It must be tough to be in an indie rock band from Oklahoma, especially if you lean towards making hepped up, psychedelic pop in the vein of, well, those other Okies. But the Evangelicals, hailing from Norman, OK, seem to be up for the challenge. Their debut album So Gone, out Tuesday, comes off like a hyperkinetic melding of Satellite Heart-era Flaming Lips and a wide-eyed, ADD Wolf Parade with maybe a touch of Clap Your Hands’ off-key yowling. Cacaphonous and melodic with the occasional delicate interlude, you’ll either find this record exhilerating or exhausting depending on your mood – probably a little of both.

MP3: Evangelicals – “Another Day (And Yoor Still Knocked Out)”
MP3: Evangelicals – “Here Comes Trouble”

Brandi Carlile plays and sings alt.country. No envelope-pushing, genre-bending or ground-breaking. If that doesn’t interest you, move on. If you’re still here, good. We don’t need them around anyway. Born in the backwoods of Washington state, Carlile’s got one of those voices that sounds wearier and more lived in than you’d expect, but still with traces of the ingenue visible under the surface. Wounded but not surrendered. Thankfully the production isn’t as glossy as you might expect from a major label release but most importantly, the heart is real and the songs are solid. Brandi Carlile plays the Phoenix with The Fray on June 13.

MP3: Brandi Carlile – “Fall Apart Again”
MP3: Brandi Carlile – “Throw It All Away” (live)
Brandi Carlile @ MySpace

The title of Montreal combo Bad Flirt’s debut album is 6 Ways to Break Your Heart and if that brings to mind underrated teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You (introducing Heath Ledger!), well it’s not a complete non-sequiter. Bad Flirt owe a debt of the alt.pop girl bands of the mid ’90s and Letters To Cleo in particular – the same LTC who soundtracked and appeared in, that’s right, 10 Things I Hate About You. There’s less bubblegum in singer-guitarist Jasamine White-Gluz’s voice than in Kay Hanley’s and the music has a little more lo-fi roughness to their tunes. And whether by design or by accident, Bad Flirt tend not to go for the killer chorus but there’s still enough charm and hookiness in their sound to please. Bad Flirt play Rancho Relaxo on June 16 with Eux Autres, Terror Lake and Ratsicule.

MP3: Bad Flirt – “Head On”
MP3: Bad Flirt – “This Song Is Romance”
MP3: Bad Flirt – “Kisses Kisses”
Bad Flirt @ MySpace