I must confess… I have fallen in love with a certain Florence and her Machine. I tried to resist, but it turns out the British press and listening public were correct in their crowning the act (essentially a moniker for Florence Welch) the Next…Big…Thing. Her unique brand of art-pop, equal parts soulful, theatrical, and ethereal, hit the indie world by storm and her debut album Lungs became a bona fide hit overseas (it reached #2 in her native UK and eventually went Platinum).

This week’s musings (after a very sad break for the author’s health) features Italy. It is no mystery that Italy has never been at the forefront of the modern indie rock scene; while they may be the peoples responsible for the Mona Lisa, gelato, the works of Fellini, and the discovery of the New World, they have yet to produce their own Arctic Monkeys. I know, ‘tis a tragedy of epic proportions.

I know I just recently covered the Netherlands, but I’ve decided to make a return visit to highlight up-and-coming rap duo La Melodia. I saw them live at a global hip-hop showcase this past week at CMJ in New York City and loved their blend of old-school hip-hop, bossa nova, and soul. It was especially nice to see such a self-assured and spunky rapper in the form of MC Melodee since there seems to be a dearth of female rappers in the mainstream American rap scene.

This week’s focus is on Switzerland with The Mondrians and the film Home. Incorporating elements of garage rock, psychedelia, power pop, and good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll, Swiss indie band The Mondrians first hit the music scene back in 2005 with the release of a set of homemade demo recordings called Pearl of the Lake. They followed this up with several more demos throughout the next couple of years and began their assault on mainland Europe, playing shows in Switzerland and France, before trekking across the English Channel to attempt to impress the notoriously tough British music press and audience. After doing just that the band journeyed to Spain in 2008 to begin work on their debut album with producer Gordon Raphael…