Berated

Glimpses of country-rock and folk appear on Crooks‘ EP, Lonesome, Rowdy and Restless. On the memorable “Downtown”, a series of spaghetti-western horns pave a smooth road for the soaring vocals of Josh Mazour, whose nasally croon is the driving force behind the quartet’s infectiously twangy down-south sound. Somewhat surprisingly, the acoustic progressions [...]

An Argument with Myself illustrates the many moods of Swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman, who has a savvy for both somber ballads and infectious summertime jams. His oft-gorgeous instrumentation is supplemented by dryly delivered humor that alternates between the darkly sobering and lovably romanticized [...]

Treefight for Sunlight is an apt name for the Danish four-piece. Well, the Sunlight part at least. Their sun-drenched, euphoric harmonies emit every existing positive emotion.  When their eponymous debut album was released earlier this year, I assumed it would be thrown into the spotlight and serve as one of the year’s most praised alternative [...]

No. These aren't the names of secret air force bases. Rozwell Kid, Big Black Delta, and Lana Del Rey are just three new acts to check out before the weekend. Rozwell Kid will satiate any fan of early '90s power-pop, while the other two traverse in more electronic territory -- Delta pursuing a remix-laden dance route and Del Rey opting for immediate accessibility.

I spoke with Warm Weather's Ryan Pollie, who covered everything from his childhood piano lessons to the production process of the LA trio's Dances EP. The release is currently being offered at an absurd discount on GroopEase -- $2 for five excellent tracks. Check it out to see why Warm Weather are rising quickly.

Shades of Springsteen’s Nebraska bristle within Lewis’ subtle yet stunning compositions. He gently plucks his acoustics, touting a bluesy swagger with a touch of reverb. Throughout L’Amour, the virtually unknown artist plays pianos and guitars organically with an eerie sense of complacency, produced at a gentle pace like a somber ballad. This patient mode of [...]

Tim Osbourne takes a look at some emerging acts from his native UK, including Acoustic Jim, Male Bonding, and Zuby. They each present different styles of music, from lush folk-pop to bi-cultural hip-hop, but all pack talent that should make them big names in no time -- both in the UK and outside of it.

Strange Mercy marks a sonic growth for Annie Clark. More so than ever, she’s taking the inherent grandiosity of her instrumentation to its natural conclusion, turning each track into a swelling, jangly, distorted, yet organized chaos. Clark’s signature distorted electric guitars are in full force on most tracks throughout.

Autumn nears and so do my qualms about winter. Needless to say, it always seems like the best music and film arrives during the last one-third of the year. Award considerations aside, one gets the hunch artists want to end the year on a positive note rather than one of nothingness. A looming uncertainty can [...]