NICOLE ATKINS Her voice sounds like it traveled through the decades, crossed state lines, and knocked back a few shots before arriving - ardent, humongous, and untethered to time and place - in the body of a modern Jersey girl. There's history here: Roy Orbison and Loretta Lynn, classic rock, occasional dashes of musical theater, Jimmy Reed, Leonard Cohen. Atkins once said she wanted to sound like a girl group in a David Lynch movie, and her new album, "Neptune City," a deep, effervescent collection of noir Americana, fills that bill. Check out Atkins Feb. 15 at T.T. the Bear's before she moves (and it will be soon) into bigger rooms.
BEACH HOUSE Woozy, off-kilter nuggets filled Beach House's self-titled EP, which earned guitarist Alex Scally and singer-keyboardist Victoria Legrand (French composer Michel's niece) a sweet spot on the indie radar last year. "Devotion," the Baltimore duo's full-length debut, is due in late February, and the new songs - a handful are streaming at myspace.com/beachhousemusic - are shapely, caffeinated variations on the group's delicately dark, eerily radiant sound. Beach House plays upstairs at the Middle East Upstairs March 31.
LEONA LEWIS Simon Cowell has been nattering on about singers having that certain special "X factor" for several years on "American Idol." He liked the idea so much that he turned it into a reality contest in his native United Kingdom, and Lewis was the 2006 champ. With her curly locks, biracial ethnicity, and skyscraping range, Lewis has drawn compari sons to Mariah Carey (and Whitney Houston and Celine Dion). The 21-year-old also drew copious praise from judges Cowell and Sharon Osbourne, celeb blogger Perez Hilton, and other British pop stars such as Gary Barlow of Take That. In November, her "Spirit" became the fastest-selling debut album in UK history; it arrives on these shores in March.
YO MAJESTY What's the antidote to a quarter-century of sexist, homophobic rap? How about a hard-core lesbian hip-hop duo? Shunda K and Jwl B set their brazen, defiant rhymes to floor-shaking electro-rap club beats (courtesy of British producer David Alexander), and the result is a punk-funk-crunk party that turns the familiar macho model on its head. The Tampa group recently signed with Domino Records, home to Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys, and the full-length follow-up to Yo Majesty's gritty, booty-shaking "Yo" EP will be out this spring.
LADY ANTEBELLUM With the success of Sugarland and Little Big Town, Nashville is primed for another male-female group to continue breaking up the traditional mold of solo guys and gals. Lady Antebellum has got the goods to be that band. The three-part harmonies, hint of grit, and appealing contemporary country sound of the group's first single, "Love Don't Live Here," bodes well for the as-yet-to-be-titled debut from Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood. Before their disc, produced by Dixie Chicks and Little Big Town knob-twiddler Paul Worley, drops in April, the trio will hit the road as an opening act for Martina McBride.
THAO NGUYEN This 23-year-old singer-songwriter based in Washington, D.C., put out her debut in 2005, but her new one could (and should) be the big breakthrough. "We Brave Bee Stings and All" will be released Jan. 29, and it presents Nguyen at her best: plucky, eccentric, and wildly entertaining. "Oh, no, how can you stand it? When I run, when I run like a bandit?/ I wear him like a habit/ In the linen of my jacket," she sings on the jangly "Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)." If it's not a huge hit with the indie-rock set, we'd be surprised. Hear a preview at thaomusic.com, and catch her opening for fellow Kill Rock Stars labelmate Xiu Xiu at the Museum of Fine Arts March 21.
LIAM FINN A one-man band from New Zealand, Finn plays all the instruments and sings all the parts on his debut, "I'll Be Lightning." He takes cues from indie folk-pop forefathers such as Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst and reveals hints of his father, Neil Finn of Crowded House, with his tender, multitracked croon and lyrical style. But he chops, blends, and twists his keyboards, guitars, electronics, and melodies into a shiny new beast that is both gentle and subtly feral. "Lightning" strikes Jan. 22, and Finn plays the Middle East Upstairs March 22.
LISANDRO ARISTIMUÑO Truth be told, Aristimuño hasn't made much of a splash outside his native Argentina and probably won't ripple into the US market this year. But that's all irrelevant in this age of self-made Internet sensations, and this 29-year-old singer-songwriter from Patagonia is definitely one to watch and root for. Dabbling in baroque electronica - a twinkling chime here, a wash of synthesized strings there - Aristimuño filters his songs through layers of drums, piano, acoustic guitar, and ambient sound samples. Until David Byrne brings him stateside just as he did with fellow Argentine Juana Molina (just you wait), you can buy Aristimuño's albums on iTunes and listen to full songs at myspace.com/lisandroaristi. Let the online ascent begin.
