Best Local Pop Act

With the April release of Little Tybee’s proper debut, Humorous to Bees (Paper Garden Records), the group proved it’s one of the most refined bands in town. It’s quite an accomplishment considering the current crop of homegrown pop acts crafting equally glassy and complex sounds. But what sets this sophisticated foursome apart is a subtle seafaring aura that colors the music and sets its strings and swoon adrift. littletybee.muxtape.com.

Listen: Little Tybee “Passion Seekers”

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As relative newcomers to Atlanta’s music scene, ABBY GO GO has done their homework. The group draws from a mixed bag of noisy, drug-addled proto-punk and drone-rock luminaries, including the Velvet Underground, Stereolab, the Jesus and Mary Chain and other staples. But rather than simply imitate their heroes, the foursome stands on the shoulders of giants to offer a distinctly Southern vision of humid, spectral rock ’n’ roll that’s filled with an elegant, spaced-out plod. www.myspace.com/abbygogorocks. less...

There are dozens of musical categories that could easily depict ONE HAND LOVES THE OTHER’s many faces. Electronic, R&B, modern classical and experimental music all come to mind. But it’s the group’s ability to blend them all into a seamless pop tapestry that makes it stand out in Atlanta’s alternative music scene. On the group’s self-titled debut CD, vocalist Lou Rodriguez’s dramatic croon billows with dark passion over a deluge of strings and electronic textures. The marriage of laptop precision to the warm, natural tones that emanate from cello and violin strings tussles between red-blooded desire and sparse musical arrangements. Not only is OHLtO’s debut captivating, it introduces to the Atlanta music scene a remarkable new talent — one that has much more to offer.

www.myspace.com/onehandlovestheother

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