Hot Hot Heat is an indie-rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. They were formed in 1999, and the band's name was thought up by Paul. The band currently comprises Steve Bays (vocals and keyboards), Paul Hawley (drums) and Dustin Hawthorne (bass). Luke Paquin (guitar) has recently replaced former guitarist, Dante DeCaro, and is currently touring with the band.

Porcupine Tree defies categorization. This unique London-based quartet make unconventional, uncompromising music that qualifies them as Europe's premiere art-rock cult band. Porcupine Tree's cogent musical personality is a force to be reckoned with. Porcupine Tree's intelligent and accessible sound will appeal not only to metal enthusiasts and twenty-something dark wave fans, but will also fit in with today's more adventurous alternative station playlists.

Howl is a 2005 album by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It is their third studio album and was released on August 22, 2005. The record was released in the UK and Europe by Echo and by RCA in the U.S. (distributed through RED Distribution), Australia, Japan and the rest of the world.
While still staying true to their origins this album demonstrates maturity as a band. Howl infuses blues, country, and gospel throughout, stemming from their love of Americana less apparent in their 2001 and 2003 releases.
An extended version of the song "Howl" (which runs 6:12, as opposed to the 4:20 length of the album version) appears on the soundtrack to the 2007 film Southland Tales.
Initial versions of the CD released in the U.S. are copy controlled.

Augustana is a four-piece group from L.A. that combines the introspective grittiness of American guitar rock (think the Wallflowers and Counting Crows) with the wide-angle theatrics of U.K. guitar/piano rock (think Radiohead before they went nuts or a less epic Coldplay). That may sound interesting, but their debut major label album, All the Stars and Boulevards, is a fairly hollow exercise that feels like it was concocted in a record label boardroom. That's not to say that it was or that all plans hatched in that manner are inherently wrong. It just points to the elements (originality, excitement, soul) that are missing from Augustana. From the overly processed guitars to singer Dan Layus' simultaneously bland and over-emoted vocals to the slickness of the melodies and the clichéd authenticity of the perfectly crafted arrangements, there isn't much to sink your teeth into here. Even for fans of the bands Augustana is so obviously influenced by, they will feel like they are listening to a third- or fourth-generation Xerox copy. All that said, the album is still listenable in a strange kind of way since the lack of any distinguishing features allows the music to be perfect background music. Sort of like elevator AOR. Sort of like a wasted 40 minutes.