Bastille

I heard this English band on the radio a few weeks ago and thought they warranted a follow-up search.  This is the song I first heard.  I like the melodic rocky sound, and the lead singer's voice is really cool, although the chanting is a bit weird.  Listening to the rest of their stuff, some of it is pretty melodic and has cool rhythms, but I'm not sure I like the majority of it.  The group sort of sounds like a slower Everything Everything to me.  Here's another song fairly representative of their work.

Smallpools

I heard one of this band's songs on the radio a couple of weeks ago and liked it a lot.  The particular song, "Dreaming", is super catchy.  The style of the music is fairly classic pop rock, but it has a very fresh, energetic feel and I really like it.  Check out the music video.  I don't think the video does the song justice, it's a bit stupid actually and doesn't make much sense, but the song is incredible.  The rest of their music is not quite as immediately catchy, but it's all pretty fast, tight, and melodic.  Here's another good one.  Right now I think the band only has one EP released, but I think they have decent publicity and a lot of momentum, so perhaps they will release a full album soon.  They have a cool sound, and are worth checking out.

Twenty One Pilots

I know some people would want to burn me at the stake for this, and I struggled for a long time to decide if I really liked this band.  I first heard one of their songs on the radio, and was immediately intrigued.  They are a duo from Ohio, but the style of the music is hard to describe.  It definitely has elements of really good electronica, as well as general alternative rock, and some potentially annoying-sounding white kid rap.  It's probably hard to visualise how this would sound, so just listen to this song.  It's pretty representative of their stuff.  Here's another of their songs.  Their lyrics are unexpectedly deep and meaningful (even borderline explicitly Christian), which is really cool.  The guys are undeniable weirdos; I'm not sure what's with the ski masks.  But when it comes down to it, they just have a really sweet sound.  A couple more cool songs: Trees and Holding on to You.  Take it or leave it; I really like this band.

Branches

This is another band from the girlfriend...they are from California.  I would describe the music as folky, bluegrass-style acoustic music.  The band seems to have kind of a quirky, playful style, and I quite like it.  The guy and girl singers have incredible voices and the harmonies are excellent.  Check out this song; if you don't like it, I can't help you.  Here's another good one.  The group also does a lot of covers of popular songs; this one of a White Stripes song is really good.  If you like their sound, check out their bandcamp site.

Empire of the Sun

I think this Australian eletropop group is decently well-known now; at least most people have heard of them.  They are a weird pair of dudes, apparently using over-the-top costumes not just in their music videos but also during live shows.  This song made the rounds a few years ago; it's pretty catchy.  Their style of music is very similar to MGMT in my opinion.  A lot of their earlier work is a bit too out there for my taste, and overly weird and ridiculous.  However, they released a new album last month which is quite a change in style and really excellent.  It sounds like a throwback 80s album, and I love it.  If you want to give it a listen you can actually stream the whole thing on youtube here.  See what you think.

Just A Band

My brother mentioned this group to me a few days ago, and after I checked them out I was blown away.  They are a Kenyan electropop group; the style of their music varies greatly though.  Here is the first song off their 2010 album "82", which in my opinion is nothing short of genius.  It's the chillest, most awesome song I've heard in quite a while.  Some of their other songs resemble daft punk (like this one), and still others are more rap-influenced.  The language switches between English and Swahili.  Apparently the group has some earlier albums, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them yet.  They don't seem to be on grooveshark, but you can listen to "82" in its entirety on their bandcamp site...I would recommend buying the album, it's only $8.  Here's another unbelievably good song from their more recent 2012 album "Sorry for the Delay".