ALLIE MOSS HOMETOWN: Long Branch, N.J. INFLUENCES: David Bazan, the Cardigans, Ella Fitzgerald ALBUM: Late Bloomer, out now WEBSITE: alliemoss.com Having cut her teeth playing guitar (and briefly acting as tour manager) for indie-pop singer and songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, Allie Moss stepped into the spotlight for real when an English telecommunications company contacted her through her Facebook page about using her solo song “Corner” in a TV... 

OTIS TAYLOR   A self-described musical “reporter” takes a hard look at a broken world   Otis Taylor watches through the window as the snow falls outside. Most would find it serene—a dusting on the mountains surrounding Boulder, Colo., the place he calls home. But not Taylor. “It’s dark and overcast,” he says with a shrug. The bluesman, 63, readily describes himself as a pessimist, one who warns that he has little patience for answering... 

KELLIE PICKLER The country songbird’s third album offers a shot of something a little stronger   “Where’s Tammy Wynette when you need her?” sings Kellie Pickler on the opening cut of her third and latest album, 100 Proof. The tune refers to a broken love affair, but Pickler might just as well be pointing the question toward modern-day country music itself. As a child in North Carolina, Pickler’s grandparents fed her a steady diet of songs... 

WARREN HAYNES A powerhouse guitarist stands alone to put his stamp on a classic sound   Between his very high-profile day jobs in Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brothers Band, virtuoso guitarist Warren Haynes isn’t lacking for musical outlets. But when he found himself with a batch of songs that weren’t suited to either group, he diverted them to Man in Motion, his first solo studio album since 1993. “They were songs I’d written that I’d... 

HEARTLESS BASTARDS Erika Wennerstrom aims her latest songs directly at the pain of heartbreak After the end of a nine-year relationship, Heartless Bastards frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom went for a drive. As she made her way across the nation from West Texas to Ohio, she thought hard about what she wanted to express about her experience through music. Once she figured it out, she booked some studio time and got ready to spill her guts. “Then there... 

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS  After almost three decades of cleverness, this duo is still right on track   “We didn’t get into music to meet girls or to strike a pose,” says John Flansburgh, who formed the clever alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell in 1982. “It was about having crazy ideas and taking those ideas as far as we could. A lot of people find the idea of humor in music childish, but what we do is post-adolescent. It’s... 

NADA SURF Revisiting the past, a rock trio discovers an unexpected need for speed   In early 2010, Nada Surf treated hometown fans in New York City to full performances of what were then its three most recent albums. The material in question spanned 2002 to 2008—years in which the trio enjoyed a remarkable second act, cultivating a newfound cult success that eclipsed their lone mainstream pop hit, 1996’s “Popular.” Taking stock of the Nada... 

KATHLEEN EDWARDS  Digging herself out of a familiar hole, with a hand from a new friend  Since her 2003 debut album, Failer, Kathleen Edwards has gradually honed her craft as a singer and songwriter whose finely wrought character sketches teem with both sardonic humor and knife’s-edge emotional danger. “And then part of me felt like I had fallen a little bit too complacent,” says Edwards, an Ottawa, Ontario, native who now lives in Toronto.... 

KATE BUSH For this pioneering songstress, inspiration literally fell from the sky   “Shimmerglisten.” “Creaky-creaky.” “Boomerangablanca.” The Eskimos don’t really have 50 words for snow, but Kate Bush does. Featuring guest turns from Elton John, Stephen Fry and Bush’s 12-year-old son Bertie, her new 50 Words for Snow album is a quietly riveting meditation on the white stuff. “I started thinking about how it feels when it snows,... 

THE FRAY The journey to success was tough—and they have the scars to prove it “This is the first time we got to make the record we wanted to,” declares Isaac Slade of the Fray’s third album, Scars & Stories. The group went through plenty to reach that point. Formed by singer and pianist Slade, guitarists Dave Welsh and Joe King and drummer Ben Wysocki in the early-2000s church-music scene in Denver, the Fray found its secular breakthrough... 

