Already a chart topper in the U.K., LP “Every Kingdom” marks folk singer Ben Howard’s debut in the U.S. Where lyrics and musicianship reign supreme, 24-year-old Howard sets himself apart due to his gravelly yet pleasant timbre, soulful lyrics and quite a bit of impressive guitar picking. With help from a few backing musicians by way of added strings and harmonies, this lush album is full of accessible, hearty folk tunes.

Already a chart topper in the U.K., LP “Every Kingdom” marks folk singer Ben Howard’s debut in the U.S. Where lyrics and musicianship reign supreme, 24-year-old Howard sets himself apart due to his gravelly yet pleasant timbre, soulful lyrics and quite a bit of impressive guitar picking. With help from a few backing musicians by way of added strings and harmonies, this lush album is full of accessible, hearty folk tunes.

When White Prism invites listeners to “come and rest your weary heart” on opening number “Song 52″ of her self-titled debut EP, get ready to do so. With a soothing tone tempered with a hint of dysphoria, the following four songs of “White Prism” are relaxing, ethereal electro-pop that fit well with just about any mood.

A number of EPs, mostly containing remixes from Major Lazer’s debut album, “Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do” have been released since yellow-mohawked, neck chain hulaing, daggering champion hype man Skerritt Bwoy’s split from the group. “Free the Universe” is Major Lazer’s first full-length album since the split, however, and while the EPs as well as Major Lazer’s the live shows during the last tour seemed to feel a little lacking from the loss of Skerritt Bwoy’s flamboyant antics, the new album fills whatever gaps there may have been with a host of major guest talent and varied and complex beats.

The Cafe Luna in Summerland California, seemed like the appropriate spot to meet surfing legend Tom Curren, for a chat about his music career and his new release, “In Plain View”. The location seemed especially relevant since the track on the new11 song CD, receiving the most airplay, is called “Summerland Road”. But all is not always as it seems, as Tom would inform me that “the track was actually inspired by multiple signs in Australia”. The same may be said of the enigmatic persona of Tom, himself. All is not always as it seems. For those who don’t know him, the shy introspective man may appear as though he doesn’t have much to say. His answers to direct questions often tend to be delayed short simple responses. But those close to him realize that like many famous artists, he is very thoughtful, but does not think in the same dimension as an ordinary person. Instead he is always thinking of a different way to view a question or approach an endeavor. Much like David Hockney views the world through his photography, or Salvador Dali saw the world as surreal in his paintings, Tom is always looking to approach his projects in a unique and new artistic way.

A group of 60 excited music reporters and special guests were invited to a secret listening party for the first Black Sabbath album in almost 35 years. The mysterious event took place behind closed doors at the Montalban theater in Hollywood. Guests were ushered in to the lobby of the offbeat venue, where everyone was searched for photography and recording devices. Even cell phones were confiscated to help keep wraps on the project. Patrons were treated to an open bar while the first classic albums of the band were played over the sound system. From the opening of the first album, with the iconic ringing bell amidst a thunderstorm, anticipation hung like humidity in the air. As the doors opened to the theater, three large screens revealed the artwork of the new album cover. Reality TV star Jack Osbourne(son of Ozzy) made the welcoming comments and introduced a short documentary on the making of the album. The documentary featured legendary producer Rick Rubin and the three original members of the band. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, and bassist Geezer Butler all appeared in the film. It was perhaps, no surprise that original drummer Bill Ward did not participate in the project. Suffering from poor health in recent years, he had to pull out of most of the planned reunion concerts last year. What was surprising to learn was that it was actually contractual obligations that kept him from the recording project. It was now guitarist Tony Iommi who was having life threatening health issues. The recording process was moved to Iommi’s home studio in Birmingham England so he could continue his (successful) chemotherapy treatments. Rubin suggested bringing American rock veteran Brad Wilk of “Rage Against The Machine” to the project. Rubin had recently worked with Wilk on Dave Grohl’s masterful movie and concert project “Sound City”.

You may know this Canadian trio from their smash hit “Hello.” Trust me, you’ve heard it, maybe even one too many times. “Body Parts” marks the third album for this group with similar, joyous accessible tunes that have lead to their successes. With clear influences from the 1980s, beats that get you moving and simplified lyrics and melodies, this album may not be the most soulful, complex LP, but it sure is fun.

