Birdmonster / The Talk

Birdmonster hails from San Francisco but nails the loosey-goosey vocal mumbles and mod-punk guitar bombs of young U.K. groups such as the Libertines and Cribs — which might be why they earned an opening slot on a recent Art Brut U.S. tour. Still, their upcoming album, No Midnight, is more than just British bluster; the jittery melodies and giddy-up backbeats will also tide Modest Mouse fans over until Isaac Brock gets around to releasing a new disc. Charlotte, North Carolina, rockers the Talk are one of the more underrated indie acts around today, a quartet whose ragtag tunes can jump from Replacements-esque shambling to sparkling, psychedelic pop (think Saddle Creek on uppers) in a split second.