• Wayne Bertsch
• Barfly Art and Music Show

You may have already read a few posts under the 'Heartbeat' moniker. Allow me to officially introduce myself; I'm the NUVO Music Editor and, as of today, daily music blogger. I'll bring you the best and newest things to do in Indianapolis, interesting music news, short album reviews, photos, video and much more. In a few weeks, I'll make my way down to South by Southwest, and blogging about the Indy bands and showcases from there.

I'm unabashedly excited to live in Indianapolis and to have a position to writing about music. I'd love to hear from you at kcoplen@nuvo.net or on Twitter at @tremendouskat.

Tonight, I'll be checking out our own comic dude Wayne Bertsch at his Barfly Art and Music show. Wayne's been documenting the Indy scene since 2003 in his Barfly comics. Tonight, he'll celebrate with Jenn Cristy (in a special solo show), Mojo Gumbo and the Innocent Boys. You can also buy tons of old Barfly comics. Were you in a hardcore back in 2007? Wayne may have drawn you. Even if you've never touched a guitar pick in your life, this isn't an event to miss. You can literally travel back through Indy's musical history with Wayne Bertsch's Barfly.

See you guys tonight (and back here, every day).

• Katherine Coplen
• NUVO Super Plunger Interns

What are you doing this weekend? Ten NUVO employees and interns will be plunging into icy cold (or, thanks to this unseasonably warm weather, moderately cold) Eagle Creek Reservoir to raise money for the Special Olympics. Hundreds of Hoosiers will join us to support over 11,000 Special Olympics athletes in Indiana. The NUVO Super Plunger team will of course be sporting some choice costumes (see a sneak peak above!).

You can support NUVO's team here. We've just reached our $1,000 goal, but would love to receive your contributions.

Make sure to check for pictures from our freezing fun here next week.

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• Frank Turner

You may've already read Nick Selm's take on English punk bard Frank Turner and know that you can catch him as an opener for the Dropkick Murphys tonight in the Egyptian Room. Here's an exciting addition to that story: Turner will be stopping by the Amber Room after the show for a celebrity DJ set. I can only imagine what kind of tunes Turner, who describes his sound as "campfire punk," will cue up.

The after party is free for anyone with a ticket stub from the show upstairs and $10 for everyone without. If you haven't had a chance to check out the absolutely beautiful Amber Room, tonight's your night.

• Frank Turner: A Wessex boy.

Seven years into a meteoric solo career, English punk bard Frank Turner doesn’t hesitate for a moment when it comes to paying homage to his humble roots. From “Wessex Boy,” his fantastic ode to hometowns, to 2011’s England Keep My Bones, Turner fondly admits that "There's something about coming back to your hometown again / The place where you grew up and where you found your firmest friends." He'll play tonight at the Egyptian Room.

After a moderately successful stint as the frontman for UK hardcore outfit A Million Dead, Turner calmly launched his solo career as a folkie. His sound, described best as “campfire punk rock”, quickly won over barrooms of fans across England with his stripped-down Black Flag covers and undeniable energy.

Turner quickly graduated from basements and barrooms to clubs and theatres with the release of his second album, Love, Ire & Song in 2008. His down-to-earth sound caught the attention of American punks like The Gaslight Anthem and Against Me!, who brought him along on their various European tours.

Following Love, Ire & Song, Turner began working more collaboratively with his backing band, The Sleeping Souls. The results were astonishing, with Turner swapping an almost minimalist sound to a monumental wall of folk rock and raw emotion.

With his last two records being distributed by giant punk indie label, Epitaph, Turner’s exposure and critical acclaim continued to grow exponentially and deservedly.

On their most recent record, England Keep My Bones, Turner and Co. tackled their spiritual and geographical connection to their island home. Tracks like “Rivers” and “If Ever I Stray” are wordy, melodic tributes to England and its layered history.

On “English Curse”, Turner gets medieval, with an a cappella chant decrying the Norman invasion of 1066 and giving a warning to any potential invaders in the future, threatening

"If you steal the land of an Englishman
Then you will know this curse
Your firstborn son’s warm blood will run
Upon the English earth."

Naturally, England Keep My Bones was a huge hit in England. It was such a hit that Turner scheduled a date at the massive, legendary Wembley Arena. Wembley (that has capacity of 12,500 and has hosted such massive acts as Foo Fighters, The Spice Girls and The Cure). Come April 13th, we’ll find out if Turner is big enough to join the ranks of these massive acts.

Before he attempts to pack Wembley, however, Turner is embarking on a somewhat-mismatched U.S. tour with Bostonian Celt punks, Dropkick Murphys. The tour includes a stop at the Egyptian Room at Old National Center. Whether or not you like Dropkick Murphys, Turner’s set alone will be worth the ticket price. After the show, Turner will head downstairs for a guest DJ set in the Amber Room. The after party is free for anyone with a ticket stub and $10 for those without.

Today's Note For Note explores new releases from the world of noise pop.

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Sleigh Bells
Reign of Terror
Mom + Pop

★★★★

Where this Brooklyn noise pop duo’s 2010 debut Treats mixed thrashing hair metal riffs, distorted drum loops and bratty gang vocals to create an abrasive swirl of exhausting fuzz, this sophomore effort is more polished, accessible and mature. Their brand of indie minimalism, which was too harsh to love but smart enough to like, has received a facelift via glossier production and a more pop savvy approach to song arrangement. Credit for both achievements goes to guitarist Derek Miller, who incorporates bells and synths into his arsenal and fills the band’s sound while turning down the volume — slightly. Vocalist Alexis Krauss finds a stronger footing for her voice by developing melodies rather than cheerleader chants, becoming a real person as opposed to the garish cartoon she was on their debut. It’s surprising really. For an album which could have been nothing more than fuzzy simplicity on repeat, Reign Of Terror sounds like a band with legs, with confidence to boot. Listen to “Born To Lose” and tell me otherwise.

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Skrillex
Bangarang
Interscope

★★★★

Sorry, folks. I’m still not buying the dubstep genre - you’ll never convince me it doesn’t sound like anything other than two microwaves making love. But after giving this well-meaning kid with an awful haircut a second chance, I realized he isn’t into dubstep at all. He loves pop music. Sure, when this stuff gets blasted at top volume in clubs, the subtle intricacies and delicate electronic blips become stiff, stunted and stale; but, if you turn the volume down, the music becomes multilayered and texturized in a way that demands repeated listenings. This seven-track EP is short enough to be consumable, and is coupled with shape-shifting music so fluid and natural you almost forget you’re listening to a man who copies and pastes for a living. Don’t be fooled by his looks or his ghastly album covers. He’s smart enough to know what separates dubstep from pop — real songs. Turns out he’s got them in spades.

Jon is also the founding editor of the pop culture blog PopTometry