It’s not surprising that Bajofondo is composed of a whopping eight members. Hailing from Argentina and Uruguay, this Latin-alternative rock band is full of rich and interesting layers that create a sound all their own with their fourth LP “Presente.” An innovative venture, Bajonfondo fuses several genres of music together to create “electro-tango,” with obvious influences from tango and electronica (duh) along with jazz and hip-hop making their mark. While this may sound like a strange mix for a niche market, this blend of genres actually makes the group far more accessible as it brings old-school tango fans into modern music and tango to younger listeners who may ordinarily dismiss it.

It doesn’t get much more straightforward than classic rock group Hollis Brown. This New York based quartet delivers 1960s inspired American rock tunes with a no muss, no fuss attitude. While these chaps may hail from the east coast, they’ve got southern charm down pat with debut LP “Ride On the Train.” Together they’ve created no-frills feel-good Americana that’s got loads of genuine soulful emotion.

New and interesting producer Blood Diamonds (Michael Tucker) has just released a new EP featuring four mixes of his track “Barcode” featuring Dominic Lord. This is Blood Diamonds’ first EP on his new label, OWLSA.

Hailing from Italy, Tying Tiffany has been releasing moody techno tunes since the mid ’00s, with four-song EP “One” being her most recent endeavor, following full-length 2012 album “Dark Days, White Nights.” Supermodel, actress and DJ, TT has pulled from her myriad of talents to become an edgy songstress siren, with gloomy tunes and fetching beats that set her apart from the crowd.

Your ears may be screaming in pain if you’ve got your headphones at the average level when you begin Gold Field’s album “Black Sun”. The aggressive intro of “Meet My Friends” isn’t the most pleasant way to start an album, but luckily, Gold Fields redeems itself with sing-songy “ahs” and melodic and lyrical references to The Police’s “Roxanne.” On “Black Sun” this Australian quintet has created a diverse LP for their American debut with dark contemplative numbers interspersed with late night dance tunes led by strong beats.

Don’t let the name BOY fool you – they’re actually a female duo of singer Valeska Steiner and instrumentalist Sonja Glass. Based out of Hamburg, this Swiss-German pair met in 2005 and have since released light-hearted pop album “Mutual Friends” and are more than prepared to make waves with their debut in the U.S. Together these women create playful tunes as Steiner’s charming voice (a bit reminiscent of the ever-talented Feist) never falters from its clarity and Glass’ instrumentation and harmonies add depth and variety to simple melodies. The album opens with stripped down number “This is the Beginning.” Steiner chants “this is the beginning of anything you want” over and over, and they’re right! This song starts the album off with listeners wanting more, and the ladies make good on their promise with great songs to follow.

Norwegian quintet Highasakite is already a hit in their Northern Europe homeland, but this March, they bring their folky, electronic, pop blend to SXSW, debuting their five song endeavor “In and Out of Weeks” in the U.S. At the heart of this group are founders Ingrid Helene Havik (vocals and zither) and Trond Bersu (drums). After meeting at a jazz conservatory, the new lovers formed Highasakite in an effort to spend more time together, gradually combining forces with three additional players to flush out their sound with more percussion, synthesizers and even tuba and flugabone. The result is a full sound that takes influence from American pop music, Norwegian folk and Phil Spector-esque electronica while employing tribal beats and experimental synths to create unique soundscapes heightened by Havik’s soaring vocals.

After all this time it’s good to know that Papa Roach is still pissed off and delivering heavy tracks that would make your mom’s head spin. The Connection is
not only one of Papa Roach’s heaviest records, but also their most personal. Jacoby Shaddix clearly went through some struggles and laid it all out in The Connection. In tracks like Before I Die and Give Me Back My Life you can hear the vulnerability in his voice and it lasts throughout the entire album. This provides a form of hope over all the anger. The Connection is the perfect blend of emotional tracks and the typical pissed off Papa Roach badass tracks that the fans know and love.
One of the many standouts on the album is Still Swingin. Appropriate title considering the fact that you will want to punch something while it’s playing. This is a nice throwback for Papa Roach fans because the classic rap/rock that caused them to blow up years ago slips right back in. Right away they slap fans in the face with
some nostalgia. However, they managed to bring it home without dating the song. Then the anthem of a chorus screams out for the masses, “We are a beacon in the dark; a lighthouse risen from the heart; we’ve been here from the start; we are the ones still swingin.”

The song is an instant winner in my book. The music is hard and gives your anger and frustrations a release with thundrous drumming and full force energy thrown into each of their lyrics. The song rises and falls with the speed only to slow down to emphisize certain lyrics that hold weight and leave you to take it in, “ When we scream we silence us.”

