There are some songs that put you back into the time a place you first heard them.  The first time I heard Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was on my father’s turn table when I was in the eighth grade. I can still see the needle spinning in the grooves perplexing me on many levels.

The date and location is unknown, all that is certain is that The Brave Abraham Judah walks the Earth. This six track concept album by Nick Miller & the Hustle Standard follows the fictional Abraham Judah as his spurs spin and his brow furrows. Released on August 14, of this year and peaking at the eight spot on the itunes Blues chart, you need to hear this tale.I was sold on The Brave Abraham Judah from the start.

On September 25^th, 2012, Ben Sollee will release his fourth studio album, titled Half-Made Man.  Sollee is known for his innovative cello playing, which he skillfully uses to highlight his songs and grab your attention, and this album is no exception.  Half-Made Man consists of ten well-balanced tracks, including the single “Unfinished.”  The album’s tracks stand strongly alone, as individual pieces of music, and also operate cohesively when pieced together as an album.  Methodical in

In 2002, Dispatch unknowingly made one of the smartest moves out there. After four full-length albums and countless fans (their free farewell show drew well over 100,000 fans from all over the world), one of the original “indie” bands announced a hiatus. Although they reunited every few years for a show or two, fans kept their fingers tightly crossed for a full-on reunion. Nine years after their hiatus began, Dispatch officially reformed.

It gets old considering music and classifying it within the created boundaries of genre. Certain sounds and flavors that make music can’t help but call to mind those among the long history of music which precedes that of the modern era, however. For New York band Donna the Buffalo, it is within the realm of country that the group’s tenth studio album, Silverlined, seems to be most deeply rooted. Yet the thirteen track record is not so easy to classify solely within those parameters.

After fourteen full length albums, eight EPs and five record labels Thee Oh Sees are starting to relax.  Well, sort of. In a press release for Putrifiers II out September 11, John Dwyer spells it out, “I will still strike an audience in the brain,” although he admits, “maybe every now and then it would be okay if we relaxed a little.”It is safe to say that Thee Oh Sees are willing to chase any spark of inspiration down the rabbit hole.

Rachel Brown's roots are apparent from the moment you hear her music. Her roots are stemmed from Ethiopian, Bermudian and Southern influences are beautifully carried throughout her sound. Brown's distinct sound crosses the genres of pop, Caribbean, Hawaiian, African, country, hip- hop, and soul.

If indie-rock ever could ever possibly get together for a night of baby-making romance with disco then they might spawn the new Pomegranates CD entitled Heaven.  This romance may never actually happen but that is the beauty of art.  The falsetto vocals and heavy hi-hat carry the first two-tracks and then dive into fevered lo-fi rock into the third and fourth.  So far, I'm loving the Summer-driving-music sound of the CD.  Where I really get turned-on though is the fifth track breakdown aptly named “S

Jimmy Herring’s second solo album, Subject to Change Without Notice -available via Abstract Logix- is an instrumental album inspired by the human voice. Herring reveals on his website “It’s ironic: I play instrumental music and all I want to do is be a singer.”  Yet, his iconic playing style has a voice of its own. With an extensive vocabulary that spans almost 40 years. Herring studied guitar at Berklee College of Music and the Guitar Institute of Technology before becoming a luminary in the Jazz Fusion scene.

Though there are plenty of Texas swing and Red Dirt bands claiming roots in the Lone Star state, the Von Ehrics leave tradition on the railroad tracks out in the rain, letting it rust and corrode until they can bend it into their own warped brand that they call Texas-styled country punk rock and roll. In reality, it’s more like speed metal country than punk, and highly addictive.Even the band’s name, the Von Ehrics, is warped. There’s not a single Von Ehric in the lot.