Know Your M-K Bands

And we’re not talking about Mary-Kate. Lately we’ve noticed a preponderance of bands whose names include the 13th letter, the 11th letter, and some assorted vowels. Vaguely Japanese-sounding is the new wolf! It can all get a bit confusing, so below, we present Blender’s handy guide to telling your Meikos from your Mika Mikos.

Meiko
A “Grey’s Anatomy”-ready singer-songwriter from Georgia who adopted the name Meiko as a tribute to her Japanese grandma.




Miike Snow
Bloodshy and Avant (the Swedish production team behind Britney’s “Toxic” and “Piece of Me”) join forces with an American indie-rock vet.



Micachu and the Shapes
A Pokemon-sounding crew fronted by a 21-year-old London lass named Mica Levi. She is small and cuddly but, as far as we know, has no tail.



Mika Miko
A noisy L.A. punk fivesome that’s nowhere as cute as their name suggests. Or...are they?



Mika
Remember this guy? Kinda popular like two years ago? Perez Hilton loved him? Eh, that’s OK.



Mako
Don’t fuck with this dude.