KEITH JARRETT After four decades, a piano giant still plucks inspiration from thin air By Jeff Tamarkin Jazz is in part the art of improvisation—and legendary pianist Keith Jarrett takes the concept to its extreme. Up until the moment he presses down the keys, he hasn’t a clue as to how he will begin or what will follow. “There’s this nanosecond, or maybe it’s an eternity, between sitting at the piano ready to play something and actually... 

SEAN GARRETT    Does this R&B hitmaker want to change the world through music? Yeah!             By Michael Gallant Atlanta native Sean Garrett grew up the son of an Army man, moving along with his family to wherever his father might be stationed. Everywhere he found himself, including a variety of military bases across England and Germany, young Garrett had his ears wide open. “Living abroad and listening to so many variations of music... 

ANI DiFRANCO  A hard-driving, hard-rocking modern folk pioneer learns to take her time  For a decade and a half, Ani DiFranco was among the most prolific acts you could name. Between 1990 and 2007, the Buffalo, N.Y., native released 16 studio albums of new material, not to mention a handful of live collections, compilations and EPs. But the latest, ¿Which Side Are You On?, is her first new offering in almost four years—and the primary reason... 

THE LITTLE WILLIES Norah Jones, Richard Julian and company take a side trip into the country    “It’s like eating a big bowl of my grandma’s macaroni and cheese,” jazz-pop superstar Norah Jones says of her childhood love for country music. “It feels nostalgic.” Today she expresses that fondness in part with the Little Willies, the group she first helped form in 2003 with singer and guitarist Richard Julian, guitarist Jim Campilongo,... 

ANDY TIMMONS Interpreting one of rock’s sacred texts, armed with  experience, reverence and blazing guitar    Guitarist Andy Timmons is well aware that it takes a lot of nerve to approach the crown jewel of the Beatles catalog. Nonetheless he and his longtime backing group—bass player Mike Daane and drummer Mitch Marine—summoned up the courage to offer their new rocked-up instrumental rendition of the Beatles’ landmark Sgt. Pepper’s... 

DC VILLAINS Rock trio, comic-book characters, video-game entrepreneurs or TV stars? These guys want it all     If their name conjures up images of scheming politicians or comic-book ne’er-do-wells, the members of the Nashville-based rock band DC Villains don’t mind at all. “Bad guys are often cooler than the good guys,” says frontman Damon Carroll (the first part of the moniker is derived from his initials). “And sometimes the bad guys... 

JUDY COLLINS Looking back honestly on the bitter and sweet, in song and otherwise  Not many lives would include enough excitement for three memoirs, but Judy Collins’ is the exception. She has been a troubadour of the ’60s folk boom; accomplished composer; interpreter for the likes of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell; founder of her own Wildflower Records label and relentless social advocate. She was famously the inspiration for the... 

CHRIS THILE AND YO-YO MA Two master musicians (plus two more) throw a genre-busting rodeo The rhythmic cascade of Chris Thile’s mandolin kicks off “Attaboy,” the first track of a new album with the unlikely title The Goat Rodeo Sessions. Thile is known for virtuosity and whimsy, so neither the bluegrass chops nor the album title is a surprise. But 32 seconds into “Attaboy,” a deeper-toned, bowed instrument unexpectedly takes the melody.... 

STANLEY JORDAN Still reinventing the sound of jazz, with the aid of some talented friends  By Jeff Tamarkin “To me, I’m just playing guitar,” says Stanley Jordan. “Then somebody points out the technique and I remember, ‘Yeah, it’s weird.’” Most musicians would be loath to describe their own performance method as “weird.” But Jordan, who first astonished the jazz world more than a quarter-century ago, is well aware that his trademark... 

JIMMY JAM AND TERRY LEWIS    The time is always right for this iconic R&B production partnership            By Michael Gallant “Production is about getting it done and getting it to be the best it can possibly be,” says James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III. Over the last several decades he and partner Terry Lewis have racked up a stunning roster of production credits for names including Michael Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion,... 

