Japanese Cartoon and The Welcome Wagon

After reading an article about the rumour that Lupe Fiasco is leading a British indie-rock band aside from his 'Superstar' rap career, I had to check out the band's myspace and was very pleased. The band has repeatedly posted blogs denying the rumors, saying that Percival Fats is the band's real front man but that Lupe is financing and producing the project.
Either way, their sound is fresh and exciting, especially with Lupe attached to the production. I would hesitate to say that the band is an indie-rock band, but that is only because of the misconception that rap is not indie. Japanese Cartoon is a mix of rap and indie-rock sounds that come together to form the perfect hybrid.
Another band that has just come to my attention is The Welcome Wagon. The band is comprised of New York pastor Vito Aiuto and his wife (both dear friends of Sufjan Stevens). Their sound is indeed very 'Sufjan' but it's a new breed chalk full of religious imagery.
The 2008 album Welcome to the Welcome Wagon is an album of hope that doesn't try to hide the light of Christ. Aiuto has made faith more accessible to the 'hipster nation' but denies being a hipster himself:

" I read somewhere that the chief marker in knowing whether someone is a hipster
or not is to deny that you are. I deny that I am, so I guess that probably makes
me one. I’m not trying to be obtuse, but I don’t really know what a “hipster”
is. I probably fit some of the definitions. But I know that my church is in
Brooklyn where there’s a lot of young people who are involved in the arts and
have a certain aesthetic inclination. I’d be lying or naive to say that I’m not
aware of those things."

-Sam