TRS-80 Horizons trs80.com Jay Rajeck founded TRS-80 in 1997, years before the advent of “chillwave,” or hypnagogic pop, or whatever this week’s correct term is for the current wave of indie music meant to invoke hazy memories of early-’80s video-game soundtracks, New Wave hits and other sounds ingrained in the brains of people raised during the Reagan years. TRS-80 has toured with Ariel Pink and Geneva Jacuzzi—leaders of the movement in... 

ARNOLD McCULLER Soon as I Get Paid arnoldmcculler.com If James Taylor and Phil Collins picked up any extra soulfulness in recent years, they probably got it from Arnold McCuller. A longtime back-up singer for these and other pop giants, McCuller plays smooth bluesman on Soon as I Get Paid, a collection of covers and originals. His own “Gods and Monsters” is the standout—a song about a voodoo guitarist casting spells at an after-hours juke joint.... 

THE WRONGLERS WITH JIMMIE DALE GILMORE Heirloom Music myspace.com/thewronglers There’s a reason country artists—even great songwriters like Jimmie Dale Gilmore—keep coming back to ’30s and ’40s bluegrass. The era’s proto-country songs have it all: humor, heartbreak, outlaw spirit and wellsprings of emotion. Backed here by the virtuosic pluckers, pickers and fiddlers of California’s Wronglers, Gilmore revisits the classics, delivering... 

NINE 11 THESAURUS Ground Zero Generals myspace.com/nine11thesaurus It’s bluntly provocative, but Nine 11 Thesaurus is a fitting name for this Brooklyn crew—five teenage rappers searching for words to describe the post-9/11 world. Some group members lost family members in the attacks, but while they do rhyme about wars and world affairs, they focus more on domestic issues like institutional racism (“Bondages”), police brutality (“Police Sirens”)... 

JOHAN AGEBJÖRN Casablanca Nights johanagebjorn.info To outsiders, the world of European dance music can seem strange and forbidding. There are flashing lights and fashions to consider, and the music breaks down into subgenres—Italo Disco, Eurobeat, Hi-NRG, etc.—distinguishable only to the indoctrinated. Johan Agebjörn is an insider, but on his first solo album of what he simply terms “disco,” the Swedish producer aims for inclusiveness.... 

TITLE TRACKS In Blank titletracksdc.blogspot.com “Everything goes away!” John Davis proclaims on “Shaking Hands,” the first song on the sophomore effort from Title Tracks. As he makes this claim, stampeding drums and his own gruff, jangling guitar threaten to drown him out—and in the process succeed in proving him wrong. One thing that clearly refuses to go away is punky ’70s power-pop, the signature sound on this 32-minute rocket of a... 

THOSE DARLINS Screws Get Loose thosedarlins.com These Tennessee gals could have gone the Dixie Chicks route, but they growl as well as they harmonize, coming on like a gang of Wanda Jacksons. They also rock like backwater Ramones, playing punk rock with country swagger and plenty of kid-sister sass.  Read More →

TS & THE PAST HAUNTS Caveman Rock myspace.com/tsandthepasthaunts Having led his last band, Piebald, from punk to perky piano-pop, singer Travis Shettel joins British garage foursome the Duke Spirit for a ’60s-influenced EP that’s a little of both. Shettel remains a master of geeky sincerity even on the raging title cut, his invitation to dance like a Neanderthal.  Read More →

SPIRIT PEOPLE Dragoons spiritpeople.bandcamp.com There’s probably an anthropological explanation for the prevalence of tribal percussion in New York indie rock—something about artsy kids migrating from other places and wanting to feel connected. With its restless drumming and appealingly amorphous guitars, this debut will make a fine soundtrack for someone’s Ph.D. dissertation.  Read More →

KREIDLER Tank myspace.com/kreidlerde When the creepy mannequin-robot thing on the cover of this album fancies a dance, he probably reaches for some Kreidler. The German foursome is factory-like in its fashioning of these tracks—quasi-funky, neo-Krautrock jams made from drum thumps, synth squiggles and fat-bottom bass. It’s rigid, but it’s sexy.  Read More →

