I can imagine that when Columbus stumbled onto the Americas he felt like he had discovered something new, even though it had belong to thousands of natives before he even knew how to spell Santa Maria. I had a similar experience when I stumbled across Nico Vega’s self-titled album. It might be their third album, but it feels fresh like newly broken ground. Comprised of vocalist Aja Volkman, Rich Koehler on guitar, and Dan Epand on drums, Los Angeles-based band Nico Vega leads you on a journey from rock to folk to blues, and does it passionately. Their music is an intricate experience created with the likes of the White Stripes, Cat Power, Scissor Sisters, and PJ Harvey in mind. Their radical lyrics, however, are more reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin or just of a time when music had a message. You can almost taste the creative energy, the free-balling confidence, and the pure talent behind it all. With a stint at this year’s SXSW, a recently released album, and tour dates being added every day, Nico Vega have been added to my list of must see acts.