Lower Dens Essentials

Jana Hunter started out as a solo alt-folk troubadour before discovering the sonic possibilities opened up by working with a band and forming Baltimore's Lower Dens. With each album, the group has made a major evolutionary leap, moving from the fuzzed-out, Velvet Underground-informed post-punk shadings of their debut album to a more texturally rich, synth-flecked sound, and ultimately a sophisticated, almost sleek indie-pop approach that seems to take some cues from the ‘80s while still coming off utterly contemporary, sometimes suggesting St. Vincent's art-pop elegance.