In addition to the horse races on Taking Back Sunday and Straylight Run, two other high-profile derbies have kicked into gear: Matador’s Interpol and Equal Vision’s Coheed and Cambria. Both bands have been on major-label wish lists for over a year.

The timing is great for the successful indie acts; Interpol, long championed by our own Ivana, reportedly owes one album to Matador, while Coheed and Cambria have one left after this week’s release of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.

Lots of anticipation surrounds Coheed’s possible first-week numbers. Major-label interest in the Peter Lewit-repped band started brewing after their first Equal Vision LP, but the group decided to stay on the indie route.

Meanwhile, the Brandon Schmidt-managed/Richard Grabel-repped Interpol’s debut release, Turn On the Bright Lights, has clocked an impressive 220k+ in sales, with every PoMo spin at radio a victory—especially in the land where Linkin Park and Evanescence dominate. Label suitors praise the commitment of Matador co-owner Chris Lombardi and GM Patrick Amory to artist development, notably the aggressive, year-plus marketing effort on this project—a rare thing in the major-label world. In addition, the band’s strong road ethic has entailed four rounds of domestic tours including last week’s two sold-out Palladium performances. The band’s third single, "NYC" (a Lenny Beer favorite), is timed around their upcoming sold-out shows in the Big Apple. Stand by.

Meanwhile, on the Taking Back Sunday tip, word on the street is that one major has made aggressive moves to close the band, since said major appears to be the most logical home for the group. And are some label suitors dropping out of the TBS race to focus on Straylight Run? Stand by…