JACOBS LADDER Back to Life jacobsladdermusic.com With the same sparkle-to-crunch ratio that made stars of Yellowcard, New Found Glory and numerous other ’00s pop-punk bands, Jacobs Ladder aims high with its debut EP. On “Home Alone Tonight,” singer Oren Maisner sits heartbroken “by the fireside”—unexpected imagery for a Miami musician, but effective nonetheless.  Read More →

ZOOBOMBS La Vie en Jupon thezoobombs.com Tokyo’s Zoobombs are finally getting ready to drop on America. These Japanese rockers have been kicking out the jams since the mid-’90s, but as this digital-only, career-spanning sampler points out, their sound is pure 1970: Stooges punk meets Sly Stone funk. Songs like “Way In/Way Out” and “Get It Together” start out as conventional bluesy garage tunes, but the Bombs stretch them out with organ... 

SOMETHING FIERCE Don’t Be So Cruel somethingfiercemusic.com Neither “Future Punks” nor this disc’s title cut is a reggae song, but with their sparse guitars and go-go basslines, both songs have the agitated bounce of “Police and Thieves,” the Clash’s first foray into Jamaican music. Something Fierce has clearly been studying the Clash closely, but the Houston trio is equally fond of the Jam and the Undertones—groups that knew crummy... 

SHARKS The Joys of Living myspace.com/sharks When the Sharks’ James Mattock sings lines like, “Never allow yourself to forget to run against and through the darkness,” his heart is working harder than his brain—and that’s precisely as it should be. Like their American counterparts in Gaslight Anthem, these tattooed, greasy-haired Brits are rock ’n’ roll zealots. They base their faith on two sacred 1978 texts—Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness... 

ROCKY BUSINESS A Rebel’s Roar wearerockybusiness.com “Feeling like Biggie when he laid ‘Juicy,’” rapper Strictly Business announces on his duo’s debut EP, making a comparison that’s not quite right. SB, as he’s known, is a motormouth MC from the Notorious B.I.G.’s old Brooklyn ’hood, but that’s where the similarities end. On “Juicy,” Biggie sipped champagne and celebrated his rise from gutter to penthouse. Contrast that with... 

LAB COAST Pictures on the Wall myspace.com/labcoast Leave it to Canada, the no-big-whoop capital of North America, to produce a band as unassuming as Lab Coast. Lax and lovely, this 12-song, 19-minute collection is available as both a digital download and old-school cassette—fitting, since it sounds like it was recorded straight to boombox. Therein lies the charm: These Calgary rockers take the lo-fi slacker-pop sound of American contemporaries... 

THE HORROR THE HORROR Wilderness myspace.com/thth With the Strokes back in action, stylistic descendents The Horror The Horror picked a great time for reinvention. This is the Swedish quintet’s third album—traditionally the make-or-break one—and singer Joel Lindström knows the dangers of failing to evolve. “Come in with the underground, go out with the undertow,” he sings on “Vanity,” a song about feeling like the last of the ’00s... 

SETH GLIER Next Right Thing sethglier.com Like his hero, James Taylor, Seth Glier has seen fire and he’s seen rain. Also like Taylor, the 21-year-old Massachusetts-born singer-songwriter is a firm believer in keeping cool, taking the good with the bad and never, under any circumstances, raising his voice. Glier’s sophomore album is filled with sweet, slice-of-life piano-pop tunes, and whether he’s singing about bombs falling on Baghdad (“First”)... 

THE GET UP KIDS There Are Rules thegetupkids.com Three years after re-forming a band that started out during Bill Clinton’s first term, the Get Up Kids knew as well as anyone that they couldn’t return with yet another emo-pop album. They instead have chosen to lean heavily on synths and effects to avoid backsliding into familiar territory, creating their bleakest, spikiest, most electronic collection yet. The Kansas City quintet still works toward... 

JIM BIANCO Loudmouth jimbianco.com Even in a bad economy, people are willing to pay extra for products of rare character and quality. Case in point: Jim Bianco’s third album, a fan-funded collection that combines the populist soul-pop of Huey Lewis’ greatest hits with the gruff vocals and skewed humor of early Tom Waits records. Bianco is more Lewis than Waits—he never sounds like a wizened, whiskey-soaked lounge lizard—but he can turn a phrase... 

