Best local band you probably haven't heard of ... yet
Most young bands record a demo of their first five or six good songs and then send a few dozen copies off into the void (otherwise known as the A&R departments of the indie labels that get hundreds of such demos a month). But once in a blue moon, someone at one of those labels actually listens to the demo, hears something special, and a band that's still struggling to get Tuesday-night gigs at T.T.'s suddenly has an EP out on a highly regarded indie label. Such is the story of Lock and Key, an earnest, punk-inflected foursome with a bit of an emo edge, who caught the ear of the folks at the lauded North Carolina label Deep Elm. The label released that demo as No Fate, which came out in April. Now Lock and Key have put out a bona fide full-length, Pull Up the Floorboards. With the Deep Elm stamp of approval, it's a fair bet they'll be headlining shows in other cities across the country.

Lock and Key, www.lockandkeyrock.com.