Pals, I’m sorry, I know this is an indie rock blog and we have credibility to attend to, but: BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!1one11!11 (P.S. I don’t know what the American Music Awards are but I hope Taylor Swift wins every single one tomorrow.) Elsewhere: Bob Lefsetz hips Taylor to Joni Mitchell. Hard to believe T-Swizzle’s never heard Blue before but I hope it makes her step her game up for LP3. Can Bob start advising all the tween stars?

11/21 Saturday – Elefant w/ Division Day @ Troubadour AND Fiery Furnaces w/ Cryptacize, Dent May @ El Rey Theatre AND Holly Miranda opening for The xx, Friendly Fires @ Henry Fonda Theater
11/23 Monday – El Perro Del Mar @ The Hotel Cafe AND Happy Hollows w/ Real Estate (HH residency) @ Spaceland AND The Books @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery

The Fiery Furnaces – “I’m Going Away”: mp3

Like “For Your Lover, Give Some Time” before it, the video is black and white, the mood is somber, and the song is gorgeous. Another of the best moments from the British troubadour’s strong Truelove’s Gutter. Also, peep Richard’s boots!

“Bring your lesbian friend to my swanky Los Angeles mansion,” Jason sang in a jam from last night at the Swell Season’s L.A. gig. “Remember when I was in the show Freaks and Geeks?” I do, broseph! Please make more movies and/or respond to my Tweets.

All photos by David Greenwald

The most surprising thing about Final Fantasy’s intriguing set were the three school uniform-clad girls standing directly behind me, tingling with the kind of teenybopper anxiety usually reserved for the Jonas Brothers. “Can you believe Owen Pallett is going to be right there?” one wondered before the curtain rose, while a few minutes later, one tried to convince the others the three of them should loudly proclaim their love for him early in the set in order to earn a glance — perchance, a wave of his hand! There’s hope for the next generation yet. As you can see, Owen was certainly dreamy enough in the flesh to justify the gushing (although I swear I see a similiarity to Kenneth the Page), but the real star of the show were the new songs — virtuosic, vivid pieces that married art-house cool to pop sincerity. I look forward to seeing Twihards tearing their hair out when Heartland hits iTunes next year.

Throughout, Pepper Rabbit goes dark and deep, letting reverb play as much a character as its majestic arrangements. The insistent pianos of “Red Wine” march with sober verve as Xander Singh’s sweetly strained tenor echos Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue — or more recently, that of Deerhunter/Atlas Sound frontman Bradford Cox. On “Harvest Moon,” they showcase the woozy European flair that has served bands like Beirut so well, while “Snowalker” turns softer with a wash of harmonies and an avuncular banjo.

In other words, folks, Pepper Rabbit — not to be confused with Peter, Frightened, or White — are 2010’s first band to watch. Let’s make ‘em feel at home.

Pepper Rabbit – “Red Wine”: mp3

(The Click and Shakes EPs are out now on iTunes, with a wider release planned for next year)

More: New Music

All photos by David Greenwald

John Darnielle is a complicated man. His Mountain Goats have risen from their early days as solo, lo-fi underdogs to their current incarnation, a crackerjack four-piece band playing to an audience bleating out every word. His long-awaited overnight success was a source of obvious joy to the songwriter on Sunday night, a smile on his face and manic energy worthy of the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn as the quartet (at times a quintet, backed by opener Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett) blasted through “This Year” and fan favorite “No Children.” Yet Darnielle’s own story hasn’t always been so happy, and as his music has turned more deeply personal in recent years, his saga of heartbreak and abuse has been laid bare. Playing through the songs of his latest album, the somber, Biblically-minded The Life of the World To Come, at one point left him holding back tears. He wasn’t the only one.

Previously: New Music: The Mountain Goats – “Genesis 3:23″

“Black Smoke,” the first single for Tindersticks’ upcoming Falling Down a Mountain, finds the evocative rockers moving farther from the smoldering jazz club pop of their earlier days and deeper into the riff-driven ’60s psych they embraced on 2008’s The Hungry Saw. It’s not a move without promise — the track has the wild eyes and half-sketched arrangements of the genre’s fuzzier efforts, but ever-elegant singer Stuart A. Staples can’t seem to break character to get down and dirty with the band. Jury’s out on this one.

Tindersticks – “Black Smoke”: mp3

(Falling Down a Mountain is due on February 16, 2010, on Constellation)