WHEELS 2.0 IS PACKING HEAT

Wheels comes at you with this week with intriguing sounds rooted in far-flung locales, along with some really cool band updates. Please keep feeding us suggestions as to who we should check out next week at CMJ.

ONE TO WATCH
Rey Fresco (www.reyfresco.com; @reyfresco): We briefly mentioned this band in last week’s column but wanted to give you more a bit more detail. Their debut album, The People, coming out Oct. 27 on Eight O Five Records, provides a vivid introduction to the group’s unique sound, which fuses Fijian, Caribbean and Latin American elements. The band will be playing the Verizon/Rhapsody/MTV showcase next Friday in N.Y. and the Ventura Theatre up the Cali coast on Halloween. It’s hard to classify Rey Fresco, since the band’s music touches on so many different styles, but if we had to toss out a specific “sounds like,” it would be Sublime in terms of the vibe they give off. Trust us when we will tell you they’re definitely worth checking out. Start with the track “Precious Time”

ON DECK
King (www.myspace.com/kingfamilymusic) is a dance/pop/rock hybrid comprising three sisters and two brothers ages 14- 23. They have their own reality show in their native Germany as well as a deal with EMI in that country, and are currently in search of a U.S. label home. They're published by Universal Publishing and are in L.A. co-writing material for their next album with the likes of Glen Ballard and Mitch Allen, among others. We recommend you check out the track "Blow You Away".

BAND/ARTIST UPDATES
Spleen United (www.myspace.com/spleenutd; @spleenunited): This amazing live band had the most played song on Danish radio. This year, Michael Patterson is putting the record out on his very own, Popantipop, and early love is already flowing. They are currently #16 on the FMQB Submodern singles chart and #10 on the Submodern album chart. They are also #10 on the KKBB specialty chart. Spinning at KACV, KATT, KBZT, KCRW, KEXP, KFMG, KFTE, KINB, KITS, KPNT, KUCI, KUSF, RIFF2, WPBZ, WSFM, WWCD, WXRT and more! The band is currently in LA and gearing up for CMJ in NY next week.

The Dance Party (www.myspace.com/thedanceparty; @thedanceparty): This Jake Livingston-managed band has just signed with Hell Ya!/Atlantic. The deal was secured by Heather Peggs, who inked signed The Dance Party to her imprint via the major.

Alice Russell: Amazing singer/songwriter whose funky, soulful masterpiece, Pot of Gold, has been given the world-class remix treatment. The two-volume set, which will be available Oct. 27, features an all-star cast of producers. Remixers include Mr. Scruff, DJ Vadim, J Boogie, Shawn Lee, Ohmega Watts and more.