BAMBI KINO Bambi Kino bambi-kino.com Before they were proven songwriters, the Beatles were the hardest-working cover band on the Reeperbahn, the main drag in Hamburg’s red-light district. Fascinated by this period, Bambi Kino—members of Nada Surf and Guided by Voices, among others—recorded this album at the Indra Club, scene of the not-yet-Fab Four’s first German gig. The disc features tunes the lads would have played in 1960—everything... 

AURICAL Something to Say auricalmusic.com Rachel Rossos and Michael Gallant are classically trained musician-composers with incredibly diverse résumés. She’s written orchestral works and performed at Lincoln Center, while he’s scored plays and jammed with Phish’s Page McConnell and Herbie Hancock (full disclosure: Gallant is a contributor to M Music and Musicians). Aurical finds the duo in pop-rock mode, and their cleverness comes through... 

SHANNON AND THE CLAMS Sleep Talk shannonandtheclams.com Large and in charge, singer and bassist Shannon Shaw presides over her Clams like a misfit Marvellete or punk-rock version of a John Waters film character. She lives for the teen melodrama of doo-wop and early-’60s girl-group pop, and on this Oakland trio’s sophomore album, she pouts and growls but never plays the pushover. Shaw sounds genuinely heartbroken on ballads like “Tired of Being... 

COLD BLUE REBELS Blood, Guts N’ Rock & Roll myspace.com/coldbluerebels Cold Blue Rebels could easily be knocking out Stray Cats covers or ’50s standards, but these L.A. punkabillies would rather slather on the corpse paint and sing about dating dead chicks. It’s tasteless, juvenile stuff, but that’s the point. If “Zombie Love” doesn’t make you chuckle, you might be among the walking dead yourself.  Read More →

WOLFRAM Wolfram diskokaine.com Trinidadian singer Haddaway scored a crossover techno hit with 1993’s “What Is Love?” Austrian producer Wolfram devotes his debut to revisiting that question in sound and sentiment, reviving the disco beats and minor-key electronics of early-’90s Eurodance. Haddaway himself guests on “Thing Called Love,” still searching, still grooving.  Read More →

IAN AXEL This Is the New Year myspace.com/ianaxel Like Owl City without the synths or Vanessa Carlton with a Y chromosome, Ian Axel churns out smart, catchy songs about the pains of being a pure-hearted 20-something. The best of this bunch is the title cut—a piano-pop pep talk that even cynics might get behind.  Read More →

DIRTY BEACHES Badlands dirtybeaches.blogspot.com Taiwanese-born one-man-band Alex Zhang Hungtai explores the seedy side of ’50s culture, demonstrating the influence of filmmaker David Lynch as much as Elvis Presley. He creates lo-fi, laptop-made minimalist rockabilly soundtracks for your darkest, most twisted nightmares.  Read More →

ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS Into Bass and Time myspace.com/ancientastronautsswitch Proof that hip-hop can come from anywhere and sound like anything, the sophomore effort by these German producers features funk-soul brass, turntable scratches and Far Eastern strings, among other sounds. The constants: thumping bass and drums, the cement and water in a foundation thick enough to support it all.  Read More →

TAHITI 80 The Past, the Present & the Possible tahiti80.com The sixth Tahiti 80 album arrives via the band’s own Human Sounds imprint, cheekily named for the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. The French sextet is clearly acquainted with that touchstone of classic pop, but Brian Wilson’s masterwork isn’t the only influence on this music. Most of the tracks here combine ’80s synth-pop with modern R&B, satisfying both the “past” and “present”... 

FIVE O’CLOCK HEROES Different Times myspace.com/fiveoclockheroes It’s no wonder these New Yorkers hit first in England and are just now, three albums into their career, making their stateside debut. The Brits surely hear in the Heroes echoes of late-’70s U.K. greats Graham Parker, Joe Jackson and XTC, if not latter-day equivalents like the Fratellis and Kaiser Chiefs. Most of these songs find singer Anthony Ellis doing his best Andy Partridge... 

