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This month we're featuring the following artists:

Lou Barlow
Recorded in studios as far flung as Nashville, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, Emoh captures the essence of a talent that has made Lou Barlow one of the most respected and influential songwriters of his generation. The songs are distilled to their essence, and signature Barlow: full of emotion, angst, hope, intelligence and a wry sense of humor.

MP3 track: "Home"
Album: "Emoh"
Label: Merge Records

Andrew Bird
Bird plays most of the instruments on Mysterious Production, and is joined by a handful of special guests complementing his already lush sonic palette. The results are magnificent, a powerhouse of a record dealing with nothing less than the mysteries of childhood, creativity and modern science -- epic in scope and minute in detail.

MP3 track: "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left"
Album: "The Mysterious Production of Eggs"
Label: Righteous Babe Records

Charanga Cakewalk
Loteria de la Cumbia Lounge is a pan-Latin American martini: equal parts traditional instruments (Spanish classical guitar, accordion, horns and more) and deep, urban, grooves with a dash of Esquivel and and a measure of Morricone. Charanga Cakewalk�s unique approach to Mexican, Latin American and World Music styling follows the road laid by such contemporaries as Sidestepper, Latin Playboys, Mano Chao and Material.

MP3 track: "La Negra Celina"
Album: "Loteria de Cumbia Lounge"
Label: Triloka / Artemis Records

Ani DiFranco
Through twelve new songs as intricately crafted as short stories, Ani DiFranco creates another unforgettable musical self-portrait of a woman coming to grips with love's twists and turns, confronting the legacy of her family, and learning to live on her own terms.

MP3 track: "Studying Stones"
Album: "Knuckle Down"
Label: Righteous Babe Records

Digby
This alt-pop band hails from Louisville, KY. Produced by Todd Smith (Days of the New, Smash Mouth) and reminiscent of Weezer and Ben Folds, their debut album is chock full of songs steeped with a catchy chorus and playful lyrics. "This band's infectious, Weezer-esque punch insures this Louisville quintet high marks." -- SPIN

MP3 track: "One Hundred Percent Free"
Album: "Falling Up"
Label: Toucan Cove / Label X

The Donnas
"A punk-rock attitude and metal licks are all that are necessary for these four chicks to show the world what they want. Turn 21 is way heavier than the bubble-yum power-chord punch-punk they started out with�you know, the kind of three-minute tunes that came so easily when you were rehearsing after school for your first big show. But when they want to, the Donnas can still pull it all out and go Mano." -- The Village Voice

MP3 track: "Do You Wanna Hit It?"
Album: "Turn 21"
Label: Lookout! Records

Fancey
Todd Fancey and Kurt Dahle of the New Pornographers take a side trip to AM radio land and the result is a buoyant, poppy California sunshine explosion of melodies, Wurlitzer pianos, and driving rhythms. Heralding influences like soft rock heroes Bread, The Association, and the Beach Boys, Fancey appeals to the 'quiet is the new loud' movement. Rock N Roll Rhythm is a driving with the top down 1976 AM radio rock nugget, made for 2005.

MP3 track: "Rock and Roll Rhythm"
Album: "Fancey"
Label: March Records

Girlyman
Get ready for Doris Muramatsu, Tammy Greenstein, and Nate Borofsky -- long-time musicians and friends who found themselves making beautiful music together in their shared Brooklyn apartment. Girlyman�s harmony-driven style veers from urban folk to country rock to calypso doo-wop, and the songwriters effortlessly switch off lead vocals and play a range of instruments. Writes the Hartford Courant, "Girlyman is an infectious combination of rock music, folk songs, classical roots, punk sensibilities and just plain fun."

MP3 track: "Viola"
Album: "Remember Who I Am"
Label: Daemon Records

Glorious
Born of Black Lab, Hell's Belles (an all-female AC/DC cover band), Sun Kil Moon and Kultur Shock, Seattle based Glorious consists of Geoff Stanfield (vox/gtr), Amy Stolzenbach (gtr/vox), Neal Schlosser (bass), and Chris Stromquist (drums/perc). Their brand of neo-psychedelic pop fuses smart melodies and feel good lyrics. Evidence is heard on 'California,' the second single from their eponymous debut.

MP3 track: "California"
Album: "Glorious"
Label: Toucan Cove Records

Rosco Gordon
Rosco Gordon's sound was a progenitor of ska. To read more about him check Bryan Thomas's brief description of Rosco's career and influence.

