No Sleep Till Brooklyn

New York will always be home to the coolest cats in music, but every so often (almost cyclically) a new wave of bands emerge to remind us where it's at. Over the past few months we've had another explosion. MGMT are certainly one of the leading lights, but the buck doesn't stop there. Veteran New York muso - even if he is just 26 - Adam Green of the Moldy Peaches gives us some commentary on the current crop of bands found to be rewriting the rules of 'College Rock' as we know it.

YEASAYER

College mates and close friends of MGMT's, Yeasayer are another section of the Brooklyn Borough clan to have been making waves recently. Their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, is an exhilarating concoction of sounds plundered from all over the globe, a lethal cocktail of David Byrne's more afro-tinged work and the transcendentalism of Animal Collective. The phenomenal 2080 was undoubtedly one of the tracks of last year.

DIRTY PROJECTORS

Perhaps the most ambitious, avant-garde and downright unpredictable of the Brooklyn posse, Dirty Projectors is the sobriquet de choice of Dave Longstreth, a Yale drop-out. They say inspiration comes from the most unexpected places. Perhaps that explains Longstreth's decision to pen a concept album about Don Henley (The Getty Address). He's been around for a while now and his latest release was Rise Above, a reworking of Black Flag songs from memory. His work has also featured fellow New Yorker, Vampire Weekend's lead singer, Ezra Koenig. Where he'll go from here? Your guess is as good as mine.

FIERY FURNACES

Okay, so this lot have been around forever, but they're surely still worth a mention. Five albums down the line and we're still not quite sure what to file the Fiery Furnaces under, which instantly qualifies them for this run down of wide reaching Brooklyn and New York bands. The siblings Friedberger often base their recordings on what unfolds from their capricious live-sets, a trait that ensures that with the 'Furnaces, there is very rarely a dull moment.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND

Hailing from just across the water to MGMT in Manhattan, this buttoned up Ivy League quartet's eponymous debut album is another that makes brilliant use of African musical influences. Snippets of Byrne are audible here too, but the most prevailing influence is Graceland era Paul Simon. Rather than a rehash though, Vampire Weekend are hosting their very own cinematographer's party, for the MySpace Generation.

RA RA RIOT

Having overcome the tragic death of their drummer last year, Ra Ra Riot fly the flag for the Syracuse area of New York. Their string-laden sound may not be as global as Yeasayer or Vampire Weekend, but as the promise of their live shows suggest (one such outing at Indian Summer last year for example), it's no less epic. With a debut album in the offing, Ra Ra Riot could be one to watch out for.

HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR

A run down of New York scenesters wouldn't be complete without a house act. A house act partially comprised of, well, New York scenesters. Boasting Antony Hegarty (of Johnsons fame) within their ranks, DFA's latest superstars in waiting can be filed under Saviours Of Dance Music #3526. In the same vein as stablemates LCD Soundsystem though, they make a wholly original impact on a genre that too often seems happy to rest on its established forms.

AND ADAM GREEN'S VERDICT IS...

“I think the scene is a lot different now than it was when we (The Moldy Peaches) first came out. We all partied together... The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol. We played gigs together. I see some of that nowadays, but not to the same extent. In saying that, of the bunch I think Vampire Weekend's record is the best. Man, I listen to it and it just sticks in my head, but in the best way possible. It's a great album.”