TURISAS Stand Up and Fight turisas.com Listening to the third album from Finnish symphonic-metal crew Turisas, the foremost question becomes what to do with one’s hands. Throwing the classic devil-horns gesture seems fitting—but only when the guitars are chugging, the double bass drums are charging like a Clydesdale, and singer Mathias “Warlord” Nygård is affecting a demonic growl. When the horns and strings swoop in, setting the stage for... 

YOUNG PRISMS Friends for Now myspace.com/youngprisms On its own, each element that makes up Young Prisms’ debut would sound monotonous, abrasive or both. The bass and drums throb pleasantly enough, ramping up old-school girl-group rhythms, but the guitars drone like amplified vacuum cleaners and the two singers do little more than howl into the sonic tornado. But when these wily San Franciscans put all these elements together they get songs like... 

WHITE MYSTERY Blood & Venom whitemysteryband.com Boy-girl duo, fat garage riffs, surname White: It’s a familiar premise, but White Mystery is no White Stripes rip-off. In this Chicago band the girl is up front, and Alex White has a personality as big and mean as her growly guitar tone. She also sings like a feral Ronette—or maybe a young Grace Slick minus the artsy pretension. Alex’s brother, Francis (yes, her actual sibling, contrasting... 

THE PAPERHEAD The Paperhead myspace.com/lookingglasssound When Ryan Jennings, one of three Nashville teens behind the Paperhead, sings “Back to Those Days,” it’s obvious just which days he’s talking about. The trio’s debut flashes unabashedly back to 1968, its swimmy, fuzzy guitars and amorphous song structures evoking such psych-rock classics as the Third Bardo’s “I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time.” Because Jennings and his cohorts... 

GLEASONS DRIFT Blythe Township Mellencamp gleasonsdrift.com Power-pop isn’t solely the purview of city slickers in skinny ties. The members of Gleasons Drift are more beard-and-flannel types, so it’s fitting that on their third album they deliver big riffs and bigger melodies with a backwoods twang befitting their native Pottsville, Pa. At their catchiest the songs recall ’70s-era NRBQ. When frontman Bill Whalen really gets going, singing about... 

SIMS Bad Time Zoo myspace.com/sims On his sophomore album, Minneapolis hip-hopper Sims celebrates successes personal (“LMG”) and professional (“Good Times”), while still finding plenty to get riled up about. Taking full advantage of producer Lazerbeak’s plethora of sounds—horn samples, reggae riddims and even noodling electric guitar—the MC born Andrew Sims blasts materialistic mainstream rappers and modern consumer culture. He’s a... 

SHANNON MCNALLY Western Ballad shannonmcnally.com On “High,” the second song on her 11th album, Shannon McNally recalls watching a red prairie sunrise. Amid shimmering, ghostly guitars, she admits, “I was just a little bit high.” That confession could account for about half of Western Ballad, which finds her and collaborator Mark Bingham cranking up the reverb and creating a cool, spooky sound they call “psychedelic Americana.” “Toast,”... 

GREG TROOPER Upside-Down Town gregtrooper.com Singer and songwriter Greg Trooper goes slumming on the Upside-Down Town track “They Call Me Hank,” sung from the perspective of a luckless wino—but for much of his 10th album, he’s king of the barroom, the leader of the band. Backed by guitar, electric piano and a warmly whirring organ, Trooper makes sweet Saturday-night music: country, rock, soul and blues, all doled out in equal measure. Trooper... 

LIFEGUARDS Waving at the Astronauts robertpollard.net Ohio-born Robert Pollard has released music under various pseudonyms during his long and storied career. But regardless of what it says on the album cover, the music within tends to sound a lot like Guided by Voices, the indie-rock institution he founded in the early ’80s and masterminded for more than two decades. Lifeguards is a collaboration with onetime GBV guitarist Doug Gillard, who wrote... 

RICHARD X. HEYMAN Tiers/And Other Stories richardxheyman.com Whether it was intended as such or not, Tiers/And Other Stories stands as the ultimate test of Richard X. Heyman’s songwriting prowess. As the forward slash in the title suggests, this is two albums in one—and all told, an ambitious 31-track concept piece chronicling Heyman’s life since meeting Nancy Leigh, the woman who would become not just his wife but bass player and engineer. Best... 

