There's a pretty good reason why Nashville-to-L.A. singer/songwriter Cary Brothers chose the title Under Control (April 6) for his long awaited second album. Months after the release of his well-received Who You Are debut album in 2007, Brothers realized that handing over what he calls the "day to day" management of his music to a label was depriving him of the active involvement he missed. Best known for his track "Blue Eyes" on the bestselling Garden State soundtrack, Brothers notes now that "the details after the studio are what makes it feel like satisfying work" and after extended negotiations, bought back the master to his new album and freed himself of his label.

Under Control was produced by Bill Lefler (Dashboard Confessional) who worked with Brothers for five months in L.A. during the writing and recording process. The ten Control tracks gleaned from the sessions flex their production muscles with finesse -- this is no ordinary sensitive troubadour looking to share a little somber navel-gazing introspection. Tracks such as lead single "Ghost Town" have a strong dramatic pulse coursing through them, an oversized, embracing SoCal pop sound that's more akin to Coldplay/Fray mainstream melodic rock than intimate folk acoustics. Also included: a stylish remake of the Level 42 80's hit "Something About You." Highly recommended. "Required listening for a developing generation of fans of smart, heartfelt, original music." -- The Boston Globe

Myspace

Cary Brothers - "Ghost Town" (from the album Under Control)

We know there's a "him" in there. Specifically, a Mr. M. Ward -- whose production and playing add a personal stamp to the nostalgic styles that suffuse the new March 23 She & Him album Volume 2. But we also know that "she" -- being actress, budding chanteuse and songwriter Zooey Deschanel -- is taking the creative reins on this slight but thoroughly winsome new album. The closer "If You Can't Sleep" is all Deschanel as her cotton-candy vocals are spun atop more vocal harmonies of the most celestial kind. Gooey? Zooey? Well, yes, but this is one blissed-out sugar high. More DC on S&H here.

Myspace  Artist Site

She & Him - "If You Can't Sleep" (from the album Volume 2)

Denver-based singer/songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff's upcoming April 27 album In Memory of Loss (Rounder) is one of those rare, wonderful finds: a stark and assured collection of small masterpieces that evoke modern American roots music and neo-folk with subtle restraint. The timeless influence run deep and wide, with Time Out NY noting "the ghosts of Nick Drake and Gram Parsons" and it's obvious that Rateliff owes much to to the classic "modern" songwriting eras of the 60's and 70's. “It was more about songs, and not about an industry,” he observes of those times. “It was about a movement, not about making money. I think we’re moving back into that again. There’s still an importance in actually writing songs again. People are interested in hearing things that make sense."

Produced by Brian Deck (Iron and Wine), Rateliff's Memory maintains an unvarnished, spacious naturalness that serves the album's diverse moods well, an unflinching. There's also a to-the-heart direction that renders the deep melancholy and faint glimpses of hope in bold hues and unwavering lines. Newer artists often have the passion without the control. With quiet majesty, Rateliff finds both on songs such as the raw, striking "Early Spring Till", tender lament "Once In A Great While" or gorgeous Beatle-ish piano ballad "Happy Just to Be". In Memory of Loss, he says, “is for everyone who’s willing to listen." Take him up on the offer. Highly recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Nathaniel Rateliff - "Early Spring Till" (from the album In Memory of Loss)

Nathaniel Rateliff - "Once In A Great While" (from the album In Memory of Loss)

Our streams are for sampling only. Like what you hear? Respect the artist and buy the music!

Modern jazz legend Dave Holland returned to the famed Birdland in New York to capture a live, loose and spirited feel for the recording of his latest project Pathways (March 23, Dare2) with his recently reformed Octet. Considered one of the finest contemporary practitioners of elegant but adventurous improvisation and composition, Holland assembled his eight-man, brass-heavy band for the first time since a live tour in 2001 and his Pathways finds the special sweet spot between dense, multi-level orchestration and the more personal aspects of his more favored quintet. As he has shown over decades of acclaimed work and numerous recordings, Holland is both a master of composition and a skilled group leader. "Writing the song is just a starting point," he points out, "and after that the improviser develops different ways of interpreting it."