MP3 track: "You Look Bad When You're Naked"
Album: "No Dark in America"
Label: Dualtone Music Group

The Greencards
Drawn together by a common passion for creating inspired newgrass acoustic music, these three sterling musicians crossed continents to collide deep in the heart of Texas, where -- as The Greencards -- they've rapidly distinguished themselves amongst a new generation of acoustic musicians. "Their CD Movin' On is the best bluegrass I've heard in 20 years." -- Robert Earl Keen

MP3 track: "Movin' On"
Album: "Movin' On"
Label: Dualtone Music Group

Haiku D'Etat
Decon and Project Blowed Recordings present the new Haiku album, Coup De Theatre (a sudden dramatic turn of events in a play). This time around, the triumvirate reunites as seasoned veterans with a more enlightened perspective on what they want to convey as a group. Realizing each other's strengths they have taken their rightful roles on this new album to achieve an incredible blend of Acey "the poet", Mikah "the jazz" and Ab "the soul."

MP3 track: "Mike, Aaron and Eddie"
Album: "Coup de Theatre"
Label: Decon and Project Blowed Recordings

>> Back to top

Handsome Boy Modeling School
Handsome Boy Modeling School is a teaming of quirky super-producers Prince Paul (best-known for his work with De la Soul and Stetsasonic) and Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (Gorillaz). Taking their name from an episode of the cult Chris Elliott sitcom Get a Life (which was sampled several times on their debut album), Paul and Dan adopted the �ber-stylish alter egos of Chest Rockwell and Nathaniel Merriweather, respectively.

MP3 track: "The World's Gone Mad"
Album: "White People"
Label: Atlantic/Elektra

Marbles
Marbles began as a solo project in 1992, a few months before Robert Schneider started The Apples in Stereo. Inspired by a newly-acquired four-track and the celestial sounds of Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, the recordings didn�t see the light of day until the release of Pyramid Landing and Other Favorites in 1997. By then, The Apples were well on their way to becoming one of the most beloved and influential indie-rock bands of the �90s.

MP3 track: "Out Of Zone"
Album: "Expo"
Label: spinART Records

Mardo
Rock & Roll is not dead. In fact, it is very much alive and well. You can hear it screaming, and feel it kicking all over "Out of the Black Ashes." From the dynamic instrumental showcase of "Catch a Thief" and the mind-bending version of "I Want a New Drug" to the stunning vocal harmonies on "Poor Paul" and "Told You So," the band never lets up for a minute, leaving the audience gasping for air -- and yelling for more.

MP3 track: "Poor Paul"
Album: "Mardo"
Label: House of Restitution Records

Pinback
Pinback�s Summer in Abaddon may seem like gentle pop music at first encounter, but its brilliance is slowly revealed upon repeated listens. Songs are buoyant and lively at times, melancholy and dark at others, and always resonate with an underlying intensity. Between two musicians, Pinback lays out beautiful melodies that are deceptively complex, layering sounds and instruments upon one another and trading contrasting vocal parts with ease.

MP3 track: "AFK"
Album: "Summer in Abaddon"
Label: Touch and Go Records

Rig the Jig
Over the last four years, Rig the Jig have evolved into one of the leading lights in Irish traditional / folk music. On Passing Through, the sextet's fourth album, Rig the Jig add their airy touch to versions of songs by Johnny Cash, Steve Goodman, John Prine, Leonard Cohen & Rory Gallagher. "When Rig the Jig let fly, a spirit of connection exists between Irish traditional music and contemporary American material, which is both fresh and invigorating as well as sounding completely natural and unforced." -- John O'Regan Folk Roots

MP3 track: "Liftin' of the Latch"
Album: "Passing Through"
Label: Toucan Cove Records

Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
Tone-cool/Artemis country-blues duo Paul Rishell and Annie Raines� just released their third collaboration. Entitled Goin' Home, the album is a musical journey that embarks on a road filled with ragtime melodies and Piedmont styling gospel, jug band rhythms, Texas blues, and Chicago funk (both South and West sides).

MP3 track: "Hunkie Tunkie Blues"
Album: "Goin' Home"
Label: Tonecool / Artemis Records

The Silos
This record is both a departure from the purely stripped down trio recordings of late and a return to the richly textured intricacies of albums such as Cuba. Throughout their history the band has been compared to everyone from the Jayhawks and REM to The Replacements and this record shows why.

MP3 track: "15 Days"
Album: "When the Telephone Rings"
Label: Dualtone Music Group

Jill Sobule
Jill Sobule is best know for her mid-90s hit, "I Kissed A Girl", a playful jab at America's fascination with lesbianism. Since then she has released three additional full length albums, establishing her as a "witty and clever" musician (according to Vanity Fair) with an original take on the world that many listeners can relate to. Jill Sobule's passion for music history shines through on her fifth album, Underdog Victorious -- especially in the opening of her first single "Cinnamon Park" when the riff from Chicago's "Saturday In The Park" comes right at you.

MP3 track: "Cinnamon Park"
Album: "Underdog Victorious"
Label: Artemis Records

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