RAY MANZAREK From the Doors to the blues, a keyboard legend finds poetry in music   By Russell Hall  “I’ve been lucky to have lots of poet friends,” says Ray Manzarek. “Poets are great to work with.” For example, the legendary keyboardist’s new album with slide guitar great Roy Rogers, Translucent Blues, features lyrics from some of rock’s finest wordsmiths, including Michael McClure, Jim Carroll and Warren Zevon. That string of luck... 

PETER GABRIEL  Injecting new blood into familiar songs with his biggest band ever Peter Gabriel has been exploring rhythm for practically his entire life. He played drums in rock bands as a teen, before his legendary stint as lead singer for English progressive-rock band Genesis. Since his departure from that group, he has relentlessly incorporated rhythms from around the world and from the cutting edge of technology into his solo music—be it... 

MARTINA McBRIDE A country powerhouse finds a new attitude south of Nashville   “I don’t claim to be Kris Kristofferson,” says Martina McBride. “I’m still learning to express myself.” After two decades of performing hits written mostly by others, the country superstar co-penned six tracks for Eleven (eight on the 15-track “deluxe edition”). The Kansas native makes other changes, too: The new album finds her embracing styles like... 

LOU REED AND METALLICA Two giants of rock ’n’ roll team for a controversial collaboration Lou Reed is the first to admit that Lulu, his collaborative concept album with Metallica, is “not a normal recording by any stretch.” First there is the very idea of the pairing, which left many wondering where the legendary Velvet Underground founder and the iconic heavy metal band would find common ground. Then there’s the subject matter: Lulu is... 

CHRIS CORNELL  Soundgarden’s frontman strips down to show off his songbook  Seattle native Chris Cornell has lived several musical lives. He rose to fame in the 1990s as the leader of grunge giant Soundgarden, then spent much of the 2000s belting rock hits with Audioslave. That group’s breakup cleared the way for both the resumption of his on-and-off solo career and the return of Soundgarden, now completing its first new album since 1997’s... 

WILLIAM SHATNER  An unlikely music maker’s bold new mission:  to create a sci-fi-concept album William Shatner’s philosophy toward his life and career has served him well. At the very least, it’s kept things interesting. “I’d suggest that saying yes to opportunity is the way to lead your life, with some discretion,” says Shatner, 80. “So I said yes to an album I called The Transformed Man.” That misunderstood 1968 spoken-word effort,... 

RUTHIE FOSTER  Making the time to pour her soul into some of her favorite songs  Ruthie Foster is running a little late. “Pardon my tardiness,” she says. “I was getting a head start on dinner and tending to my six-month-old all at the same time. I keep it challenging when I’m at home.” Multitasking is but one of her talents, although it does have its limits—a desire to help raise her daughter, Maya, who she and her partner, Katie, adopted... 

GYM CLASS HEROES After a much-needed break, a hip-hop heavyweight rocks with a hot sequel Gym Class Heroes fans who feared your favorite hip-hop group was gone forever during the long wait for a new album since 2008’s The Quilt: Co-founder and drummer Matt McGinley feels your pain. “I know the passion I feel for other bands that I get ridiculously excited about when they put out new albums,” says McGinley, enjoying a rare day off the road... 

JOE NICHOLS  Can a neo-traditionalist find his way in modern country? It’s all good   Since his platinum-selling debut Man With a Memory in 2002, Joe Nichols’ earthy baritone and easygoing charm have made him one of Nashville’s most reliable neo-traditionalist singers. But the 35-year-old Arkansas native admits those talents were almost dimmed by personal drama at the beginning of his career. “I’ve had a lot of straightening up to do,... 

UH HUH HER  Post-label living means unprecedented artistic freedom—and maybe a second job  Life without a record label has its ups and downs. After parting ways with Nettwerk in 2009, Camila Grey and Leisha Hailey of Uh Huh Her decided to go the indie route and self-release their sophomore album, Nocturnes. While creativity was never in short supply, funding was. “We were running out of money, so I was like, ‘I need to get a job!’” says... 

M83 Why Anthony Gonzalez left France to seek his fortune in California  Before starting work on ambient pop act M83’s latest album, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, bandleader Anthony Gonzalez uprooted himself and moved from his native France to Los Angeles. The essence of his new surroundings seeped into the project, an ambitious two-CD set comprising 22 songs. “Sometimes you need to be driven by something new,” Gonzalez says. “I was surrounded... 

