Before BabyJake — also known as Jake Herring — sat down with Student Life, his band’s soundcheck reverberated throughout the building: loud drums, crunchy guitar riffs, and, of course, his textured vocals.

There’s always been a nostalgic quality to Vampire Weekend’s music. The indie-pop act, formed nearly 20 years ago by four Columbia University students in New York City, has never ceased to find a way to craft songs that make you feel as if you’ve already heard them before.  Yet, with “Only God Was Above Us” […]

As we consume art, we want to feel that it is genuine, to feel like it was made as art — not as a product to be marketed and sold.

There’s always this feeling I have right after leaving the movie theater, like the world stopped moving while you sat in your seat and were transported to an alternate universe. I got that same sort of feeling as the lights went down at the end of AJR’s “Neotheater” tour.

“Hold my hand darling/Pull me in your waters/When you call my name, I’ll be on my way,” the opening lines of “Pacific Love” off of Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s new album “How to: Friend, Love Freefall” ring out. And ring out the whole album does.

Saint Motel is one of the biggest names on the indie scene, described as being anywhere from adventure-rock to dream-pop, not exactly fitting into a specific genre, but has managed to carve out their own niche.

California five-piece Local Natives are making their return to St. Louis on Thursday, April 24. They played Loufest in 2013 and have been continuing their tour in support of last year’s album, “Hummingbird.” They put on a great show at Loufest, so if you missed them then or just want to see them in a more intimate venue, this is the chance.

I’m convinced Annie Clark is an alien. Don’t believe me? Take one glance at the cover of her fourth solo album under the St. Vincent moniker. You’ll find her staring with laser-like intensity, arms symmetrically perched on a space-age throne, while she sports a jagged shock of white hair and a sleek purple chrome dress. She certainly looks the part.

Many reviews of Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” have been released already, and they seem to focus on whether or not she’s a true indie songstress or a just label-created pop product. I, however, think she can be a fusion of the two, as not all pop has to be dance-y Britney beats and ballads. Lana Del Rey’s brand of pop instead recalls earlier times.

Florence Welch has come a long way since she was discovered singing drunk in a bathroom. The red-haired songstress from Camberwell, England, released her debut album “Lungs” in 2009 under the recording name Florence + the Machine (which includes her and a collaboration of supporting vocal artists), and the record slowly but surely took the world by storm.