Poetic & earnest vocals.  easy listening grooves.   Mostly acoustic guitar & harmonica mixed with good songwriting = obvious Dylan comparisons. FCC: Clean Play; # 3,10,11 RIYL: Wood Bros. Ray Lamontagne, Tallest Man On Earth, and Dylan

Formerly The Kopecky Family Band, this second album offers up a colorful amalgam of Killers and Arcade Fire-inspired, arena-ready indie rock and slick AOR pop that falls somewhere between Sleigh Bells and Fleetwood Mac.  Teeming with big pop flourishes and fist-pumping choruses. FCC: Clean Play:#2,4,6,12 RIYL: Sleigh Bells, The National, Fleetwood Mac, Phantogram

Idiosyncratic blend of live instruments and vocals fused with beats & electronics.  Bombastic & propulsive.  An all-out assault on the low-end of your speakers.  Machine-gun bass is prevalent throughout, combined with lush vocals.  More poppy than past efforts, but still very hard hitting. FCC: Clean Play: #2,7,9,10 RIYL: Crystal Castles, Holy F*ck, Battles, No Age

Label: Sub Pop Subjective Concepts is the debult full-length from Olympia, WA band Strange Wilds, and from the sound of it, you could say Sub Pop is getting back to their roots. Sounds very much like the early days of grunge: some songs are more hardcore punk, others sound closer to Bleach-era Nirvana. If you’re […]

Label: Astralwerks Polaroid Memories is the sophomore album and U.S. debut from Swedish band Urban Cone. The music is very sugary pop rock out of Sweden with bright synths and guitars, youthful energy. The album suffers from lyrics are a little repetitive, as well as not doing a lot to stand out from the pack […]

Label: Kat Robeeshow You may know Kat Robichaud from being a finalist on Season 5 of The Voice, but don’t let that scare you away – this is nothing like your typical reality show contestant album. Piano based rock with attitude – kind of a cabaret punk sound similar to Amanda Palmer/the Dresden Dolls, but […]

Label: Topshelf All is Illusory is the first album in 8 years from The Velvet Teen. They are a band with connections to the early 00’s emo scene (think Polyvinyl Records in its early days) but have always broke the boundaries of that genre. This album is no exception, with 11 very diverse songs, bookended […]

Label: StiFi Sticky Fingers are a band from Australia who have become very popular in their native country and now looking to make it here in the America! Land of Pleasure is their sophomore album that was originally released in 2014, but now they are promoting it in the U.S. Electronic rock with a very […]

Label: Warner Bros. The latest album from the world famous prog-pop band Muse goes back to basics with a more guitar-centric sound after the electronic experimentation of The 2nd Law. Concept album about how war changes people. True to the title, there are lots of references to “drones” throughout the album, whether they are referring […]

Big pop sound but very unique.  Almost folky vocals over electronic backings.  Would be a great supporting act/opener for Sylvan Esso.  Four sisters in their twenties make up the band out of Atlanta, GA. RIYL: Sylvan Esso, St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey, Haim | Play 3, 6, 4, 2 | FCC: Clean

Pristine vocals over various arrangements from acoustic guitar to orchestral string-style layouts to solo piano ballads.  A bit of folk in her singer-songwriter solo approach.  Spacious and light, great for a stormy cabin near the Maine Coast. RIYL: Joanna Newsom, Regina Spektor, Devendra Banhart, Kate Bush, CocoRosie | Play 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 ALL […]

Quintessential PNW rock from Portland.  Alt-folk rock feel of the Moondoggies, a bit more upbeat, though.  Lyrics bring the laid-back feel of some surfy rock (think Parquet Courts but less punk).  Awesome stuff. RIYL: Moondoggies, Blitzen Trapper, Wilco, Parquet Courts | Play 2, 1, 3, ALL | FCC: Clean

Folky, primal tunes.  Feels a bit like mellow, early, early 90’s Dave Matthews meets Rusted Root, but really feels like a Horse Feathers side project.  Percussion is all hand and the strings are mostly banjo, mandolin, guitar with some mild wah effects. Nice sparse sound, cozy album. RIYL: Horse Feathers, Be Good Tanyas, Frazey Ford, […]

Synthy beats with hollow yet full focals.  Haunting feel with a bit of warmth.  Midi and drums behind vocals with sound-scapey guitars.  Formerly of the Postal Service. RIYL: Cat Power, Sylvan Esso, Regina Spektor | PLAY: 8, 1, 2, 3, ALL | FCC: Clean

Label: Bella Union PINS’ latest album Wild Nights finds them mixing vocal harmony laden 60’s girl-group pop with 80’s NYC goth/punk. Now, there have been a lot of other artists doing this style of music and it’s been done better, but if you are a fan of this genre you will enjoy these songs very […]

Label: SideOneDummy Already Dead is the sophomore album from New Paltz, NY band Timeshares. Their music has the sound of 00’s punk mixed with alt-country/roots rock. The songs here are catchy and energetic, but at time are weighed down by clunky lyrics, like on the otherwise uplifting track “Tail Light”. Still worth a listen if […]