MEGADETH After three decades of metal, Dave Mustaine and company still won’t be stopped  Just a few months ago, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine wasn’t sure he’d ever play guitar again. He experienced crushing neck and back pain when the band entered the studio to record its new Th1rt3en album in May, but soldiered through. While touring as part of the traveling Mayhem Festival this summer, he could barely stand onstage and at one point was nearly... 

FAY WOLF HOMETOWN: Fairfield, Conn. INFLUENCES: Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Joni Mitchell ALBUM: Spiders, out now WEBSITE: faywolfmusic.com Fay Wolf first drew attention as an actress,  appearing in roles on TV shows from All My Children to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well as the well-received online series Rose by Any Other Name … (She is classically trained in acting, holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Boston University.)... 

GRAFFITI6  HOMETOWN: London MEMBERS: Jamie Scott (vocals, guitar), TommyD (guitar, production) ALBUM: Free EP, out now WEBSITE: graffiti6.com Jamie Scott had already established himself as an acoustic-based singer-songwriter in Europe and Asia when he met producer and multi-instrumentalist Tommy “TommyD” Danvers—and his music took a surprising turn into electronica-based pop and soul territory. “For me, the unexpectedness of the sound... 

SONIA LEIGH  HOMETOWN: Atlanta, Ga. INFLUENCES: Bob Dylan, Melissa Etheridge, Bruce Springsteen ALBUM: 1978 December, out now WEBSITE: sonialeigh.com Sonia Leigh first began playing guitar at age 10, learning chords from her father. “I’d come home every day and practice after school and use his guitar,” she says. “Finally he saw I was getting good and he was actually tired of me using his guitar, because I’d be playing and he’d be wanting... 

LYLE LOVETT  Release Me [Lost Highway/Curb] Release Me marks the end of Lyle Lovett’s career-long run with Curb Records—he first signed with the label in 1985, at age 28. While its hodgepodge of holiday songs, covers, duets, ballads, rockers, swing, bluegrass and even an instrumental initially smacks of randomness, it also points toward the open-minded eclecticism that has sustained Lovett throughout his career. He has never been a conventional... 

GUIDED BY VOICES Let’s Go Eat the Factory [Guided by Voices] This is Guided by Voices’ 16th studio album, but it might as well be their 160th. It’s also their first since 2004, but thanks to comically prolific bandleader Robert Pollard, who spent the interim years releasing solo records and leading various similar-sounding bands, it’s as if they never really went away. The twist here is that Let’s Go marks the reunion of the beloved... 

LEONARD COHEN Old Ideas [Columbia]  It’s a funny thing to say about a septuagenarian, but Leonard Cohen has really grown into his voice. What was always a distinctive instrument has deepened on his new album into a resonant purr capable of insinuating itself into the deepest part of you. Old Ideas is only the 12th studio album in a musical career stretching back to 1967, but Cohen chooses his words with considerable care. He’s become more... 

INGRID MICHAELSON Human Again [Mom+Pop]  “I’ve got to say goodbye to the pieces of me that have already died,” sings Ingrid Michaelson on the moody new single “Ghost.” Eschewing the lighthearted sound of her earlier albums, Michaelson has indeed made her most mature and expansive work to date with the deeply personal Human Again. Her albums have become progressively slicker as she’s transformed from coffee-shop singer-songwriter to... 

JOE COCKER Hard Knocks [429 Records] Joe Cocker’s latest marks a 180-degree turn from his rough-and-ready previous record, 2007’s Hymn for My Soul. Produced by Matt Serletic, best known for his work with Matchbox Twenty, Hard Knocks is spit-shined and glossy to a fault. Comprised mostly of pop-flavored R&B, the album emits an ’80s vibe, and often brings to mind Robert Palmer’s broad-strokes discs of that era. Typical is “Stay the... 

