The Hot Damn Jammz: Take the Day Off!

This weeks' Jammz all come courtesy of charter HDJammmer Heather Phares. On Wednesday afternoon she built a floor-to-ceiling wall of unopened promo CDs and sequestered herself from all distractions. No yammering from her cubemates, no looking out the window at the cascading snowflakes, no thoughts of hot chocolate from our fancy new coffee machine. All she had was the internet, a No. 2 pencil and a burning desire to find the hottest, damnest bands she could, just for you and your loved ones. We may be biased but it looks like she may have succeeded. These ten bands are hott, exciting and definitely worthy of your precious time. Take tomorrow off Heather, you've earned it.

Effi Briest
Dark, hypnotic pop with a punk undercurrent that conjures memories of the Slits, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Sugarcubes, and comparisons to contemporaries like Telepathe and Zola Jesus.

Yuck
This band's bright, bittersweet and surprisingly polished melodies mix with lo-fi surroundings in a way that's decidedly yummy.

Mira Belle
Californian collage-ist Suguria Muhgoothra turns sounds that seem like they shouldn't go together into charmingly strange electronic confections. Download the full Mira Belle album at his MySpace page.

Nom de Guerre
With keytars, disco strings and hooks aplenty, this trio could be Sweden's answer to the Scissor Sisters.

Class Actress
This Brooklyn group describes themselves as "Depeche Mode meets early Madonna and Five Star as played on KTU Radio in the leather backseat of a cab," which is remarkably accurate.

RxRy
This mysterious electronic pop is rumored to be the work of Panda Bear and Animal Collective's Noah Lennox. Whoever this artist is, their dreamy layers of sound are quite impressive.

Psychobuildings
Hard-edged electronic dance-punk with surprisingly funky grooves.

Haunted Ghost
This cleverly named band's lo-fi acoustic pop sounds like the ghost of Eric's Trip.

Cold Pumas
With the kind of hypnotic racket they churn out, it's easy to hear why Cold Pumas have shared bills with the likes of Mi Ami.

French Fries
Yes, he is French, and yes, his brand of pumping, tribal house is very tasty.