Spirit Animal

It might sound strange, but it takes some serious soul to discover rock music's spirit and an absolute animal to find its superhuman funk. Luckily, the modern listener has Spirit Animal.

The NYC-based band's 2013 single, "The Black Jack White," earned MTV Buzzworthy status when the site called the dance-funk anthem, "an animal all its own." The accompanying video -- flashy and ballsy in black and white -- went into rotation on mtvU ahead of the band's second EP, Kingdom Phylum, which premiered on USA Today. As with 2012's This Is a Test, the band brought together decades of disparate elements to craft party-ready rock. "These boys are the future," proclaimed ARTISTdirect, "it's the kind of fiery and ferocious music that the world rarely gets anymore."

Spirit Animal's adventurous take on rock, pop, and funk shines in each recording, live performance, and video the Brooklyn four-piece delivers. They are innovators who never forget their fundamental purpose: bring the party to the people.

The band's new school nonchalance is balanced by a fervent, protest-like bombasticism reminiscent of another era. "Rock, funk, dub, and super-charged blues all feature in their music," the Washington Post writes, "this is one of those bands that shifts genres without a lot of fuss."

A pair of mtvU video premieres ("BST FRNDS" and "The Black Jack White," which crossed the 1,000,000 spins mark on Spotify) and shows in over 50 U.S. cities have put this fresh face in front of a rapidly growing audience. Their second record, though unreleased, has taken the live experience to yet another level with arena-ready sing-along moments and unforgiving riffs coming one after the other. Festival appearances at Canadian Music Week and SXSW, as well as a U.S. national tour in the spring, are next in 2015.