Mysterious, ethereal and eerie, Keep Shelly In Athens create an all-encompassing sound in the whispery tune “Running Out Of You”. Filled with enormous dreamy synths, the song is dream pop for nearly two thirds of its four and a half minutes. The final third adds a heavier beat, turntable scratching, and an 80s hip hop sample in which a guy says Break It Down.

Easter Island is brothers Ethan and Asher Payne, who, along with drummer John Cable and bassist Andrew Terrell, create smooth, dreamy progressive pop in the vein of Stars or even Wye Oak. Better Things is filled with surreal pop songs, opening with the near shoegaze “Proud”. While the EP doesn’t embark completely into that space, it does flirt with it frequently.

In the past, The Modern Skirts have proved themselves to be one of the finest piano-laced indie pop groups in the western hemisphere. But, to be so damn good really seems to come with a price. The dreaded pigeon-holing effect becomes a factor. And any real artist, or avid listener, knows that this could very well mean the death of wonderful musical acts. The Skirts blasted out of nowhere in 2005 with an album that everyone couldn’t stop loving. In 2008, they stepped their game …

It’s difficult to describe the encapsulating power behind Ham1. The Athens-based band’s latest album, Let’s Go On And On And On With Ham 1, is perhaps most engrossing release in their half-decade career. “It’s Only A Dream Unto Itself” is one of the album’s top tracks, molding together a unique array of rock, folk, country and psychedelic for a sound that hints of wide influences from local friends Dark Meat, to the grunge master J. Mascis himself, to the epic genius John Cale.

Odd that this, Pyramid Of The Sun, is my first experience of the epic Maserati. It’s not with ignorance, too; their name has been uttered in my direction from many an enthusiast. Thus I do not feel competent in doing an album review, as I have no basis of comparison – and that is precisely what a long-time fan would want. So a brief feature, then. Pyramid Of The Sun is a masterful blend of wild guitar riffs, borderline electronica, and the intoxicating hint of psychedelia. …

They call it transcendental dance pop, which sounds pretty good to me. I’d add in hints of punk and plenty of noise to that description, though. Tunabunny is the latest great thing to come out of Athens, Georgia, a place that needs no introduction when it comes to great independent music. And their new self-titled LP is on Happy Happy Birthday To Me, a label that should also need no introduction.

Elf Power is one of the great leftovers from the epic Elephant 6 collective — you know, bands like Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, Essex Green, Beulah, and Apples In Stereo to drop a few names. On their tenth — yes, tenth! — studio album, they go the self-titled route. But don’t think that safe move has lessened any of their creativity as it absolutely has not. Elf Power begins strong with “The Taking Under” and it refuses to quit impressing through the last song.

Hypnotic is not a term one often associates with punk, but Athens-based trio Bambara fit both molds. At times ethereal and dreamy, at others ferocious and noisy, Bambara mixes elements of the post-punk revival with modern shoegaze and psychedelic noise. Dog Ear Days is a bit of a mystery as its mere existence possesses something strangely magical.

After turning so many heads with their 2008 sophomore release, All Of Us In Our Night, as well as appearing on the video game Rock Band 2, some may wonder how the Athens pop/rock group Modern Skirts would return when that time eventually came. Could anything they do top the local and sub-sequential SXSW successes they have achieved? With the release of Happy 81 EP, the prequel to their upcoming full length album due this fall, some listeners might be a bit upset. But, the real fans …

The release date of Elf Power‘s tenth album, Elf Power, may be a few months out, but hype is growing thanks to the release of the first single from the album. “Stranger In The Window” is just as soft and mysterious as anything off Back To The Web, and hints at their early Elephant 6 and Kindercore sensibilities. It, of course, can be likened more to their recent works, the aforementioned Web and 2008′s In A Cave. With a shuffled percussion, a romantic slide guitar, and lyrical poetry …