Country/Adult - Legendary country/Americana stalwart releases his take on the female persuasion and with new songs written from a woman's perspective - mother, lover, wife - Crowell gets deep into the intricate, often emotionally charged, lyrics. "Joe Henry produced and I shut up and sang," says Crowell of the album's recording. "The end result is some of the best performances I've given to date. I should have done this sooner." "Closer to perfection than most anything you've heard this year," writes The Detroit Free Press in a four star review. "Crowell is too often lumped into the country category, but his music has intelligence and complexity that is way beyond the Garths and Kennys of that particular universe..."

R+B/Pop - Actor best known for his role as an emerging rapper in the acclaimed film "Hustle and Flow," releases his debut album, a self-described foray into "urban country" featuring Howard's singing, guitar and piano skills along with writing and producing. There's a stylish retro neo-soul feel to "Shine" with the LA Times commenting "Howard and his backing outfit, the Band of Kings, conjure up a smooth blend of flamenco guitars, swooning violins, hard drums and dazzling trumpet lines that recall an eclectic combination of John Legend, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and a dash of Cab Calloway." Young R+B star Chris Brown contributed to the track "The Music Can't Be Wrong." "I brought in the most incredible musicians," says Howard, "and left them in the room to do what they do, gave them complete autonomy, and they gave me gold. People always give you their best if you give them the room to give their best."

Pop/Adult - Perennial Beach Boy Brian Wilson returns to his original label home - Capitol Records - for the release of his elaborate conceptual album based on his boyhood years if Southern California, "Sun" features four spoken word pieces from frequent Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks intermingled with Wilson's trademark harmony-rich pop epics. New songs include "Oxygen" and "Midnight's Another Day," a song one smitten critic has described as a "bonafide Brian Wilson classic." "This music is really special to me," says Wilson. Self-described as "five rounds interspersed with words," "Lucky Old Sun" takes its name from a classic 40's song popularized by Louis Armstrong. Wilson uses his own take on Satchmo's version of the song to kick the new album off.

Pop/Alt - Charming, imaginative alt-pop from a transplanted Swede now living in New Orleans has a kitchen sink (literally) production quality and some bright, off-kilter melodies anchored by Andersson's distinctive vocals. Reminiscent of Feist or Keren Ann, "Hummingbird" flits with a carefree abandon, dropping an array of skittering drums, jangling, clanking DIY instruments, handclaps and swooping, multi-layered harmonies. "I stopped thinking in terms of traditional songwriting," Andersson explains. "I worked on shapes, forms, and textures, scents and colors. Elements which are more earthy and organic inspired me." Singer/songwriter and soundman Tobias Froberg (Peter, Bjorn and Jon) produced.

Pop/Rock - Alternating between a barely contained quavering dynamo and hushed and husky emotional plaintive cry - sometimes within the same song - the unrefined, unrestrained naturalness of Miriello's singing can be both disarming and, once you latch onto what she's up to, completely irresistible. From the driving acoustic rhythms of lead track "Hold Me Down" to the lovely piano ballad "Snow" to the stomping, KT Tunstall-styled flirtations of "Brand New", the songs of "I Came Around" practically jump out of the speakers demanding attention. On her sleek but feisty debut the young New York-based singer just lets her unforgettable voice inhabit her songs with a fearless, joyful abandon.

Pop/Rock - Making the leap from precocious 16-year-old singer/songwriter prodigy to a sophisticated jazz vocalist touring with Grammy winning jazzman Herbie Hancock, Sonya Kitchell meteoric rise proves just how much is possible in a matter of just three years. Now at the ripe age of 19, she returns with an accomplished second full-length produced by studio vet Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel). Kitchell's major 2006 major label debut firmly established the young performer not only as a exceptionally prodigious songwriter but also as a distinctive singer, turning her knowing lyrical imagery into memorable and highly personal musical statements. Burn as producer has helped shape Kitchell's growth further, pushing her as he did label-mate Kaki King to experiment with new sounds, rhythms and textures. The result is an album that has an enormous diversity of styles, from the selected guitar-plucked folk ballads that dominated her debut to tracks that have a grittier rock and blues edge. Key track "Here To There" bristles with sleek, winking energy while "Let Me Go" swings with a jaunty, late-night swagger.

Pop/Adult - Promising L.A. singer/songwriter isn't reinventing the wheel or coloring too far out of the lines on her debut album but that shouldn't detract from the considerable pleasures of her intelligent, nicely melodic songs. With support from Nic Harcourt and influential radio station KCRW, Meiko has built a solid following and myspace presence leading to a label deal with Myspace Records and, now, a major release for a remastered/remixed version of her independently released '07 debut. Confessional and intimate, the self-titled release includes a brand new song "Boys With Girlfriends", now being worked at radio.