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Dead Confederate WHO: This Athens, Georgia quintet mine the dark side of Dixie; guitars quiver and burble, the singer’s had a few too many Marlboro Reds, and the drums charge into oblivion. Book them for your next midnight BBQ. LATEST: Dead Confederate EP (Razor & Tie) FOR FANS OF: Drive-By Truckers, Dinosaur Jr.

The Heavy
WHO: From an English city best known for
its restorative ancient baths—that would
be Bath, of course—comes a cast-iron
groove-rock quintet whose mix of frazzle
and funk gives off an instantaneous
contact high. Superfly and superfun.
LA TES T: Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
(Counter/+ 1; out in April) FOR FANS OF:
Funkadelic, Big Chief

The Power of Three
Human Giant,“the blink-182 of comedy,”
pick their favorite rock trios

While your Kids in the Halls and your Monty Pythons prefer to make funny in large
gangs, and your Flight of the Conchordses and your Little Britains prefer to work in
more intimate pairs, Human Giant—currently launching the second season of their
eponymous MTV series—constitute the rare three-man sketch-comedy act. “You always
need a third guy to break the tie,” says Rob Huebel, 38. “It’s easier to split the drugs and
the money three ways,” adds Aziz Ansari, 25. “If you’re in the Polyphonic Spree, maybe
you get a hundred bucks a show.” But Paul Scheer, 32, best sums up his troupe’s place in
the pantheon: “We’re the blink-182 of comedy.” Since it takes one to know one, Human
Giant humbly present the three (natch) powerfulest power trios of all time. STEVE KANDELL

ZZ TOP

MOTÖRHEAD

LOS TRI-O

Foals

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WHO: Both math majors and art-school fops will dig this Oxford, England quintet. The long-division time signatures and sci-fi keyboards are for geeking out; the braying choruses and Afro-funk guitars are for bustin’ loose. LATEST: Antidotes (Sub Pop; out in April) FOR FANS OF: The Rapture, Klaxons

“ZZ Top is the best power trio of
all time,” counters Huebel. “For
a band to become famous solely
because of their enormous beards
is an achievement. And they have
a drummer named Beard, but he
only has a mustache.” “Plus,” says
Scheer, “Back to the Future Part III
proved they could rock just as hard
in 1885 as they did in 1985.”

“You can’t get more badass than
Motörhead,” says Scheer. “You’re
never gonna see them do Leno
like the Sex Pistols did—that was
terrible. Even their website is
permanently stuck in the ’80s; it’s
awesome. Although Lemmy’s wart
might count as its own person, in
which case, they wouldn’t qualify.”

The indie asthete of the group
has a more exotic pick. “Los Tri-O
are like a three-man version of
Los Lonely Boys,” says Ansari.
“And they’re so dedicated to the
concept of a trio, they even made
it part of their name. They’ve
got a smooth Latin sound, and
the music transports you to
another place.” “That’s true,”
says Huebel. “A Latin place.”

T _Sh_tre_eM_ete_Bn_aa_nh_dan WHO: Their name might not be familiar, but you may already know this Brooklyn crew’s first single, thanks to Jay-Z, who sampled their woozy Afro-soul tune “Make the Road by Walking” on the comeback cut “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is).” Featuring some of the same players from the now-world-famous horn posse the Dap-Kings (Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones). LATEST: Make the Road by Walking (Dunham; out this spring) FOR FANS OF: Fela Kuti, Maceo Parker