HUGH MASEKELA Jabulani [Razor & Tie] As far as most Americans are concerned, Hugh Masekela was a one-hit wonder who scored a fluke pop chart-topper in 1968 with his jazzy take on the grooving “Grazing in the Grass,” and hasn’t done much since. In truth, the South African trumpeter, flugelhornist and vocalist has been recording and performing steadily for some five decades now—and if his public profile isn’t as high as it once was,... 

DIERKS BENTLEY Home [Capitol Nashville] Contemporary country success is often about establishing a persona and then reiterating it at every turn. Become the “I’m from the country” guy, the “I love America” guy, the “I love to party” guy or the “I’m free to party in the country ’cause I live in America” guy and hammer that home. Dierks Bentley is a big-tent, big-idea exception to all that. He’s comfortable on stages with... 

SHARON VAN ETTEN Tramp [Jagjaguwar] It’s not like she carried her stuff around in a bindle, but Sharon Van Etten did do some couch surfing while recording her third album. Fortunately, the fluctuations of her life outside the studio only seemed to underpin her consistency inside it. Tramp is a masterful collection that broadens the gripping sound of Van Etten’s understated 2010 album Epic. Produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner, these songs... 

THE DOORS  L.A. Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition  [Elektra/Rhino] Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek idly runs through the chords of his band’s evocative new number, “Riders on the Storm,” a brooding meditation on the inherent madness of humanity, as drummer John Densmore quietly gets a feel for the groove. As Jim Morrison steps up to the mic to prepare for a take, Manzarek’s pattern triggers an unexpected synapse in the young singer and poet’s... 

CRAIG FINN Clear Heart Full Eyes [Vagrant] After five albums with Brooklyn indie rockers the Hold Steady, frontman Craig Finn has made his first foray into solo territory. While Clear Heart Full Eyes is a down-tempo, alt-country departure from Finn’s usual classic-rock oeuvre, this is no throwaway acoustic cop-out. In lieu of electric guitar we find pedal steel warbling to fill in the negative space. The album’s production sounds thin and almost... 

SNOW PATROL Fallen Empires [Interscope] Despite considerable success in the U.K. and Ireland, Snow Patrol’s popularity in America lags behind fellow Brit-rockers like Coldplay. But while Coldplay’s albums have come to feel increasingly hollow in their grandiosity, Snow Patrol’s latest continues to hone the cinematic, downhearted sound that has yielded a string of platinum albums abroad. The band experiments a little here with pounding drums... 

CANDI STATON Who’s Hurting Now? [Honest Jon’s] Candi Staton earned the title “first lady of Southern soul” for the sides she recorded 40 years ago before turning to disco and then forsaking the secular for gospel music. Her sublime 2006 comeback record, His Hands, begged for a follow-up. Who’s Hurting Now? came out overseas in 2009, but label and licensing complications prevented its release stateside until now. Better late than never—it’s... 

TODD RUNDGREN Todd [S’More Entertainment] Last year Todd Rundgren delighted fans by performing a series of shows featuring three of his most beloved albums—1973’s A Wizard, A True Star, 1974’s Todd and 1981’s Healing—in their entirety. This DVD captures a run-through of Todd staged in September at the historic Keswick Theater in Rundgren’s hometown of Philadelphia, and it sizzles with the same progressive spirit the original double-LP... 

RHETT MILLER The Interpreter: Live at Largo [Maximum Sunshine]  Covers albums and live records both tend to be mixed bags, so it follows that making a quality album of live covers would be difficult. Rhett Miller, however, is largely successful on The Interpreter, an intimate collection recorded over two nights in 2008 at Largo, before the Los Angeles club changed locations (there are also two studio bonus tracks). Miller plays solo for much of... 

MITCH RYDER The Promise [Michigan Broadcasting Corporation] Detroit’s Mitch Ryder lays down old-school grooves with a vengeance on his first American album in nearly 30 years, singing the blue-collar blues over catchy bass and guitar riffs. Ryder lets out the Motor City funk on numbers such as “The Way We Were” and “Junkie Love,” aided by producer and fellow Detroiter Don Was. Ryder addresses the personal and political with equal ease....