Folk/Pop - A thoroughly modern take on British folk traditions and dusty Americana from a 24-year-old U.K. singer who knows how to traverse both with ease and subtle charm. Says THE SUN: "His music is steeped in country, blues, folk and bluegrass traditions but his lyrics reveal a distinctly English slant. Johnny"s voice is engaging, ideal for the storytelling nature of his songs. His band, the Sussex Wit, bristle with energy, horns and cello adding warmth and depth. In a music world full of surprises, Johnny is ripping up the rulebook in style." NME adds, "By immersing himself so completely in traditional American blues and English folk music, Flynn has invented a persona that, while not authentic, is mostly utterly engaging." Watch "The Box" here.

Rock - Exhilarating rush of unabashed, unapologetically big-screen retro rock is a blender-filled amalgam of ELO, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and everything in between. Even Alicia Keys is impressed: "...the band I'm digging most right now... They're an insane mixture of everything from Led Zeppelin to Stevie Wonder, they look like they've walked out of a picture book on the Seventies, and their lead singer plays two Hammond organs at once. They've certainly got something different going on."

Pop/Rock - Tennessee-based singer and songwriter takes a more structured writing challenge to the next level with a mercurial and unpredictable album that veers between mesmerizing, 70's retro-rock and edgy modern musings. Produced by Pacific Northwest indie-rock figure Steve Fisk (Screaming Trees, Nirvana), "Waiting" masterfully hits all the right touchpoints of haunting, spacious country/blues rock of mid-career Stones and the bourbon-soaked troubador drawl of a dustbowl Tom Waits (but without the gruff rumble). His vocals often married in a lovely duet harmony with wife Jexie, Toth and his loose-limbed but nimble songs have a disarming, straightforward charm that goes down easier as the album moves, sometimes gliding, sometimes in fits and starts, through its twelve engaging, often dreamy tracks.

Pop - Mixing a little Pink rock sass with some Alanis lyrical and vocal angst and a healthy dab of grandiose Evanescence production, this myspace-buzzed debut from transplanted Estonian singer and songwriter delivers on big drama and some surprising songwriting chops. "I'm trying to create a world around my music. And this world needs to be pure, real, honest and beautiful but still a little interesting, dark and definitely mysterious." Says ARTIST DIRECT in a 4.5 out of 5 rating: "...explores years of pain, loss and sadness through music that simultaneously recalls the raw catharsis of KoRn's groundbreaking debut and the ethereal, sonic witchery of Portishead's now-classic "Dummy." "Love is Dead is more than just 'alternative music;' it's alternative art. Kerli's vision extends far beyond the notes recorded on her CD, and that's instantly apparent from her twisted fairytale aesthetic..."

Pop/Adult - Six years after the release of his stunning debut album "Maplewood," London singer/songwriter remains one of the U.K.'s most interesting, accomplished and best-kept secrets. Sophisticated but never cloying, epicly melodic without a touch of saccharine, imaginative and dramatic but still grounded, "Beautiful Lie" is an expansive, meditative and audacious exploration into the far reaches of contemporary pop music. "Ed Harcourt's songs are as close to cabaret tunes and 1960s pop as they are to current rock" - The New York Times.

Pop/Rock - New York singer/songwriter uses the words "intimate", "autobiographical", "natural" and "simple" when describing the songs from his engaging and accomplished debut album. Recently tapped by Entertainment Weekly as one of the mag's eight Most Promising Male Singer/Songwriters, this New England native dives into the deep end of rich, thoughtful songcraft that seems equally balanced between the classic piano-based songwriting of the 70's and 80's and the fresh, unpretentious lyricism and contemporary sound of the present. Working with noted producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat's "Coco", Augustana), James has delivered an elegant collection of eleven compelling songs that ring true with an understated lyrical grace and gorgeous, memorable melodies. Whether describing the horrors of the daily duties of an American soldier in Iraq in "Hero's Song" or the quietly majestic and poignant "Green", Brendan James' songs are grounded with a knowing and assured hand. Listen here.

Pop/Rock - Young South Londoner won the coveted Brit Awards Critics' Choice prize for 2007 without actually having actually released any actual music. But with a smokey, innately soulful voice and a bag of exceptional songs, Adele has already been dubbed "the new Amy Winehouse" and pegged to lay claim as the "next big thing" in the U.K for 2008. Says one Brit DJ: "Her voice is a direct conduit between who she is and what we hear; there's nothing that gets in the way." This exceptional debut is steeped in the retro/classic soul production championed by Winehouse producer Mark Ronson: confident, brash, emotional, tortured and reflecting the angst and unfiltered bluntness of someone who is, as the title indicates, just 19. "Everybody hears it as soon as they hear her - there's something special about her voice," says her label chief. "Most of her songs are about being hurt, and she talks about it in a way that's incredibly honest."

Pop/Alternative - Artsy, innovative sophomore release from New York's Shara Worden has a sprawling, experimental feel across the album's eleven dramatic tracks. Rhythms collide with strings, a grab-bag of instruments is reached into with abandon and Worden's otherworldly, soaring vocals take the music into a dream state of dizzying heights. "Influenced by artists such as Tricky, French composer Maurice Ravel and Tom Waits "Shark's Teeth" is a musical snowglobe that sparkles each time you touch it. The songs, whose themes broach intimacy, kisses by moonlight, laundry, lost friendship and more, marry vast instrumentation " marimbas, harps, clarinets, French horns, rabid guitars, vibraphones to name a few " to create an unequaled amalgamation of style and color." Listen to "Inside A Boy" here.

