The Lacking Permanence

A bold performance from Katie Crutchfield, who bares her heart and rips her chords out in a cathartic explosion that eventually winds down into a somber mood.

Lush pop with strange turns of melody and complicated hooks.

It’s all in the name… fast and fuzzy blow-up-in-your-face pop punk. With an attitude. These songs are all covers, but they’re from unknown/unsigned bands, so point to you, Teenage Bottlerocket.

Noisy blunt riff punk from Bordeaux, France, via Oh Sees label Castleface Records. Live, raw, and nearly unintelligible, this album showcases a rare moment in time for this two-piece.

Female-fronted alt-rock with sparkly pop sensibilities that sounds straight out of the ‘90s

Is it possible to overuse the word “swirly” when describing modern psychedelia? Not at all! This paisley-hued collection of dream and drama will transport you to a kaleidoscopic land of… where was I going with this?

Kate Stables is a one-woman tour-de-force, and this John Parrish production brings her talents to the front. Weird time signatures, off-kilter melodies, and quite inventive arrangements.

Alabama native Lee Bains III and three other guys recorded these 17 anthems of southern-fried disillusion live to two-track, and the energy is pegging the needle. It’s not a new sound, but it’s very well done.

Meticulously-crafted arrangements highlighted by male-female harmonies, occasional orchestral instruments, and a wide use of dynamics.

A nice set of New Orleans-style blue funk from this Colombian band on a German label