WHEELS 2.0 STEPS BACK AND LETS THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING

Rather than overhyping our ability to scour the globe to find great talent and boasting about it, we’ll let the music speak for itself. Keep feeding my inbox: [email protected]

ONE TO WATCH
Mumford & Sons (www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons) are a four-piece from West London who sound like a fusion of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Kings of Leon, if you can imagine that. Other fans say it draws on both the Waterboys and Fleet Foxes. Their self-titled album, which is blowing up in the U.K. and just hit #1 in Australia, will be released on Glassnote in the U.S. in the near future. The band took off rather quickly after forming in 2007, as their EPs were picked up on by discerning hipsters, and shortly thereafter they were playing festivals in Europe. We’re very curious to see what the reaction is like in the U.S., because if it’s anything like what’s happened overseas, this band could be the next big thing.

ON DECK
Goldspot (www.myspace.com/goldspot): Their new album And the Elephant Is Dancing is getting rave reviews across the board. The track “Rewind” was featured on How I Met Your Mother in late December and has had over 75k hits since. Check it out here. The band is booked for a session next month on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, and they’re still not signed...

BAND UPDATE
Man On Earth (www.myspace.com/manonearth): We just love these guys and are delighted to announce that their song “All We Want” will be featured on telecasts of the Winter Olympics. The band is currently writing their new album and co-headlining the Blender Theatre in N.Y. with Island recording artists The Urgency on Feb. 15.