MOONLIGHT BRIDE Twin Lakes moonlightbridemusic.com On “Lemonade,” the big gulp of bittersweet, noisy pop that is this EP’s finest track, singer Justin Giles is simultaneously psyched up and disoriented—just like the music that envelops him. “Where did you take me?” he asks. “These kids are drunk and they don’t like guitars.” If he’s at a party where the kids don’t dig six-strings, he’s definitely in the wrong place. On their... 

SISTER SPARROW & THE DIRTY BIRDS Pound of Dirt sistersparrow.com Like a snazzy dance band that refuses to wear shoes, this nine-piece soul-rock crew does red-hot and brassy ’60s soul with a scraggly blues edge. The scruffiness is down to the sibling duo of Arleigh and Jackson Kincheloe—Catskills natives who use voice and harmonica, respectively, to dredge up all the sorrow, joy and sexiness of the vintage music they love. Arleigh aspires... 

RICKOLUS Coyote and Mule iamrickolus.tumblr.com “Where is everyone?” Richard Colado sings on “Candy Blood,” just before answering his own question: “I am everyone.” Sure enough, the 31-year-old Floridian is the sole force behind Rickolus; he recorded this album on a four-track recorder, working partially in the shed behind his parents’ house. There’s a handcrafted feel to these songs, and while the crud-pop nugget “Something in... 

SICK FRIEND The Draft Dodger sickfriend.bandcamp.com Since the emergence of the White Stripes and the Black Keys, the indie world has been deluged with guitar-and-drum duos. Sick Friend would seem to offer more of the same, but on their debut these thoughtful Canadians drop bittersweet synth lines and straitlaced rhythms. Singer and guitarist Michael O’Brien has a soul-baring falsetto informed by the Dears and Of Montreal, but on the excellent... 

NED EVETT Treehouse nedevett.com The story goes that Ned Evett smashed his Fender Stratocaster one New Year’s Eve and fashioned a fretless guitar from the pieces. His ingenuity and virtuosity are well documented, but there’s more to his story. For his sixth album, the journeyman picker moved to Nashville and recorded with King Crimson’s Adrian Belew. The goal: to write great songs about his recent financial and romantic hardships. By any measure,... 

COLIN SCHILLER & THE REACTIONS Endless Holiday colinschillerandthereactions.com  When groups do cheeseball ’80s revivalism they tend to focus on stiff, robotic New Wave or butt-wiggling hair metal. Credit Colin Schiller for trying something different. Following in the hallowed footsteps of Loverboy, the Romantics, “Glory Days”-era Springsteen and Huey Lewis and the News, Schiller and his Brooklyn crew make music for Friday at 5 p.m., when... 

THE CHROME CRANKS Ain’t No Lies in Blood myspace.com/chromecranks The Chrome Cranks spent three days recording this, their first new album in 15 years. That probably includes the time it took to load in, load out and sweep up whatever detritus—beer bottles, cigarette butts, voodoo remnants—they left behind in the studio. As per their reputation, the Cranks play bluesy punk with murderous glee, conjuring up the Dead Boys on “Living/Dead”... 

CAPSULA In the Land of Silver Souls capsula.us Forged under an Argentinean dictatorship and now based in Spain, this magnificently noisy trio traverses time and space, folding the finest rebel guitar sounds—rockabilly, garage, glam and art-school droning—into one shiny package. Imagine the Stooges on Mars with Spanish accents.  Read More →

I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. New Kind of Lonely iseehawks.com On their first acoustic album, these L.A. country-rockers muse on the Grateful Dead and mourn the literal dead. They also celebrate life—a parade of humor and sadness that, with its immigrant strivers, hopeless drug takers and doomed lovers, is especially colorful in their hometown.  Read More →

TONIGHT ALIVE What Are You So Scared of? tonightaliveofficial.com Bearing the unmistakable stamp of Mark Trombino—the producer whose high-gloss, hyper-precise pop-punk sound has become an industry standard—the debut from this Aussie quintet bristles with adolescent emotion. When singer Jenna McDougall’s feelings get messy, the music stays tidy and on target.  Read More →

MARSHALL CATCH Make Noise marshallcatch.com It’s hip to reference Pavement and Teenage Fanclub, but back in the ’90s the rock bands people actually listened to sounded more like Marshall Catch. These big-hearted Montana boys do Hootie hooks with Collective Soul punch. You forgot how much you missed this stuff.  Read More →

RISA BINDER Paper Heart risabinder.com On “You Made It Rain,” the song that opens her debut album, Risa Binder gets caught between cynicism and belief. As her crush leans in for a kiss, the skies open up—and while she wants to live in a world where such things magically happen, she’s suspicious. “It was so perfect, like the world was a movie set,” the Maryland native sings, perhaps revealing a bit of where she’s been. Before moving to... 