For Pathways Holland found inspiration from an iconic source. "I had always loved the sound of the Duke Ellington small groups," he says, "often with a five horn front-line plus the rhythm section. The combination of two brass and three saxes gives access to a wide range of textures and colors and allows a composer to evoke the sound of a big band or create the more intimate sound of a small group.” To get a taste of what Pathways offers up, check out "Shadow Dance",  the imaginative reworking of a piece he originally premiered on his debut 25 years ago. Recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Dave Holland Octet - "Shadow Dance" (edit from the album Pathways)

One-third of the excellent roots/folk trio The Wailin' Jennys, Ruth Moody now steps out on her own with The Garden (April 20, Red House), an extraordinary, intimate collection of twelve modern acoustic Americana songs. While Moody has contributed to the Jennys' collective repertoire and released an EP of original material in 2002, The Garden is her full-length debut -- and one that makes us ask "what took you so long?" Produced by David Travers-Smith (Jane Siberry, Ani DeFranco). the album is also the perfect bookend to fellow Wailin' Jenny Heather Masse's lovely Bird Song solo release from last November and helps set the stage for a new Wailin' Jennys studio project later this year.

The Garden is the album equivalent of a "house concert", an upclose-and-personal experience that perfectly frames Moody's gentle, ethereal voice with her own -- and her superb studio guests' -- multi-instrumental backing of string instruments: music that wears it's traditional garb loosely. There's no doubt that Moody has a fondness for the classic fiddle and banjo bluegrass sound but, applied to her own neo-folk melodies, the overall effect is fresh, organic and invigorating, a simple, luxuriant production that never over steps. There's not one weak track on The Garden but we're immediately drawn to the quietly mesmerizing and sensuous "Cold Outside" with Moody's warm, honey-and-lemon vocals, gently plucking banjo and steel guitar atmospherics drawing the listener in. "Come inside, stay awhile," she sings, "you know you want to." And who are we to resist? Highly recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Ruth Moody - "Cold Outside" (from the album The Garden)

Ruth Moody - "We Could Pretend" (from the album The Garden)

We love the whole eerie David Lynch-ian feel to Gemma Ray's video for her song "100 mph (in 2nd Gear) -- from Lights Out Zoltar! -- a surreal atmosphere that perfectly complements the music's vintage  twangy charm with a hint of creeping menace. From her 2009, imaginatively titled album Lights Out Zoltar. As an added treat, Ray fans can look forward to May 18 when the U.K. singer/songwriter releases It's A Shame About Gemma Ray, a collection of odd and wondrous covers from the likes of Sonic Youth, Lee Hazelwood and George and Ira Gershwin. More Gemma Ray on DC here.

Myspace

Gemma Ray - "100mph (In Second Gear)" (from the album Lights Out Zoltar!)

The former frontman and chief songwriter for beloved Scottish pop/rockers Del Amitri -- best known for the two-minute '95 hit "Roll To Me" -- Justin Currie returns May 4 with his second solo album The Great War (Ryko). The follow up to 2007's wonderful What Is Love For, Currie's new project again skillfully wields the sharp, sweet and edgy hook as the most effective of tools, bringing his incisive wordplay into tight focus with melodies that sometimes seem just too good to be true. You know you're in the presence of a naturally gifted writer when the craft of complex song construction can be made to sound so effortless. States MOJO: "Saying Currie knows how to craft a songs is like saying that Carravaggio knows how to paint."

"Lyrically, more often than not, I seem to gravitate towards the ambiguity of feelings, the struggle with motivations and doubt in relationships, self-loathing and disappointment, but with a scintilla of hope, or at least catharsis," says Currie. "As a songwriter, I use melody to make all of this less maudlin, hopefully, and to create tension." The Great War includes brilliant lead single "A Man With Nothing to Do" along with the wide-screen "The Fight to Be Human" and the gorgeous, orchestrated "The Way That It Falls", a song that packs endless melodic twists and turns into less than three minutes of pure aural bliss. Highly recommended.

