afropop sound. 

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Stephen Bruner, better known as Thundercat

​Stephen Bruner, it's safe to say, is one interesting dude. When he's not doing session work for Snoop Dogg, Eric Benet and Flying Lotus -- he was featured on FlyLo's latest album, Cosmogramma, on the track "Mmmhmm" -- Bruner plays bass for Suicidal Tendencies. Yeah, that Suicidal Tendencies. More >>

Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves

​Oddly enough, my introduction to up-and-coming indie rock outfit Blood Orange was very similar to my introduction to British singer/songwriter Lightspeed Champion -- the stage name of Devonté Hynes -- back in late 2007. I had initially listened to albums from both bands, not immediately comprehending just what was going on. With Lightspeed Champion, I didn't initially realize that what I was hearing, but their debut album Falling Off The Lavender Bridge was soon to become one my favorite albums of the past three years. With regards to Blood Orange, I honestly did not know what I was listening to was, in fact, a side project of the aforementioned Hynes -- yet another moniker for the immensely talented musician.More >>

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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Steve Gullick / NickCaveandtheBadSeeds.com

Nick Cave, third from left, and The Bad Seeds

​If there were ever an artist who has passed the half-century mark in age and is making new works every bit as engaging, if not more so, than what was created in their so-called "prime," it has to be Nick Cave.

Well, we can throw Bob Dylan and his last few releases in there, too... but damned, if this Cave mofo ain't on a roll! And a multi-faceted one at that. Since turning the big 5-0 in 2007, he's churned out his second novel, screenplays, soundtracks and a fantastic sophomore album with side-project Grinderman, not to mention his ongoing efforts with longtime band The Bad Seeds, for which he is most noted. Check out our coverage of all of the above, here, here and here.

Like Dylan, the strength of Cave's back catalog makes this feat that much more impressive. For proof, we now have the third set of reissues of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 14-disc studio album catalog, taking us from album eight through 11. On these four discs, Cave matures into a songwriter that can not only approach the stature of his inspirations -- Cash, Cohen, Dylan -- but justifiably place himself on a pedestal alongside them.

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