BAD WEATHER CALIFORNIA Sunkissed badweathercalifornia.com Bad Weather California packs several decades’ worth of good vibrations into a compact package. That goes for the sun—the thematic centerpiece of this aptly named album—and for the half-century of sounds these Denver dudes draw from. With its slippery bass and unlikely blend of wah-wah and chicken-scratch guitars, opener “I’ll Reach out My Hand” kicks things off in a funky fog. From... 

AMY RAY Lung of Love amy-ray.com A few songs after “From Haiti,” whose stabbing guitars evoke “London Calling,” Amy Ray makes an even more direct reference to that classic’s creators in the Clash. “There’s a little Joe Strummer in my DNA,” she sings on “Little Revolution,” an organ-driven pop nugget about embracing—and therefore overcoming—pain and suffering. Indeed, the longtime Indigo Girl shares much in common with Strummer—most... 

WALTER ROSE Cast Your Stone walterrosemusic.com As a teenager, this native Hawaiian underwent brain surgeries that left him with partial vision in one eye. Later, after he’d found work teaching special-needs kids, he lost a girlfriend to a motorcycle accident. So he’s entitled to sing songs like “Times Are Hard,” a nervous country-noir number about “dusty dreams.” Of course, if entitlement were enough, the world would be filled with country... 

JIOSA On the Edge dennyjiosa.com Even acclaimed smooth-jazz musicians must stand at the mirror and dream of rocking out. Here, Grammy-nominated guitarist Denny Jiosa gets his chance by positioning himself at the head of a mighty power trio. While the versatile virtuoso breaks up his shredding with ballads and even a Beatles cover, it’s the blustery, bluesy hard-rock tunes—the ones you could most imagine David Lee Roth high-kicking along to—that... 

SUNNY TAYLOR Sunny Taylor sunnytaylormusic.com Just four songs and 20 minutes long, the latest from this Indiana singer-songwriter offers four distinct stories and asks one overarching question: “When do you get to getting over it?” That line comes from “Paper Tiger (Getting Over It),” a song whose narrator really ought to grab a coffee with the protagonist from “Trucker.” That one is about someone who drives all night, pondering regrets... 

LUTHEA SALOM Kick in the Head lutheasalom.com Somewhere between Canada and Spain (the countries in which she grew up) and New York City (where she now lives), Luthea Salom surely experienced some heartbreak. She loved, lost and learned, putting her in the same boat as 99.9 percent of the world’s population. So Kick in the Head, her third album, is the sound of an exceptional songwriter coming to terms with the unexceptional nature of her own “little... 

CORNFLOWER BLUE Run Down the Rails cornflowerbluemusic.com Just as the “country” in country music need not refer only to America, such instruments as mandolins, fiddles and twangy guitars aren’t just for hat-clad, boot-scooting genre purists. That’s the takeaway from Run Down the Rails, the sophomore effort from this Canadian duo. Theresa McInerney and Trevor May know their Hank, Johnny and Willie, but they come at Americana via ’90s R.E.M.... 

KOFFIN KATS Our Way & the Highway koffinkatsrock.com With a few notable exceptions—the grisly murder tale “A Terrible Way” and apocalyptic rager “The Devil Asked” among them—the Koffin Kats spend much of their sixth album singing about boozing and touring. If the songs are autobiographical, the Detroit psychobilly trio hasn’t let its lifestyle become a hindrance. The production is pomade-slick, and the playing is tighter than sopping-wet... 

KIRK WHALUM Romance Language kirkwhalum.com With Romance Language Kirk Whalum and his brother Kevin have created a musical mash note to one of their favorite albums, 1963’s mood-music landmark John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Kirk, an acclaimed smooth-jazz saxophonist with nearly two dozen albums to his credit, handles Coltrane’s parts, blowing in his reed as he might his lady’s ear. Kevin, meanwhile, plays lover-man extraordinaire in the... 

WHITTON Rare Bird whittonmusic.com Much in the same way Amy Winehouse played on ’60s soul and girl-group sounds, Jaime Whitton draws on ’40s jazz, positioning herself as a kind of Billie Holiday—minus the tragic undertones of either Winehouse or Holiday—for modern pop audiences. Whitton keeps her retro references subtle, using just enough tinkling piano, warbled phrasing and quacking brass to glance backward without risking whiplash. The... 

