Bands come from all around the world to play the College Music Journal Music Marathon. Here is just a sampling of the cultural exchanges that are most worth your while
The Analog Girl
The Analog Girl makes the sort of trance-y sounds that may at first deceive listeners into thinking it’s background music. But soon the reverb-y spy guitars, hypnotic rhythms and dream sequence vocals of this Singapore producer will pop out and draw you in. Wednesday, the Knitting Factory
Ghost Wave
These four guys export pretty melodies with a lovable low-fi aesthetic from Aukland, New Zealand. There’s a garage rock energy that hints at a killer live show. Wednesday, Cake Shop
Little Green Cars
The hook for this Irish band’s song, “The John Wayne,” is “it’s easy to fall in love.” And with LGC’s simple and authoritative harmonic songs, it really is easy. Wednesday, Slipper Room
Loco Star
This band from Gdansk, Poland, dabbles in complicated rhythms and mixes pretty loops with subtle horn parts. It’s light female-fronted pop with mellow blips, like the dubstep sound effect dial turned down to 1. They play as part of a Polish showcase with Brodka. Wednesday, Fat Baby
Project E.A.R.
It sounds like the dozen or so dudes from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who are part of Project E.A.R. went to a Warped Tour show and grabbed little bits from every act there. There are ele-ments of modern rock, dubstep, metal and rap. But it’s all through an East Asian filter that makes it unique. Thursday , Fontana’s
Admiral Fallow
You like the chime-y, rousing folk sounds of Mumford, but wish the accents were thicker? This Glasgow six-piece are your band. Thursday, Union Hall
Teff
On the leadoff track of this Barbados MC’s new album, Teff refers to himself as “this young boy from Rihanna-land,” but to write him off as a coattail rider is a mistake. What’s fun about his latest release, “Dream World,” is that he features as many special guests as any hip-hop album these days — but the difference is you don’t know who Simon Pipe, Sueann, MaRVay or GQ are … yet! Friday, DROM
Eminence
Vein-bursting screaming and talking like a deep-voiced monster are as universal as anything else in rock music. So when a band from Belo Horizonte, Brazil is trafficking in this type of really heavy metal, it shouldn’t be that surprising. But somehow, it is. Friday, Rocks Off Concert Cruise
Choir of Young Believers
The five men and two women from Copenhagen, Denmark, who make up this Choir create an atmospheric beauty somewhere between Sigur Ros and My Morning Jacket, sometimes tapping into a similar icy ’80s sound as Destroyer. Friday, Mercury Lounge
