Jackie Lynn: Jackie Lynn
Here's an intriguing concept album, a midwestern Western set to music.
Mark Allister
Ellie Goulding: Delirium
Captivating, danceable synthpop that Goulding is hoping will take her to the upper echelons of pop stardom.
Vanessa Carlton: Liberman (take 2)
Carlton swirls psychedelic sounds around artful, complex lyrics to make an album of resplendent songs.
Family of the Year: Family of the Year
Breezy folk-pop that's fun to listen to but could use more emotional depth.
Noah Gundersen: Carry the Ghost
Beautiful, melancholy folk-pop that wrestles with spiritual and philosophical matters.
Sweet Baboo: The Boombox Ballads (take 2)
Sweet, lush romantic pop from North Wales.
The Whistles & the Bells: The Whistles & the Bells
A complex and musically surprising account of Bryan Simpson's Christian journey.
Trails and Ways: Pathology
World beats and poetic lyrics vie in up-tempo dance songs on this debut album
Olivia Chaney: The Longest River
Baez, Collins, Mitchell, Marling -- the debut folk album by Olivia Chaney shows that she belongs in this company. It's pretty much perfect.
The Weepies: Sirens
Captivating folk-pop tracks that will please fans of the band.
John Andrews & The Yawns: Bit by the Fang
Bit by the Fang is a decidedly lo-fi, low-key album of psychedelic alt-country folk pop -- Big Lebowski fans, take note.
Boz Scaggs: A Fool to Care
A delightful journey of songs through musical decades and styles, all delivered in Scaggs' soulful tenor.