Best Local Rock Act

Reveling in the mesmerizing aesthetics of drone pop and Krautrock, Red Sea’s songs creep along at a hypnotic pace. But a slow and jangling indie rock sensibility propels these four fresh-faced 18- to 21-year-olds from Suwanee over deep, dark valleys of reverb and resonance. Less than 24 hours after self-releasing the Weird Problem EP via Bandcamp, Red Sea was deemed a buzzworthy band by the local blogosphere, and its subsequent live shows only highlighted the band’s potential to achieve local clout at an age when most acts are still kicking around in the garage. redsea.bandcamp.com.

Listen: Red Sea “Cruel Future”

If you ask local concert promoters what they think about SNOWDEN, they’ll praise the band for its professionalism: The quartet turns up for a gig on time, doesn’t cause any problems, draws a capacity audience and puts on a great show. The same could be said of its music. On the band’s 2005 full-length Anti-Anti, the music sounds tight and efficient, producing a wintry atmosphere that revolves around melancholy group leader Jordan Jeffares’ voice without dwelling in it. Despite their economy, the songs are full of odd little twists, from the way Jeffares sings almost haltingly to the fact that many don’t have identifiable choruses. Unlike many of Atlanta’s underground rock bands, Snowden doesn’t try to make a spectacle to get attention. It’s quietly subversive.

www.snowden.info