I found this album pleasant to listen to and enjoyed the talent expressed within it. Oberhofer is named after Brad Oberhofer, the front man and founder whom is originally from Tacoma, Washington. Brad moved from Washington to New York City to attend New York University to study music composition. The band Obehofer formed in 2008 to perform Brad’s compositions. Brad writes and records his own music and had formed a band to perform with.

Horns and go, “Step Inside” insists immediately. The tune takes a nostalgic turn near the end, riffing on some old jazz, but it’s largely a characteristic overture for Kings and Queens – a slight shift from the early days of John Brown’s Body has taken form here, albeit grounded firmly in roots from the same tree.This band hasn’t rested on its early-dub laurels in passing years (see Amplify); no exception here.

After listening to the beginning of The 4onthefloor's new album, Spirit of Minneapolis, I had very mixed feelings. I put these feelings aside to listen to and write about this band on a non-biased opinion. I cannot find too much information about the bands’ musicians as much as I can about their concerts, tours and origins. The band members are; Gabriel Douglas, James Gould, Mark Larson and Chris Holm.

Kurt Vile's fifth long player is a humble opus if there’s such a thing. His lyrics could be hopeful, could be melancholy, it’s tough to tell – the almost-eponymous opening track (substitute “Day” for Daze in the title) sums it simply, it’s hard to explain, (my love) in this daze. Vile’s vocals throughout Wakin On A Pretty Daze are soft and flatline, yet they tend to hint at a humble crispness around the edges. As warning, his melodies keep alongside his voice, slow and meandering with only the slightest deviance.

The young D.C. trio going by Mission South is set to release their sophomore extended play, Migration Vol. 2. No doubt, these boys are rather proficient (and workers, too, as their extensive touring schedule can attest to).

Minneapolis-based band Night Moves is drawing fans in for a number of reasons, whether it’s the addicting, breezy hooks that pepper their debut album Colored Emotions; singer John Pelant’s distinct, gritty warble; or even their ode to Bob Seger.

With TAUK, it's best to ignore the foursome's wordy pandering (We really wanted this new album to be a statement... Homunculus has everything to do with how we as humans interpret ourselves and our surroundings. It acknowledges the inherent duality that exists between our mental and physical beings and to me that's where it relates to our creative process... Cool, Zhongfeng, now enough with the koans, please) and just listen to the music. Yes, these fellows are formally trained one-and-all.

I was very impressed with the message and playing abilities found on this second studio album released by the band WhiteWater Ramble. The band’s name specifies the style; beautiful, fluid, flowing music rambled with determination.

Can you seriously tell me that you can spin the mental Rolodex to a particular song or artist when I describe music as “Turkish influenced?” If so, stop reading now because you already know more about this style of music then I do and you damn sure know about 3 Trees. But if, like me, you are a Turkish music newbie, or are a fan of the traditional stylings of everyone from Ahmed Adnan Saygun to Zerrin Özer, but have overlooked the western band 3 Trees, read on.