MACHINE GUN KELLY
If all you know about Machine Gun Kelly is his August arrest for spurring a flash mob at SouthPark Mall, you've witnessed his popularity, but that's not the same as understanding it. "CLE man I rep my town / Every day bleed that orange and brown," the now-21-year-old raps on "I Know," one of 16 excellent tracks from the Lace Up mixtape that helped Machine Gun Kelly land a deal with Bad Boy/Interscope last summer. Between then and now, his Twitter following has grown to more than 300,000 and his "Lace Up" rallying cry has become a funhouse-mirror version of carpe diem. Step up. Get ready. Live now. Machine Gun Kelly's talent is indisputable, but what's happening among his loyal fans at times feels like a movement. His desire and ability to communicate with them has democratized his fame. It's why hundreds show up at a mall to see him, if even for a moment. They want to be part of it, because they already see it as part of themselves. — Jim Vickers
HERZOG
Cincinnati Bengals coach Sam Wyche's famous "You don't live in Cleveland" diatribe kicks off Herzog's "Silence," a crunchy, 2-minute-6-second slog that scored a song-of-the-year nod from NPR All Songs Considered co-host Robin Hilton in December. Search, the 11-song debut that Nick Tolar recorded as Herzog before assembling his band, also features the melodic "Paul Blart and the Death of Art," a cleverly named and written tune that embraces the distorted guitars and half-spoken vocals that made '90s garage-pop great. "You Clean Up Nice," from the band's excellent 2012 follow-up, Cartoon Violence, is surf-rock gold. — Jason Brill
CLOUD NOTHINGS
Who needs college when you can launch a next-big-thing indie rock act out of your parents' Westlake home? Recording under the moniker Cloud Nothings, Dylan Baldi first garnered Internet buzz and then a deal with Washington, D.C.-based Carpark Records, which reissued his critically lauded debut, Turning On, in 2010. Now a four-piece band, Cloud Nothings' 2012 release Attack on Memory was produced by acclaimed audio engineer Steve Albini, known for his work with Nirvana and the Pixies. The sound is vastly different — bigger, heavier, better — and singles such as "Stay Useless" and "No Future/No Past" howl with intensity. — JV
MR. GNOME
The best way to listen to Mr. Gnome's 2011 release Madness in Miniature is straight through — a nearly 40-minute block that melts from one song to the next. It's the duo's most ambitious and accomplished release to date and shows why Rolling Stone named them a band to watch in December. Mr. Gnome builds mysterious, alluring melodies and then pummels them with drums and guitar. It's impressionist concept-rock that fluidly expands and contracts like the edges of a dream. — JV
