New York popsters The Postelles brought their upbeat bubble to the elegant stage of Idno in Reykjavik, as part of the Airwaves Music Festival. We caught up with the quartet -- Daniel Balk, David Dargahi, John Speyer, Billy Cadden -- right after their Airwaves gig and asked them to wax Icelandic for a minute before they headed back to New York. Catch them in NYC tonight at Bowery Ballroom or tomorrow at the CMJ PureVolume House after party. Or just catch ‘em kickin' it with the hidden people.

Sufjan Stevens performed his concert/commission BQE (based on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Robert Moses' controversial architectural swan song) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in October 2007, along with a concert of his songs to go with it. The piece -- Sufjan, hula-hoopers, a 35-piece band and orchestra, and live film projections -- was considered a huge success by all who saw it, or as the New York Times' Jon Pareles wrote: "Mr. Stevens has emerged from indie rock as a mastermind of extravaganzas ... the commission ... allowed Mr. Stevens to think bigger, and he exploited it superbly." If you couldn't be there for that time Sufjan drew another fine fabric from "indie rock" and pulled it through "fine arts," you can now relive the magic at home. Opening shots, and hidden track dish after the jump.

Taking cues from the founding father of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin, an isolated Block Island house-turned-recording studio is The Low Anthem’s Galapagos. The Providence folk trio’s debut, Oh My God Charlie Darwin -- a major label re-release after finding its success on a local level -- swaps finches for folk instruments, looking to the English naturalist as not only lyrical inspiration, but as a model for their own reconnaissance of uncharted sonic terrains. The group took a grassroots approach to every step of the musical process with Darwin -- together playing 27 different instruments, lyrically contemplating social Darwinism, and even hand silk-screening the album’s covers -- resulting in a record that embodies the DIY Americana aesthetic.

The minute you’re in the company of Erika Forster, Heather D'Angelo, and Annie Hart -- the three lovely ladies of indie synth band Au Revoir Simone -- you feel like you’re invited to the best girl’s slumber party around town. At their recent Bowery Ballroom show, I was scheduled to meet the ladies before their performance. Upon arrival, I saw Annie and Erika out front and said, “We’re supposed to chat soon!” The girls’ intimate slumber-party vibe fueled Annie’s high-pitched and animated response, “Hi! Yeah, that’s right, we have to quickly eat, but can’t wait to chat, come backstage in a little bit to hang!” Not soon enough, I found myself escorted to meet the girls for our rap session.

I like Sweden -- a lot. Including most of its exports: Ikea, The Sounds, WESC, Peter Bjorn and John, Björn Borg, Peter Forsberg, Henrik Lundqvist, and a musical-gem I recently came across, The Legends. Despite the plurality, there's actually only one person in the band who writes and records all songs, and his name is Johan Angergård. The Legends came out with a new album last week, Over and Over, and Johan has been in New York doing what he calls “a New York tour of concert dates."

School of Seven Bells’ performance at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night struck gold. I knew it’d be awesome, yet the band took their music to another plateau of sonic appreciation. The powerful threesome -- Ben Curtis, Claudia Deheza, and her twin sister Alejandra Deheza -- just finished up a monthlong US tour stretching far across to California. The Bowery show was a “coming home” of sorts for the New York-based band.

School of Seven Bells have Interpol to thank for their togetherness. Alejandra Deheza laughs when I suggest this, but really, it’s sort of true. The New York trio made up of Benjamin Curtis, Alejandra, and her twin sister Claudia, met while supporting Interpol on tour -- Ben with the band Secret Machines and the Deheza twins with On! Air! Library!. As Alley tells it, she was enamored with the way Ben played guitar, watching him every night, and amazed that no two nights were ever the same. And though they didn’t leave their respective bands to start School of Seven Bells until a couple years later, the rest, as they say, is history. And so I stand by my suggestion of sending the boys in Interpol some flowers.

When I found out the California dreamer Farmer Dave Scher was about to come out with a new album, I couldn't help smiling. Best known from previous bands Beachwoods Sparks and All Night Radio, Dave is now releasing Flash Forward to the Good Times on Kemado Records come August 18. I’ve always been a big fan of his psychedelic trips of music with All Night Radio -- first encounter was way back in 2003 at the Bowery Ballroom for Sub Pop’s music showcase. When I chatted with Dave, I thought he’d been beamed from 1969 due to his verbiage, aesthetic, and of course his tunes. (Quite an impression this musician made on my ears.)

After a few years, when you don’t hear about a notable artist you’ve come to know and love, you often wonder where they’ve gone. Typically, they’re up to something. Case in point with Diego Garica -- lead singer of New York City-based band Elefant and man about town. Rest assured, Diego's been hard at work at a new pursuit: crafting music solo. Diego first came onto the music scene around the same time I started to write about music. Back in 2003, he was one of the first artists I ever interviewed. We’ve remained friends through the years, and he’d give me updates along the way about new work. One night in particular, back in January of this year, I bumped into him at the Bowery Ballroom after seeing The Sword perform. Within seconds, right in the middle of Bowery’s beer-drenched floor, I found a set of headphones on my ears. “Jessica, you have to hear this new song I just recorded tonight,” said Diego.

It’s fair to say that the power-punk trio The Thermals have major credibility. It was Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie that handed their demo to their first label. They just made the move from Sub Pop Records to Kill Rock Stars. They live in Portland. It’s also fair to say that, after seeing The Thermals headline Bowery Ballroom last month, I have a girl crush on bassist Kathy Foster. She’s adorable, her band covers Nirvana, and she has no problem playing in a short dress. Catch Kathy, Hutch, and Westin live as The Thermals are currently on tour in support of their fourth record Now We Can See , and have just been added to the Pitchfork festival in Chicago this summer. But first, check out Kathy’s answers to our Pop Quiz.