This week’s podcast episode is the first of two mixes spotlighting some of the many excellent bands performing during the 2009 Noise Pop Music Festival. We’re pleased to be partnering with Noise Pop this year to once again deliver comprehensive coverage before, during, and after the festival. This episode features ten great songs from a mix of local and touring artists.

About the bands:

Thee Oh Sees (“Ghost in the Trees”) kick off the show with an excellent song from their 2008 album The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In. Catch their awesome intensity at Cafe Du Nord on Thursday, February 26th with Tyvek, Unnatural Helpers, and The Fresh and Onlys.

Seattle’s Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band (“Anchors Dropped”) release their self-titled debut CD in March on the Dead Oceans label. The band joins Goblin Cock, Warship, and Kowloon Walled City at the Rickshaw Stop on Thursday, Februrary 26th.

Arizona’s Dear and the Headlights (“Talk About”) celebrate their recently released Drunk Like Bible Times with a headlining performance at Bottom of the Hill on Friday, February 27th. Kinch, Big Light, and A B and the Sea are also on the bill.

San Francisco’s Girls (“Morning Light”) recently announced that they’re close to releasing their first full length album. The band supports Portugal. The Man at Cafe Du Nord during Noise Pop. The show is Saturday, February 28th and also features Japanese Motors and Love is Chemicals.

Mythomania is the name of the new album from Oakland band Cryptacize (“No Coins”), out in April on Asthmatic Kitty Records. On Friday, February 27th, the band performs at the Great American Music Hall with St. Vincent, Rafter, and That Ghost.

Singer-songwriter David Dondero (“When The Heart Breaks Deep”) has a Noise Pop date before heading to Florida for a number of shows. He’ll be playing with Thao Nguyen, Sean Smith, and Colossal Yes at the Swedish American Hall on Thursday, February 26th.

Touring behind his excellent new release Get Guilty, AC Newman (“There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve”) will be at The Independent on Saturday, February 28th. Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele and Devon Williams also perform.

The fragile beauty of Antony & The Johnsons (“Another World”) comes to the Nob Hill Masonic Center on Tuesday, February 24th. The band’s new album The Crying Light was released two weeks ago on Secretly Canadian.

Acclaimed local musician/producer Kelley Stoltz (“The Sun Comes Through”) is part of a terrific Noise Pop bill headlined by a solo performance from Stephen Malkmus. They’re at the Great American Music Hall on Wednesday, February 25th, with Peggy Honeywell and Goh Nakamura also playing.

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons (“Take Off Your Sunglasses”) released their widely acclaimed third album Inside the Human Body last year. The band performs alongside Port O’Brien, Odawas and Dame Satan during Noise Pop, at Cafe Du Nord on Friday, February 27th.

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