Myspace  Ryko Page

Justin Currie - "The Way That It Falls" (from The Great War)

Justin Currie - "In My Heart, The War Goes On" (bonus track from The Great War)

The long awaited third album -- now self-titled -- from fine, soulful Vermont jam-rockers Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and producer and writing collaborator Mark Batson (Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, Nas) has received a green light for a June 8 release via Hollywood Records. Batson is considered by some a fairly unorthodox choice considering his extensive work in the world of hip-hop and R+B and the oft-maligned 2005 Dave Matthews album Stand Up, but Potter disputes the naysayers. “I liked the idea of writing with someone who was totally not from my own world," she says. "We ended up writing one song after another – it was like we could read each other’s minds. He would build drum tracks, basslines and piano chords, and I would write the words and vocal melodies over the top. It was a natural progression, totally organic and magical."

The followup to the promising '07 album This Is Somewhere utilizes a revamped Nocturnals lineup: bassist Catherine Popper (Norah Jones, Ryan Adams) and guitarist Benny Yurco have joined, giving the crew "a new band buzz", says Potter. Among the new project's thirteen tracks are the politically shaded "Colors", the chuggin' barnburner "Medicine" (originally set to be album's title) and Batson collaborations "Tiny Light" (the upcoming lead single) and "Oasis." Potter and her Nocturals also contributed a version of the Jefferson Airplane nugget "White Rabbit" to Almost Alice, the companion album to Tim Burton's recent Alice In Wonderland film. Live vids for "Tiny Light" and "White Rabbit" after the jump.

Myspace Artist Site

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - "Medicine" (live version, from the forthcoming self-titled album)

JBM is the official moniker for Jesse Marchant, a skilled purveyor of moody, sometimes despairing but always deeply affecting songcraft on his acclaimed debut album Not Even In July, released in 2009 but finally receiving wider availability April 13. Recalling Nick Drake, Alexi Murdoch, Jose Gonzalez and the more reflective folk works of Neil Young, Marchant keeps things on a simmer stylistically, creating eerie minor-key masterworks of despair, loneliness and loss surrounded by a haunting atmosphere of mystery and solemn introspection. Marchant's voice is often steeped in reverb, the echoing words adding to the overall feeling of facing the world's challenges alone.

But despite the air of regret and sadness, Not Even In July maintains a warmth and tenderness and the heart of the album still beats with a hopeful humanity. Perhaps it's the feeling of intimate proximity to the proceedings at work here -- and Marchant's unflinching honesty -- but when the last chords fade on the devastating tale of suicide in "Swallowing Daggers" the emotions evoked have a cathartic effect, a meditation that oddly leaves the listener thoughtfully aware. Few albums have this uncanny ability to flow seamlessly from track to track and mood to mood, spanning the ethereal folk-hymn "Cleo's Song", lustrous acoustic shuffle "Ambitions and War" and percolating, descending piano chords and slow building crescendo of "July On the Sound." Highly recommended. On tour with Rogue Wave now through the end of April.

Myspace  Artist Site

JBM - "Ambitions and War" (from the album Not Even In July)

JBM - "Cleo's Song" (from the album Not Even In July)

Asked to name one of the most underrated and underexposed singer/songwriters, certainly Griffin House would be in our Top 5. An exceptional storyteller with a marvelous way with both an acoustic folk melody and sharp lyrical turn, the Ohio-bred, Nashville-based troubadour finally got some decent distribution on most recent album, 2007's fine Flying Upside Down -- which gives us "The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Our of His Mind." Look for new project The Learner arriving May 25 via Nettwerk -- details and music to come...

Myspace  Artist Site

Nothing like the confirmation of a new album from The Weepies to put a smile on our faces and an ever-so-slightly-perceptible spring in our steps. Now set for a May 25 street, new project Be My Thrill via Nettwerk is the first album from the husband and wife songwriting team of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen since their Hideaway album from 2008 and the duo's fourth album since pairing up in 2002. Recorded at their home studio over the past year, Thrill will include new songs "Hummingbird", "Tiny Binds" and "Empty Your Hands" as well as the title track. Guests on the album include Colbie Caillat, Meghan Toohey and producer/bassist Larry Klein. Details to come, stay tuned. In the studio twiddeo after the jump...

