Like Motörhead before them, DOOMRIDERS live up to their name: they sound fucking evil. They’re one of the few side projects whose careers might actually be impeded, rather than enhanced, by the main-band association: their new Darkness Come Alive (Deathwish, Inc.) is even more accessible than Converge’s new Axe To Fall

I will defer to Barry Thompson in describing the charm of MEandJOANCOLLINS:

[J]ust because the association [with the real Joan Collins] is incidental doesn't mean the band are so very different from the actress. Both are gracefully glam. Both have a foot planted in British pop culture. MEandJOANCOLLINS's inaugural album, Love.

Americana rockers CASSAVETTES, who differentiate themselves from this guy by spelling their name with two Ts, have been well-regarded in this town for some time now. They're about to drop a new album, though, that could well see them blow up in a big way - or at least, that's what this week's mp3, the short-but-catchy-as-fuck "Ordinary Girls," leads us to believe.

This week's mp3 has its genesis in the recent "One Night Band" project. Therefore, we'll let the folks at Boston Band Crush, who put on the event, explain PEPPERMINT PATTIES to us:

The Peppermint Patties, took the concept of One Night Band to the extreme. They decided to be a band that only played '50s style numbers.

That oddly-lit photo seems somehow appropriate for the authors of this week's mp3 of the week. THE LIGHTS OUT is their name (disclosure: one of them works here), and their earnest rock (think Thermals, Hold Steady, Ted Leo, etc.) seems well-suited to the darker corners of town like these places, or T. T.

1. HOMEWORK

As we have enthusiastically proclaimed with our keen supplement this week: Welcome back whoever you are! We at the Phoenix are of a giving sort, so as a way to fluff your cushion while you’re settling in, we present to you the inaugural installment of our brand new Homework series.

It's back to school time around town, and so we're going to assign you some math homework. Relax, Emerson students and liberal arts majors: we're talking about MATH THE BAND, the quirky synth-pop group. Download their new track, "Why Didn't You Get a Haircut?" below.

LISTEN: Math the Band, "Why Didn't You Get a Haircut?" (mp3)

READ: Smashing Success: The New Collisions start things off right. By Barry Thompson.

WFNX New England Product Playlist:

1. The New Collisions, "No Free Ride" (mp3)
2. Hallelujah the Hills, "No Passports"
3. Wheat, "Living 2 Die Vs Dying 2 Live"
4. Math the Band, "Why Didn't You Get a Haircut?"
5. The Daily Pravda, "Terrified"

It turns out we're not the only people who wished, at some point during a show by the Dents or the Downbeat 5, that Jen D'Angora would someday get a shot at a solo career outside of garage-punk. Her new band/moniker, under the flag of JENNY DEE AND THE DEELINQUENTS, is a stroke of genius: if you didn't know her other bands you'd likely make comparisons to the wave of British female singers (Adele, Winehouse) who've taken up the mantle of '60s soul.

1. HANDS AND KNEES, “YOU GOT POP, YOU GOT STYLE” (mp3)
2. THE EVERYDAY VISUALS, “HEAL ME”
3. GROWLERS, “ALL BUT THE BONES”
4. PASSION PIT, “LITTLE SECRETS”
5. SARAH BORGES AND THE BROKEN SINGLES, “NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU”

Check out New England Product on WFNX 101.7 every Sunday, 11 pm–midnight

Hands and Knees play Great Scott on April 30.

WFNX NEW ENGLAND PRODUCT TOP FIVE

1. THE EVERYDAY VISUALS, “BOOM BOOM BOOM” (mp3)
2. MEANDJOANCOLLINS, “(I MASTURBATE) A LITTLE TOO MUCH”
3. HARRIS, “LUCINDA”
4. THE BIG BIG BUCKS, “SWEATY AND DESPERATE”
5. PAWNSHOP DIAMONDS, “MOTORCADE”
Check out New England Product on WFNX 101.7 every Sunday, 11 pm-midnight.