Try pinning down Philadelphia's The Quelle Source - it's not easy. The group clearly operates in an indie rock aesthetic - they won "Best Indie Rock Act in Philadelphia" at Origivation Magazine's 2011 Reader's Choice Awards. But with press comparisons ranging from Deerhoof to The Decemberists to The Mountain Goats, it's evident the group takes what it needs from their influences - nasally vocals, tense lyrical content, and tight, dynamic arrangements - and smashes them together to see what happens. That's made easier thanks to two lead singers and songwriters bringing different ideas to the table. With songs that marry the joyful sounds of being young with lyrical content that tackles all the parts that suck about it, The Quelle Source will "put indie rock smiles on your faces" (Philadelphia City Paper), even if it is in a sinister, backward way. The group released The French Rapture EP in September 2011 and is currently recording demos and debuting songs from their forthcoming sophomore LP.

The Gut Strings, comprised of Ben Geise, Kevin Ryan and Phil Hutchins, perform earnest, tense songs about the doubt that interferes with commitment, the frustrated desire to avoid irony and insincerity, and the angry realization that compromise is inherent in growing older. Geise, the band's lead guitarist and songwriter, aims steadily toward classic rock arrangements but with surprisingly tender melodies that surface from beneath the commanding, insistent sound. This music is as unromantic as a knife blade, and just as sincere. It is clear from the way the band members interact that they found each other because they share a rare complicity and a desire to wade into dense, layered music -- with both Ryan and Geise providing vocals, they stack Geise's haunted guitar riffs on Ryan's driving bass and Hutchins' focused drums only to dissemble the whole piece to reveal precise structure and compelling melody lines. Songwriting and musicianship is really what this band is about -- they treat every song differently by making intuitive and fearless musical decisions that underscore the main motive of exploring the raw and unearthly. The Gut Strings is not one of those groups that takes a political stand – they're defiantly standoff-ish about the the world around them and, instead, inwardly focused and clear about the fierce truth in the music they make. The band's time is spent having a musical conversation and building a personal relationship with sound while searching for and pinning down some fractured, wild magic. It's difficult, dark and intense, and some of it is sweet enough to touch an angry heart, and it is supposed to be that way.

Lo-fi indie surf rock trio out of Philadelphia, Pa. Their influences call upon Beach Fossils, Rainer Maria, Kisses, and The Breeders.