Kristen (PL)

Led by Michał Biela of Ścianka fame, Kristen has been playing for going on 15 years and continues to impress fans with its original combination of alt-rock and free jazz, as heard on their 2010 album Western Lands – recorded in collaboration with Etam Etamski, Kuba Suchar (Mikrokolektyw), and Marcina Ciupidro (formerly of Robotobibok) – as well as last year’s EP, titled An Accident, which is somewhat of an appendix to the 2010 record. Too bad Kristen doesn’t seek out attention: if you knew them better, you’d have a much higher opinion of contemporary Polish music.