Then again, The Exies have always been independents at heart; they're a band unafraid to take risks and make bold moves. For instance, their second 2007 single isn't an album cut at all - it's an Internet-only release, and it's accompanied by an incendiary clip that's already become a sensation on video-sharing sites like YouTube. "God We Look Good (Going Down In Flames)" is a gutsy broadside against the state of contemporary media, a critique of celebrity culture, and a savaging of that which passes for political discourse on the modern airwaves. We have, Stevens seems to be suggesting, lost our nerve at a crucial moment, and we've become distracted by sideshows. "This is the pill, the pill that we swallow," he howls, his reference to The Matrix evident, "the death of us all, the cash, the kill - they're selling us off to make the deal."

The video for "God We Look Good (Going Down In Flames)" is similarly confrontational - and similarly unapologetic. Images flash by, one after another, none lingering on the screen for more than a second. It's like channel-surfing on speed, and at this rate, every shot projected becomes near-subliminal and loaded with meaning. But none of the footage assembled by The Exies will feel unfamiliar to anybody who's got a television: we're shown the faces of complicit politicians, shots of violence, sex, weeping celebrities carted off to prison, missiles, dollar signs, works of fine art, religious symbols, guns. The words "are you ready to go?" and "sell out" struggle to surface; they're a message fighting its way through the chaos. Stevens, too, breaks into the frame from time to time, and he forces his way straight up to the camera to deliver his accusation, as if he's besieged on all sides and wants to make sure he's getting his message across. He grabs the attention of the lens and hangs on to his connection with his audience while he can, like a pit bull with its prey in its mouth. But the tilt-a-whirl of images rushes on, oblivious to objection and seemingly beyond control. Who cycles through these channels, and who stands behind the rush of content that now fills the televised airwaves? The implication here is that nobody is in control: that, instead, we're all being washed downstream by a torrent of meaningless news and gossip, one greased by money and power but generated and perpetuated by its own sick momentum.

Bobby Harlow is a first and foremost an ace tunesmith, and his attention to detail is second to none in Detroit, and maybe the world. He's also one of the most protean singers on the scene: he can purr over a psychedelic breakdown like Syd Barrett, channel expansive Ray Davies, and then shout along with the distorted guitars like Roky Erickson at his wildest. The rest of the band follows suit, coaxing vintage sounds out of their amplifiers and charging through the tracks on Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride with the fervor of RnB junkies. Their highly stylized creativity extends to their album art: the cover of Howl is pure psychedelia, and the song titles have been scribbled in shaky white-ink bubble letters of the sort you might find on old MC5 gig posters. Cartoonist M. Wartella exploded into the animation world after being featured on MTV2's cult-favorite Wonder Showzen. His sequential work has appeared in anthologies from D.C. Comics to Fantagraphics Books and in magazines including Andy Warhol's Interview and Spin. His illustrations have appeared on the cover of Vice Magazine (his infamous and now extremely rare scratch-off cover) and regularly in Nickelodeon Magazine. M. Wartella handles the band's visual aesthetic, and has blessed the quartet with one of the most striking logos in underground rock.

Wartella's also responsible for the animation in the clip for "You Go Bangin' On", which was animated by hand on top of every frame to achieve maximum "psych-out" effect. As the band plays against the black background, waves of Saturday-morning cartoon color flow from their instruments - a harmonica produces a wash of hot pink, yellow and blue waves, white zigzags fly up from the hi-hat, red lightning shakes free from maracas, and bright flowers blink into life around Krautner's fretboard. The kick-drum becomes a canvas for the band's lyrics (as well as other messages), and vibrations shoot from Harlow's dancing body.

In case there was any question about it, the video for "She Moves In Her Own Way" announces The Kooks' intention to take the Western Hemisphere by storm. The beautifully-shot clip finds The Kooks on tour in Mexico, streaking from town to town on bus, walking the dusty streets and perching high above marquees written in Spanish, and horsing around in a luxurious hotel pool. They possess the ease and grace of true rock stars: there's an inevitability and confidence in every move they make, and all four bandmembers command the camera with playfulness and exuberance. This is the sort of clip that a group makes during the first flush of worldwide success - and that feeling of wonder and amazement at the thrill of rock and roll fame is present in every frame.

They've made an inspired choice of collaborator, too. Diane Martel is an auteur of glamour, and one of the most sought-after video directors working in American commercial music. She specializes in capturing the mercurial personalities of superstars, and her world-famous clips for Jennifer Lopez ("Get Right"), Alicia Keys ("If I Ain't Got You"), John Legend ("So High") and Beyoncé ("Listen") offer the viewer an intimacy rarely seen on contemporary music television. Martel has done the same for the rock bands she's worked with (Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery, and The Killers, just to name a few), showcasing both the dynamism of the groups and the star quality of the individual members.