ROBERT DEEBLE Heart Like Feathers robertdeeble.com In the six years since his last album, this Seattle singer-songwriter earned a master’s in psychology. That explains lines like, “I feel the guilt, I feel the shame of an existential rush of temporal things.” Deeble is obviously a keen observer of human behavior, but what’s remarkable about Heart Like Feathers is how conversational and easygoing he sounds. This is true even when he’s at... 

THE WEE TRIO Ashes to Ashes theweetrio.com Finally, David Bowie gets the vibraphone-driven free-jazz tribute he deserves. The Wees turn the classic “The Man Who Sold the World” into funky supermarket music and 2002’s “Sunday” into as somber a meditation as three zany jazz brainiacs are likely to come up with.  Read More →

MAC McANALLY Live in Muscle Shoals macmcanally.com Performing live at the University of North Alabama, this enduring country songwriter and Jimmy Buffet sideman shares the stories behind his best tunes. Better yet, he plays them, demonstrating how aw-shucks personality and serious musicianship can make for a swell evening—and an enviable career.  Read More →

AUDREY SPILLMAN Part of Me audreyspillmanmusic.com On the title track, this Nashville newcomer wonders whether the relationship she’s just ended might have been worth saving. It’s heartfelt and complex—and as with the other four country-soul tunes on this EP, she sings it with conviction and elegance.  Read More →

EXDETECTIVES Take My Forever exdetectives.com Faris McReynolds, the young L.A. musician behind ExDetectives, ends this disc by repeating the words “drift forward.” Sure enough, he sounds like a psychedelic ’60s rocker who’s taken a magic carpet ride through time and landed in the alt-rock ’90s—finding nirvana in the age of Nirvana.  Read More →

REBECCA SAYRE Play rebeccasayre.com Best known for jazzy pop, Sayre takes more of a down-home country turn on this four-song EP. Luckily she retains her signature pep, bouncing between pragmatism (“I’m gonna leave it up to love”) and optimism (“Today, I’m basking in my own light”).  Read More →

JACK WHITE Blunderbuss [Third Man/XL/Columbia] You knew someone as restlessly prolific as Jack White would get around to it eventually. After six albums with the White Stripes, two each with the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather, collaborations with everyone from Loretta Lynn to Conan O’Brien and innumerable moves as producer and record-label entrepreneur, the pride of Detroit (and more recently of Nashville) has finally released a solo album. White... 

SPECTRUM ROAD Spectrum Road [Palmetto] “Supergroup” is a term that was long ago diluted, but every once in a while the stars align and the word regains its meaning. Spectrum Road is incontestably a supergroup: Cream bassist Jack Bruce; Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid; keyboardist John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood; and drummer Cindy Blackman, who has backed husband Carlos Santana, Lenny Kravitz and others. Spectrum Road—and the quartet’s... 

THE TING TINGS Sounds from Nowheresville [Columbia] In the first 10 seconds of “Hang It Up,” the leadoff single from their sophomore album, the Ting Tings swipe the opening chord from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and an almost equally recognizable beat from Jay-Z. This British electro-pop duo may have 99 problems, but absorbing and expressing their influences ain’t one. Opener “Silence” is a gift to New Wave geeks—a three-minute... 

DELTA SPIRIT Delta Spirit [Rounder] It’s fitting that Delta Spirit’s third full-length album is self-titled. The band reinvents itself here, channeling the raucous energy and sound of its live performances. Lineup changes—guitarist Sean Walker has been replaced by Will McLaren—and a cross-country relocation from Long Beach, Calif., to Brooklyn has erased the rootsy folk leanings of previous releases, leaving tightly crafted rock in their... 

DR. JOHN Locked Down [Nonesuch Records] Few could blame Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack) if he opted to coast on his towering reputation in New Orleans music. But this new album proves he has no such intentions. Spearheaded by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach—who produced and co-wrote the material—Locked Down sounds like a 21st century version of the R&B gumbo Dr. John served up at the turn of the ’70s. The opening title track sets the tone.... 

THE SHINS Port of Morrow [Aural Apothecary] Following the Shins’ 2007 album Wincing the Night Away, leader James Mercer stretched in new directions—collaborating with Danger Mouse in Broken Bells, doing soundtracks and even trying a little acting. He’s come back home on Port of Morrow, the Shins’ fourth record, and his wistful pop sensibility remains very much intact. Perhaps the biggest difference here is the immediacy of his lyrics, which... 

