If you think “Heartland” sounds like the name of the next country chart-topper, Owen Pallett’s latest album will prove you (most definitely) wrong. There’s nothing generic about Pallett’s epic, orchestral indie album. For fans of Final Fantasy (Pallett’s previously titled solo venture) this sound isn’t new, but honed and sophisticated with a story to tell.

Having been classically trained as a child, Pallett takes to orchestral arrangement like a consummate pro. But unlike many bands who incorporate classical flourishes into their work, Pallett’s arrangements are essential, not decorative. His sound is complex, enlisting the talents of the Czech Symphonic Orchestra to create the rich instrumental texture at the heart of the record. His comfort with a range ...

When La Crescenta native Bethany Cosentino packed her bags for the Big Apple, the seed of something great was planted. Having grown up around Los Angeles, Cosentino wanted a new city, a new vibe. What she got was a one-way ticket back to California and the inspiration for a thoroughly west coast album.

“Crazy for You,” released by Mexican Summer Records, plays like a summer romance; it’s sincere, surf-sprayed, and over before you know it. The lyrics are mainly about unrequited love, and so simple you can start singing along halfway through a track. But predictable as the rhymes may be, Best Coast is not without bite. There’s irony to these toe-tapping beach tunes, like in “Goodbye,” ...

While Katy Perry purrs about suntans and popsicles, there’s one band delivering the grit, volume, and utter frivolity of a whole different teenage dream. Sleigh Bells, the barely two-year-old Brooklyn-based duo of vocalist Alexis Krauss and writer/guitarist/producer Derek Miller, soared from obscurity to become a new darling of the indie music scene with their hard-rocking, electric-jolted, genre-mashing first album, “Treats.”

Signed to M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. Recordings, (the electro-pop queen, herself, discovered the band while Miller was still waiting tables) the band nabbed coveted gigs at SXSW and Coachella where they generated major buzz for their massive sound and raw stage presence.

It’s no wonder Sleigh Bells has catapulted into the limelight; Krauss and Miller pull off a ...