The name Pony Boy evokes the image of slicked back hair, rolled up jeans, dirty converse, and a pack of cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve. It is hard to decide what is more surprising, that Pony Boy is the stage name for female doom-wop singer/songwriter, Marchelle Bradanini, or that her new single “Not In This Town” feels like a marriage between Patsy Cline and Tom Waits.

Certain People I Know is yet another undertaking for Bob Nanna, formerly of Braid and Hey Mercedes, and he brought Damon Atkinson along for the ride. Their self-titled debut reflects a style that the junior high kid in all of us might appreciate. The combative, upbeat musicality on the majority of the album keeps the energy levels raging. This energy, however, is met by whispering vocals that are drowned out by the aggressive musicianship and they even sound hesitant at times. Lauren LoPiccolo has vocals featured on a couple of tracks, but that doesn’t really fix the problem. Even though she sings with conviction, her vocals are even softer than Nanna’s. The only place her vocals fit, quite well as a matter of fact, is on How Was The Show (Politics).

Belle Histoire recently released their debut full-length album, Dreamers, and Jane Smith’s vocals allow us to experience a beautiful reverie with her melodic voice that can go from aggressive to pop to a hypnotic waltz. In “Ghost” the snare drum plays with solid lyrics and Smith’s voice goes up and down like waves on an ocean making you feel that you are on a floating weightless around in a warm current. This band has managed to produce lyrics powerful enough to make you want to get up and move and at the same time you can’t help but want to hear every word.

Other standouts on the album include Paint In Blood and The Human Beings. Paint In Blood’s heavy guitars and driving beat creates a build up of tension that pushes the lyrics to send listeners to battle. The song feels like we are all going to war as it blasts out of the speakers. The Human Beings challenges the entire human race to be something better. It’s a bold accusation in which Darone’s soothing vocals plea over a smooth saxophone. This isn’t the only song that features an instrument unique to the genre. Paint in Blood features a fantastic placement of the flute at the end, leading to the perfect contrast of heavy instrumentation with a delicate melody. Billy Carrión Jr. also stands out on saxophone in Another World. Christopher Walken demanded more cowbell from Will Ferrell. What he should have asked for was more sax.

Saint Motel just released Voyeur, their debut full-length album. It’s hard to believe that this is a debut album. The songs take you on a roller coaster ride and the musicianship, vocals and lyrics sound as if they are from a well-seasoned veteran band. There are eleven tracks on the album and each song just gets better and better. Imagine reading a book or watching a movie that you never want to end, the story is so gripping and each chapter just delivers one more nuance that makes the story that much more exciting. Well, that’s what Voyeur does for the listener.

Abandoned Pools release their long-awaited third album, Sublime Currency on August 28, 2012 via Tooth & Nail Records. Sublime Currency is the culmination of the eleven-year journey of Tommy Walter, the songwriter and musician who began the project after leaving eels. Abandoned Pools will play a rare club appearance for their CD release when they headline The Roxy in Hollywood on September 15.

Gold Motel’s second album self-titled Gold Motel is the perfect album for summer. The songs have a catchy pop sound and if it were released in the ‘60s, feels like it would have been well received then as well deserving of a nod now. The first track “Brand New Kind of Blue” has a driving beat that just makes you want to dance. Greta Morgan’s voice whisks you away on a ride in a convertible with the top down, speeding on a two-lane highway on a summer evening. Her voice is smooth and melodic and brings back memories of days gone by; of better times. After listening to the first song it’s hard to imagine having a care in the world.

Brian Burn is not shy with his emotions on Heart Is a Ghost Town. The album begins with Flames, where Burn’s vocals soar over an eerie tune. It is not something to rock out to, this song calls for headphones, closed eyes, and a slow head bounce. Then Alive kicks in, subtle and upbeat enough to jump around your bedroom without having a neighbor bang on your wall. The Taken is a lighter, breakup worthy anthem with a great guitar solo that flashes back to eighties shredding, inducing a natural air guitar movement throughout the track. Belting out the song in the privacy of a car will also suffice should wondering eyes become fixated in traffic.

Synthetica is without question an album from the future sent to be enjoyed today. Thick dream layers hover above each track, and alternate from fast paced electro guitar riffs to seducing drumbeats. ‘Youth Without Youth’ is the first reason to dance as if no one is looking which reflects the albums embedded theme.