Since the release of their Sing Song mini-album, hailed as "one of the year's most lovable indie-rock CD's" by The New York Times, the buzz about The Little Ones has electrified the underground. On weblogs, social-networking sites, MP3 lists, and elsewhere, deejays, record-store clerks, and tastemakers everywhere have been spreading the word and recommending this quartet to anybody who loves offbeat, melodic indiepop. The Los Angeles indie rock band has toured America and Canada with the Kaiser Chiefs and The Walkmen, played a stunning showcase set at SXSW, streaked across Britain with Tilly and the Wall and The Magic Numbers, all while securing rave reviews in Pitchfork and NME.

With its Jesse LeDoux (Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins, Achilles Heel by Pedro The Lion) album cover and its wistful track titles, Sing Song looks and feels like the perfect accompaniment for modern heartbreak. The songs are sunny and bright - but lead singer and frontman Ed Reyes's beautiful arrangements conceal barbs. "Lovers Who Uncover", the current single, is a fantastic singalong number complete with shouts and handclaps, and a sugar-coated melody that wouldn't sound out of place on a Fleetwood Mac set. But listen a bit closer: it's a song about miscommunication, and the passage of time, and the cost of maturity. The heartbreaking clip for "Lovers Who Uncover" borrows its concept from "The Gift" by The Velvet Underground: a foolish lover mails himself across the country to the object of his affections. But there's no cruelty or violence in this version of the story. This time, the tragedy comes entirely from misapprehension - and that makes it all the more painful. Unlike Waldo Jeffers from "The Gift", the main character of the "Lovers Who Uncover" video isn't kidding himself about his girlfriend's affections. Instead, she's trying her best to get his attention while he, halfway across the country, concocts his plan. She sends him Polaroids, calls him on the phone, and checks her mailbox regularly for a reply - but instead of giving her the quick ring she'd need to reassure her, he opts for the more spectacular (and time-consuming) gesture. By the time he arrives on her doorstep, she's grown tired of wating and left to find him on her own, leaving them literally on each other's doorsteps!

Although the group has yet to chart a stateside hit, mainstream press reaction to The Magic Numbers was nearly as overwhelming in the U.S. as it was in the U.K., where the quartet was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Prize. The New York Times listed the first Magic Numbers set among the year's finest; the Wall Street Journal concurred, and added that "to call it the debut album of the year might not be praise enough". Spin, Details and Rolling Stone all raved - and even the USA TODAY got into the act, lauding the band's songwriting and three-part vocal harmonies. Back home in Britain, The Magic Numbers received a shower of ecstatic praise, the album soared into the Top 10, and the band launched four singles into the U.K. top 20. Stodart and his band toured with U2, Brian Wilson, and The Who, and played almost every major summer festival held in 2005 and 2006 - including Bonnaroo and Coachella in the United States. Warm summer sun, outdoor stages, and The Magic Numbers music were all meant to go together.

Kenyata Sullivan and his team are back with a new clip for "Break It And Breathe", the second single from the independently-released and critically-lauded Schizophrenology, and we're excited to report that The Majestic Twelve have upped the ante. The song is a painfully honest reflection on a suicide of a friend, but the accompanying clip is no downer; rather, it plays whimsically on notions of escape, alienation, and breakthrough, and does it all under brilliant spring sunshine. Also, since this is a Majestic Twelve project, there are men in robot suits, and men in space suits, and men in cowboy suits getting chased through the streets of Wilmington by a tribe of gorgeous Amazons, and candid shots of bemused (but always game) passersby. It's an absolute hoot, it's beautifully shot and convincingly performed, and it conjures that same sense of defiance, camaraderie, and celebration in the face of tragedy that we've always found in Sullivan's music.

Kenyata Sullivan has been one of the principal organizers of the annual Wilmington Exchange Festival (www.wefestival.com ) since its inception over ten years ago. Whether he intends it to be or not, the "Break It And Breathe" clip functions as a fantastic advert for WEFest: the streets of the coastal North Carolina city look gorgeous and welcoming, the Cape Fear river is a dazzling blue, and the folks on the street appear to be game for all manner of good-natured weirdness. "Break It And Breathe" reminds us again that there's no better place to be during Memorial Day Weekend than Wilmington, and no more gracious hosts than Kenyata Sullivan and The Majestic Twelve.