Myspace Artist Site

The Weepies - "Hideaway" (from the album Hideaway)

We normally don't feature rehashed "Best of" collections here at DC, but when it came to the sprawling 2-disc retrospective from Doves, we relented with nary a struggle. After all here is one of the U.K.'s finest bands -- and still vastly underappreciated in the States -- with a 33-track, decade spanning collection with not only a good representation of fan faves and Brit hits from their four excellent albums but three new songs and a hefty bunch of rarities to boot on the package's second disc. Set for an April 6 street (Virgin), The Best of: The Places Between 2000-2010 is an ideal starting point for those looking for an intro and an indispensable addition for those already possessing Dove-like (and love) tendencies. And for both, there's a bonus third disc: a DVD containing 13 music videos.

Hailed by UNCUT as the U.K.'s "most innovative rock group" and, as we have written, "less hook-driven than Coldplay or Muse, the Manchester band still have the epicly grandeur chops down, combining exhilarating scope and intricate, sharply defined songs into an intensely hypnotic rush of sound." The new lead track "Andalucia" is a sterling, shimmering example of what Doves are capable of, a breathtaking, propulsive ride that takes wall-of-sound acoustic and electric guitar riffs to arena-sized levels. "Friday's Dust", a rare, stripped version from '05's Last Broadcast album, eliminates the original's heavy orchestration and effects leaving just the acoustic take behind. Highly recommended.

Myspace   Artist Site

Doves - "Andalucia" (from the album The Best of Doves)

Doves - "Friday's Dust" (Capitol Tower Version) (from the album The Best of Doves)

Enjoy the streams -- respect the artist -- buy the music...Thanks

Taken from the forthcoming album New Morning (April 20, Hollywood), the title track by Casey McPherson and his Austin, TX band Alpha Rev is a fine example of we've called "songs of drama and vision, at turns grandiose, soulful, gritty and mesmerizing."

Alpha Rev - "New Morning" (from the album New Morning)

Her nine year marriage to Ben Folds may be over, but the trauma of a relationship gone awry bleeds through the tracks of Australian singer/songwriter Frally Hyne's impeccable, quietly stunning debut album. Recently self-released digitally, The Light is an inspired masterwork of sensitive, sensual songcraft as well as an incisive, deeply personal look inside the emotional wreckage of a couple's painful split. "It just kind of cracks you open in a lot of ways," say Frally, "I don't know that I would have made this particular record if that hadn't have happened." Still, she maintains, "I don't think it is a blaming record. It is more about my own reflection." Making The Light was also, she observes, "sort of like therapy" and gave her the chance to "find your own voice."

Frally's redemptive journey can be traced in the words of many of The Light's ten songs, but the hushed tone and stately pace reveal more than just lyrical insight. Tracks the likes of "Remembrance Day," a graceful hymn and duet with Teddy Thompson, the gently uptempo "Not Supposed to Miss You" (with Ben Lee) and beautifully textured "Old/New" (with Jolie Holland) are just a few examples of the subtle but masterful use of melody, Frally's sweet, wistful voice and perfectly nuanced folk/pop instrumentation that make The Light required listening. Highly recommended.

Myspace  Artist Site

Frally - "Remembrance Day" (featuring Teddy Thompson) (From the album The Light)

Frally - "Not Supposed to Miss You" (with Ben Lee) (from the album The Light)

In a very brief four years, Raleigh NC indie-pop sextet The Annuals would appear to have run the "music biz" gamut. A 2006 debut Be He Me jumpstarted the momentum on a swell of glowing reviews followed by the "major label" signing and the release of sophomore album Such Fun. But with the "industry" upside down and the critical darlings, "next-big-thing" buzz fading The Annuals have wisely gone back to their own provocative basics for the independent-released March 30 EP Sweet Sister.

Frontman and creative leader Adam Baker is back in the production seat for the five new tracks and the spotlight is once again on the mercurial melodic structures and intricate, oddly syncopated rhythmic sound tapestries that brought The Annuals their original kudos. Where Such Fun brought in an ever-expanding palette of influences and styles, Sweet Sister keeps the focus more tightly on the bright, occasionally quirky art-pop -- which isn't to say that the band has become less experimental. Songs such as the twisty, sweetly jumbled lead track "Loxstep" still skip and bounce with the band's trademark audacity, a sophisticated potion that goes down easy but carries a potent, giddy kick. Recommended.

Myspace

The Annuals - "Loxstep" (from the EP Sweet Sister)