ADAM SULLIVAN The Room Is Spinning Faster adamsullivan.com Once the initial eagerness of piano pop wunderkind Adam Sullivan’s “Nothing Like Being Alone” is overtaken by the thoughtful musings of softer songs like “Please Don’t Fall in Love With Me,” the influence of Elton John gives way to that of Nick Drake. Suitably then, Room is a haunting collection.  Read More →

TOM PRINCIPATO A Part of Me tomprincipato.com Aided by all-star sidemen like Chuck Leavell, Brian Auger, Willie Weeks and Sonny Landreth, guitarist Tom Principato offers wailing blues, gritty funk and swampy Southern rock in an incendiary brew. Principato’s gruff vocals have presence, but it’s instrumentals like “Back Again & Gone” and “Down the Road” that downright dazzle.  Read More →

NEW MYSTERY GIRL Twist City myspace.com/newmysterygirl Chrissy Flatt, a.k.a. New Mystery Girl, is a feisty chanteuse who brings a saucy attitude and a sassy spin to her music. Flatt’s assertive presence places her at the head of the roots-rock pack with a striking set of country crooners and rockabilly-tinged uptempo numbers.  Read More →

LORENZA PONCE Soul Shifter lorenzaponce.com Lorenza Ponce combines breezy melodies with a bluesy hue and enough rock and roots influences to moot any attempt at typecasting. Possessing a sultry, hypnotic voice—and impressive instrumental prowess extending to violin, viola and mandolin—Ponce ensures that Shifter is her most soulful effort yet.  Read More →

GURF MORLIX Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream gurfmorlix.com Known for his guitar work behind acts like Lucinda Williams and Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix turns in a passionate tribute to an earlier employer, the late country singer and songwriter Blaze Foley. Judging from these heartfelt covers, Foley’s legacy is in good hands.  Read More →

SUSAN WERNER Kicking the Beehive susanwerner.com Inspired by her pilgrimage down the Mississippi River, Kicking the Beehive captures Werner’s desire to retrace her roots. Infused with R&B, Americana and sultry torch songs, these tracks exude the handworn feel of heartland hymns. Werner’s no stranger to this area, as three previous albums—Classics, The Gospel Truth and I Can’t Be New— found her channeling vintage styles through her own... 

SQUINT Goodnight, Bad Intentions squint.com A feisty, hard-rocking outfit that defies expectations for a band from southern Texas, Squint veers closer to Rush than rockabilly. “I’m looking for a new frustration,” they assert on opening track “We All Break the Same.” Later when they wail, “I’m really looking forward to depression” (on “Elisabeth”), it becomes increasingly evident that this is indeed a band that makes the most of... 

SICK OF SARAH 2205 sickofsarah.com Given that its branding and brooding attitude—as captured on the cover—create a punk-rock first impression, Sick of Sarah is something of a surprise. The music is brash and edgy but their delivery is measured—and despite the attitude, it’s a carefully constructed sound that doesn’t stint on hooks, melody and relentless refrains. Like obvious influence Joan Jett, these five young ladies make a statement... 

CHAS SANDFORD Wag More Bark Less chassandford.com With a lengthy production and songwriting career spent mostly in the shadows, Chas Sandford has rarely afforded himself the opportunity for his own voice to be heard. With Wag More Bark Less, he sounds as if he’s been ready for this moment for some time. Specializing in smooth but seductive midtempo melodies with radio-ready appeal, Sandford complements his guitar finesse with husky yet engaging... 

THE MOONDOGGIES Tidelands moondoggiesmusic.com The sophomore effort by Seattle’s Moondoggies marks a noticeable shift from their debut, 2008’s Don’t Be a Stranger, taking their freewheeling delivery into more atmospheric realms. Nevertheless, the group maintains their breezy, accessible sound on songs like “What Took So Long” and “Uncertain” by balancing eerier moments with a strong, solid undertow. They frequently drift to opposing...