GARBAGE Not Your Kind of People [Stunvolume] Garbage’s first album in seven years proves the long hiatus has done nothing to diminish the band’s chemistry. All the ingredients of the group’s post-grunge sound—techno-tinged abrasiveness, deadly pop hooks, Shirley Manson’s brainy sex appeal—are sharper than ever. Typical is “Blood for Poppies,” which churns with buzz-saw guitars, a sing-along melody and Manson’s effortless way of... 

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now [Bloodshot Records] On his fourth album, Justin Townes Earle’s lonesome croon is a cool salve for the downhearted. A musical drifter, he’s  stepped away from traditional country to explore the sultry arrangements of Muscle Shoals. The album begins with “Am I That Lonely Tonight?” a solemn dirge that references his famous father, Steve. Going forward, Earle shuffles... 

PHIL COLLINS  Live at Montreux 2004   [Eagle Eye Media] When Phil Collins announced his retirement from music in March 2011, it was no surprise—but it was a sadly muted way to end the diverse and surprising career of a madly underrated talent. Beginning as drummer extraordinaire for Genesis in 1970, Collins eventually led the group to crossover success as its unlikely lead singer. He spent the 1980s balancing work with that band, his own massive... 

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR Traveller [Deutsche Gammophon] It’s no longer enough to say that sitarist  and composer Anoushka Shankar is keeping alive the legacy of her iconic father, Ravi Shankar. With two decades of experience on the instrument and several albums that explore diverse aspects of her artistry—from traditional solo Indian classical to experimental full-band works that integrate Indian elements with cutting-edge electronica—Shankar is... 

MARGOT & THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO’S Rot Gut, Domestic [Mariel] After conflicts with their label and some soul-searching, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s have chosen the path of self-sufficiency with their fourth album, Rot Gut, Domestic, which was fan-funded through PledgeMusic. Musically, the band has taken its freedom as an opportunity to crank up the amps, and the album opens with several tracks of lumbering, heavy riffs reminiscent... 

FLYING COLORS Flying Colors [Mascot] Flying Colors spotlights five veteran musicians with unbeatable progressive pedigrees—guitarist Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple), drummer Mike Portnoy (who recently exited Dream Theater), bassist Dave LaRue (a frequent collaborator of Morse and Portnoy), keyboardist Neal Morse (formerly of Spock’s Beard) and singer Casey McPherson (Texas’ Alpha Rev). Think Toto—top-flight players who don’t look... 

ROBIN TROWER   Farther On Up the Road: The Chrysalis Years 1977-1983  [Chrysalis/EMI] Unlikely as it may now seem, boys and girls, there was a day when Rod Stewart deferred the spotlight to guitarist Jeff Beck—for at least a couple of albums in the late 1960s, it was Beck’s name who graced the cover of the albums they made together. The notion of the superstar lead guitarist to whom the singer played sidekick survived into the ’70s, at least... 

BRENDAN BENSON What Kind of World [Readymade] On What Kind of World, Jack White’s Raconteurs partner Brendan Benson puts on his solo-artist hat and taps suitably homemade ’70s vibes ranging from rock-star riffing to AM-gold smoothness. For every electric guitar solo, there’s a piano ballad to counter. There is a little genre-shifting in the songs’ accents; the horns on “No One Else but You” sound as if they might segue into a chorus of... 

FAIRPORT CONVENTION By Popular Request [Matty Grooves]  Fairport Convention walks a musical tightrope between pleasing recent converts and serving the diehard fans that still champion the days when its earlier lineups pioneered British folk-rock. Consider By Popular Request something akin to a perfect balancing act, a 45th anniversary celebration that reconsiders classic songs without adulterating them. It’d be easy to credit the fresh energy... 

LUKE ROBERTS The Iron Gates at Throop and Newport [Thrill Jockey] After writing most of his first album (last year’s Big Bells and Dime Songs) on borrowed guitars, Luke Roberts finally got an instrument of his own—a Collings 0002H, to be precise. The sudden luxury allowed him more time to work on songs for this follow-up. Extra time aside, Roberts’ latest retains the arid feel of his debut, and the songs sound well-worn and timeless. His voice... 

HANK WILLIAMS III Long Gone Daddy [Curb] The latest from  Hank III comes with a mess of backstory. First, the family stuff: This skinny country warbler is the grandson of genre godhead Hank Williams and son of fellow hornets’-nest swatter Hank Jr. Then there’s the label drama. Hank III has publicly warred with Curb Records and did not participate in assembling this collection, which comprises four previously released tunes and six outtakes.... 

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...