Pop/Adult - Acclaimed singer/songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen return with a sparkling and sublime third album. After rapturous press and critical praise for their 2006 album "Say I Am You" (including Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol nominating them for a Short List Music Prize) and extensive touring the pair retreated from the spotlight exhausted. "We were looking to reconnect with what moved us about music in the first place," says Tallen. "We needed to hide out and write." The new, somewhat darker collection of songs continues The Weepies penchant for distinctive vocal harmonies and achingly pure, slightly askew pop melodies.


Check out the title track here. >>

Rock/Pop - Sprawling, confident debut from promising Nashville rockers is a potent potion of soaring, mainstream melodies and crunching hard rock. "It's not rocket science," says singer and guitarist Greg Brown. "Quintessential good melody and good lyrics, that's what makes a song." Produced by Greg Archilla (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul), "Life" kicks hard and true with a punchy rhythms and impressive wall-of-sound guitar onslaught. But at the fundamental core is the power of a memorable song. First focus track "Someone Like You" at rock radio formats now.

Pop/Rock - Best known for her work with Vince Clarke and the 80's electronic dance duo Yaz, Brit songstress with the distinctively husky voice has also had a 20-year solo career ranging from sterling pop hits to well-chosen covers. New album smartly brings what one critic called "her fabulously expressive voice" front and center with her own ruminating, finely-crafted songs. Lushly orchestrated, sweepingly melodic tracks such as the instant classic "One More Time" mingle with the ballads such as "World Without End" for a richly atmospheric album that seems designed for a dramatic live performance. Says NEWSDAY: "filled with stately, Bowiesque rock and sophisticated Jacques Brel pop..." Moyet is touring with Clarke for a reunited Yaz tour this summer.

Pop/Rock - Baylin's independently-released debut album "You" - a solid and intimate collection of songs produced by Norah Jones collaborator Jesse Harris - propelled this surprisingly mature 23-year-old L.A. songwriter and singer to major label attention. New album is culled from fifteen songs cut in the studio, some new and many redone from "You." The older songs, she says, "are beefed up, they've graduated and in my personal opinion are just a much more dynamic trip to take than they were before." Baylin's distinctive, smoky vocals have a subtle command in a way that has drawn strong comparisons with Norah Jones. Sleek but never slick, her songs have a exude a sultry sensuality and soulful, relaxed vibe.A new version of "Leave Your Mark" now features vocals from her "dear boy friends" and Hotel Cafe cohorts Brett Dannen and Cory Brothers.

Pop/Folk - L.A. songwriter dishes up delicate, folk-pop melodies with a sweet, airy voice on a confident debut produced by Lenny Waronker. There's a pronounced ethereal tenderness to her promising songs with a vocal style that suggests an appealing honesty as well as vulnerability. Two tracks from her independently released EP - "Dream" and "I Don"t Think So" have been reworked for "A Good Day." Newer songs such as the quiet, gospel-tinged "Leave The Light On," the ukulele strummed "Find My Way Back Home" and a masterful, shuffling cover of Willie Nelson's "Opportunity To Cry" reveal a wistful but confident new voice. "It's sort of like the follow-up to the EP but maybe a little more widescreen," Ahn says of her full-length debut.

Pop/Alt - New York-based, New England-raised singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joan Wasser studied classical music, kicked around indie punk bands in Boston, was dating legendary singer Jeff Buckley at the time of his death, joined the touring bands of Rufus Wainwright and Antony and the Johnsons and then launched her own heralded solo career. Forging dark, lyrical imagery with a stylish, neo-cabaret, torch-song style and a compellingly direct soulfulness, Wasser touched a spark of critical praise for her 2006 debut "Real Life." "A voice so wondrous and moving that it makes everyone else's seem ordinary and mundane," gushed The Guardian while Q simply summed things up as "sublime ...absolutely devastating" and THE WORD as "achingly beautiful." Second solo full length "To Survive" follows a painful year of grief and retrospection after the death of Wasser's mother to the ravages of cancer. Tender, melancholy, peaceful and haunting, Wasser's often piano-anchored songs have a lovely, bittersweet quality that simply and confidently go straight to the heart but without a saccharine aftertaste. A voice that has an undeniable beauty still has the untrained, frayed naturalness that underscores the fragile honesty.

Pop/Folk - Steeped in backwoods blues and sparse country/folk, sophomore album from the Halifax, Nova Scotia songwriter has an appealing direct style that highlights her plaintive, often haunting vocals. "With this album I was just finding a way to communicate my sadness and my feelings that I couldn't necessarily express directly to people," MacLellan observes. "I wrote most of the songs in the winter or the fall, when everything is dying and really quiet. It definitely represents that mood." Says The Toronto Star: "stark, confessional, (and) brutally honest. Its intense narratives invite self-examination and invoke universal experiences." Listen here.

Pop/Folk - Winner of a Swedish Grammy as Best New Artist in 2003 and then another for Best Female Artist this past year, Anna Ternheim has built a substantial fan base in Europe for her quietly intense, melancholic songs. Utilizing some spacious, atmospheric production, Ternheim turns her stark folk basics inside out with a matter-of-fact vocal delivery that seems to skate on the surface of something foreboding. Unafraid to explore the darker shadows of human emotions and relationships, Ternheim's bleak lyrical landscapes may be chilly, but they're also thoughtfully therapeutic, in a way, and refreshingly direct. "Halfway to Fivepoints" gathers songs from her two studio albums as well as a bracing, contemplative take on Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies". Key tracks "Lovers Dream," "No Subtle Men" and the finely textured, quietly stunning title track focus on Ternheim's plaintive voice and left-of-center melodies that seem lifted from a noir Scandinavian film score.