Nebraska

Nebraska:

Baby Tears

CITY: Omaha
SONG TO DOWNLOAD: "Stygian Witches"
WEBSITE: soundcloud.com/baby-tears

WHY THEM: Let it be known: plenty of things that have nothing to do with Saddle Creek Records go down in Omaha. The handful of tracks from Baby Tears' upcoming full-length opus that they've leaked on their blog sound like they were recorded on a shitty old broken four-track and mixed by a dude half out of his mind on hydrocodone. Of course, that's because it's exactly what happened, as part of their strategy to spend just $30 on recording a CD. But the shambolic presentation only accentuates the damaged urgency of Baby Tears' rock-noise (as opposed to noise-rock), each tune a glorious musical loss of composure. They're playing in the same sandbox the Blood Brothers once frequented, using unexpected but weirdly appropriate sound effects instead of really shrill lead singers.

ALSO CONSIDERED: Pharmacy Spirits — Truth be told, these perturbed pop-rockers had a strong case to be drafted as our indie up-and-comers, despite being active since 2007.