This is what I’ve recently listened to from U.S. and found interesting.

The Reptilian
Released in March by Count Your Lucky Stars, The Reptilian gave a big boost to my hopes for finding good new music on emusic (also avail. on Itunes). Playing math in the style of Native and Antlers, it’s full of creative guitar-work and catchy rhythms, that set a cheerful mood.. together with concise titles such as “I’ll Ram My Ovipositor Down Your Throat and Lay My Eggs In Your Chest But I’m Not An Alien”.

Imperial China
I was late finding out about Aucan, and now I can say the same about Imperial China from DC. Method EP was released last year. At times it’s pumping and minimalistic like Battles and Aucan, but Imperial China can play with a heavier attitude than Battles and lighter, more organic sound than Aucan. Get the EP now, and we won’t wait long for the full-length:

We’ve just finished recording a full length album and will be mixing it over the next few weeks. As with the EP, Devin Ocampo is doing a splendid job of making us sound great. We hope to get a label squared away soon and get the album on the streets this fall.

You.may.die.in.the.desert
My initial reaction was that I didn’t need more post-rock at the moment, but this goes beyond post-rock with lots of interesting sounds and less focus on buildups and atmosphere. Bears In The Yukon (2008) is easy to get your hands on immediately on emusic and released on CD. Give it a listen. And they have another one coming up..

Little Kingdoms
Quiet, but full of melodic structure: Little Kingdoms from Pennsylvania deserves attention, because they have a unique style, playing something that could be much louder, adding acoustic guitar and chilling electronics. Their full Willow EP can be downloaded from their myspace.

Castevet
Released a brilliant demo preview of their full length, I Know What A Lion is, which is free btw. Melodic and easy to like with lengthy, intelligent tracks that moves the style back and forth between emo (largely due to the singer) and instrumental, melodic math.

Noumenon
Soon to release a split and playing at Chicago friends Castevet’s release party. Two yummy tracks on myspace.