The Band of Heathens
BOH Records 
www.bandofheathens.com

Call it alternative country, Americana or, as we used to say awhile back, roots rock, The Band of Heathens has got it.  Featuring songwriters Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi, and Gordy Quistm, they’re from Austin (ah, but of course!), making these boys Texas music-makers too. From the acoustic strum, backbeat that kicks in, followed by harmonies in “Don’t Call On Me” to the guitar-sting weepy “Maple Tears,” to the riff-rockin’ “Heart On My Sleeve,” it’s all so fine.  Other stand-outs include the acoustic back-porch feel of “Second Line” and “Nine Steps Down,” which both recall the Georgia Satellites & the Faces and the bittersweet glide-along of “This I Know.”  A rootsy little gem of a release.  

Crooked Still
Still Crooked
Signature Sounds

Aoife O’Donovan of the Boston-based Crooked Still has one of the most alluring voices since Margo Timmons in The Cowboy Junkies. But instead of working off rock texture mood-casting, this group is an engaging folk-and-bluegrass outfit, with banjo, fiddles, and cello among the embellishments.  The came-down-from-the-mountain “Undone in Sorrow” sets a haunting, mournful tone that echoes through much of the album on songs that include melancholy “Captain, Captain” and tale-spin of “Did You Sleep Well?”  The band takes off on a tear in “The Absentee” and later “Poor Ellen Smith,” also injecting melodrama into the biblical “Pharoah,” while “Florence” is a caressing lullaby.  The spry, more playful “Baby What’s Wrong With You” closes things out on the spry note – a side the band should explore more next time out, mixing the forlorn and the fun. 

Mark Wright
Real World – The Bruce Springsteen Project
Revolver

English singer-songwriter Mark Wright shifts into this covers-set interpreting the songs of Bruce Springsteen, doing a fine job or putting his own mark on lesser-known songs by the Boss, plus a few famous ones too.   He opens with the prayer and declaration of “Tougher Than the Rest” with an arrangement that recalls ’70s Jackson Browne, then strips away the Bo Diddley beat of “She’s the One” and transforms it into a swelling ballad of ache.  His racing take on “All the Way Home” is more like Springsteen’s Devils and Dust album rendition than the soul treatment by Southside Johnny back in 1991. He turns “Red-Headed Woman” into a Elvis-meets-Johnny Cash-styled rockabilly ramble-tamble, and just nails the heat of “Fire.”  He’s back in a reflective acoustic mode for “Long Walk Home,” the newest song here, from Springsteen’s Magic album last year.  With the various Springsteen tribute albums that’ve been released over the years featuring various performers, this is just as good from a single artist.

The Action Design
Never Say 
Pop Smear Records 

Like Paramour, the Action Design is an alt-pop treat, filling that No Doubt-is-gone gap (as Gwen enjoys the top dollars of contrived pop).  Featuring Emily Whitehurst and Matt McKenzie of the punk band Tsunami Bomb, the new group is more nu new wavey, if you will, with catchy songs that sometimes have a little dancey bottom to them, such as “All That Night,” ”Ten Feet of Snow,” and thumpy (in a Blondie-bounce way) “Empty Face.”  The group has a knack for draw-you-in hooks found in “Tokyo Train” and the appropriately explosive and driving “Landmines.” 

Jay Brannan
Goddamned
Great Depression Recordings

With a sensitive, boyish voice, Brannan has crafted a semi-lo-fi yet layered album of pop confessionals writing out a personal journal or MySpace page.  He’s all heart-on-the-sleeve (with some nice violin touches) on “Can’t Have It All” and “Half Boyfriend,” then gets a little saloon cheeky for “American Idol” (about guess what?).  The rest of album continues in the same vein – a little too wimpy-soft though genuinely heartfelt.  However, if a singer-songwriter baring his soul work for you, Brannan might be your boy.

JD & the Straight Shot
Right On Time
Artists Garage 

With some folkish musings, slow-fuse blues, and full-force guitar bursts, JD and the Straight Shot can’t be pegged into one slot, though it’s definitely an Americana kinda’ thing.  The lead track, “That Kind of Life,” is border folk, while “Long White Cadillac” is a roadhouse two-steppish take on the classic Dave Alvin song, followed by the slinky “Leap of Faith.”  The band goes boogie-woogie in “Double My Order,” still in the bar, then downshifts for smoldering blues with “Slow Motion in Reverse.”  The shufflin’ “Train’s Comin’ is a slide-pushed shuffle grinder with growling vocals, and “Kill That Dog” is more goofin’ blues. 

Peter Sallet
In the Ocean of the Stars 
Dusty Shoes Music/Red

A low-key singer/songwriter, Salett can draw you in at times, as on the liquid “She Needs Your Faith” and almost torchy “More Than Blue.”  He goes swirly baroque pop on the title track and is wistful for the more acoustic (and Neil Young-like) “Miss You (I Thought You Should Know).”  He’s definitely an acquired taste but worth checking out. 

Tat
This is Tat
www.tatness.com

This debut EP from the London rock trio that tore it up on one of the little stages on the Warped Tour out here in California is filled with punk-leaning meat-and-tacos rock ‘n’ roll carried forward by charasmatic singer-guitarist Tatiana (the band name source, duh) DeMaria. They blast out “Pessimist,” wonder about what’s true on the “Road to Paradise,” and slam it home with the anthem rush of “Live for Rock.”  A good start for a young outfit.