Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Hutchinson's music walks a fine line between rock, folk-pop, powerpop and sometimes even jazz and funk. We think he sounds like a cross between Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz and Josh Kelley. The Boston singer-songwriter is destined for success with this strong of a debut. There's definite soul to his music - something that is usually lost in most pop albums.
Download: "Ok, It's Alright With Me" and "Rock & Roll"

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Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Please Let Us Know What You Think About:

1. Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Lovesounds (Deluxe Edition): One of the best pop albums of 2006 is back in the form of the super-fan deluxe edition. Is this exciting? We guess so. You get three new songs on the second CD, including a new version of "Sexy Back." Worth $17.99 - Nah. We'll just purchase the three new songs on iTunes for $2.98.

2. Westlife - Back Home: This Irish boy-band has sold over 36 million albums. Not one of them to me. They've had huge success over in the U.K. with fourteen #1 singles. They must be doing something right.

3. Mudvayne - By the People, for the People: Heavy metal. Bleh.

For more info on other CD releases, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Standouts: (There are no major standouts this week)

2. Enchanted - Soundtrack: We are thinking that the only song on this album that's worth listening to is Jon McLaughlin's "So Close." We've seen him twice in concert and each time he's been nothing but stellar. We think we'll just download that one song.

3. U2 - Joshua Tree (Remastered): Nothing much that we can add to this, except if you don't own this masterfully crafted 80's album, then go buy the remastered version. For old and new fans alike, U2 re-releases one of our favorite albums. Ever.

4. Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash: iTunes classifies Six Organs of Admittance as "freak folk." You laugh, but it's true. We have to agree with them on that. It seems that you have to be in the right mood to venture into the mind of Ben Chasney. Check out their free show at Amoeba in Berkeley on Thursday, December 6th. (Listen to: "Jade Like Wine.")

For more info on other CD releases, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Standouts:

Download: "Tick Tick Boom" and "Try It Again"

For more info on other CD releases, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar. All bands this week featured in our Standout section are from the Bay Area.

Arp, the brain-child of Alexis Georgopoulos, is mood-shifting without the listener even realizing it. It calms and soothes through the intricate repetitive looping that is often reserved to high-energy dance-floor music. It seems that this is the album that you want to listen to after going out to the club; the calm after the storm.
Download: "St. Tropez" and "Potentialities"

Win a free copy of Arp's new CD here:

For more info on other CD releases, another CD giveaway and our new non-guilty pleasure, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Win a free copy of Nicole Atkin's debut album release, Neptune City after the jump.
Download: "War Torn" and "Maybe Tonight"

2. Graham Colton - Here Right Now: Produced by John Fields (Switchfoot, Rooney) Here Right Now, Graham Colton's second label release, is filled with familiar guitar-driven rock songs (though they have added keyboards since their last release) that sound familiar to Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot, Gin Blossoms and several other rock bands.

"Best Days," the first single, wants to be the next "High School Graduation" song. The cliché lyrics proves our point: "So I say let's make the best of tonight. Here comes the rest of our lives." The melody is somewhat reminiscent of Green Day's "Good Riddance" while the chord structure is oddly familiar with Edwin McCain's "I'll Be." (Trust me - I belted "I'll Be" over the chorus and it works perfectly.) Now, we wonder if this is bad? We answer, no. Clearly, Graham Colton (who wrote every song) has found the recipe of a good song and continually uses it. There are even several catchy love anthems declaring "I'm always in love with you" or "Can't get you out of my mind...You're in my telescope." (The telescope metaphor is a definite first - a bit creepy.)

He's found the formula - he's sticking to it - and we predict he'll even be successful at it. If you are into the aforementioned bands, then check him out, you'll find something similar and refreshing. He'll be in San Francisco on 11/8 at Swedish American Music Hall with Vanessa Carlton.
Download: "Best Days" and "If Love Was Enough"

To enter the contest and read more on other CD releases, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

Looking at the fact that Serj Tankian's concert at Slim's on October 28th is already sold out, we venture to think that Tankian already has a huge following from his System of the Down days.

We've got two Serj Tankian care packages that we are going to give away. They are filled with Tankian's new CD (they might be autographed), t-shirts, posters, stickers and even a 7-inch record. (Each care package will have a mix of these prizes.) Take the jump to enter this fantastic giveaway.
Download: "Empty Walls"

2. Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand: Yes, that says, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. We have the "God of Rock" and the "Goddess of Bluegrass" collaborating together to make Raising Sand. Now this isn't any ole' normal bluegrass or rock album. This album breeds musical genius - not hard for two of the music industries' most prominent performers. They venture into blues, alt-country, rock, bluegrass and folk - each time, with grace and style.
Download: "Trampled Rose" & "Gone, Gone, Gone"

For fantastic prizes, more CD releases and of course our guilty pleasure, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

The rage of fire is completely encapsulated in the first EP with its screaming vocals and huge guitar riffs. The force of nature is felt in the powerful, "Firebreather" - though filled with rage, the listener feels the wrath of a 4-alarm fire without any professional response. You are left with a gaping, simmering hole. With the background keyboards (that sound a bit like a chorus of angels) on "Burn the Fleet," Thrice has created a world of kings who are fighting to victory. Victory that comes with the price of death. "But the fire continues to rise, and it shows not a hint of any fear in our eyes." An anthem of courage and triumph, Thrice continues to create an inferno of fury and immediacy that comes with the very nature of fire.

Volume II changes, completely. The haunting, yet somehow soothing, "Open Water" creates instant imagery with the words, "I am drowning, in a digital sea. I am slipping beneath the sound." The mix of electronicism and Dustin Kensrue's vocals is mesmerizing and intoxicating, something that is new to Thrice. "I'm cold and alone, drifting in the open sea. Caught up in regret, tangled in nets, instead of your arms wrapped around me." Thrice found the power of the sea and set it to music with perfection. Though we don't hear the sea's rage, we do feel the heartache and pulsating rush of the waves and the calm after the storm.
Download: "Burn the Fleet," "Digital Sea" and "Open Water"

To win a free copy of Thrice's album, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

2. The Kin - Rise and Fall: The Kin, comprised of Australian brothers Issac and Thorry Koren, delivers a solid rock sound with the added Australian flair that includes digerradoos and rhythmic percussionist "Shakerleg" who plays just with his hands. We were instantly impressed when we, on the spur of the moment, saw these guys play at World Cafe Live this past summer. Their strong blended vocals, emotionally charged lyrics, and memorable melodies are the reasons why these brothers are selling out shows in NYC. They'll be in SF on October 15th at the Independent.
Download: "Rise & Fall" and "Nowhere to Now-where"

For more info on other CD releases, take the jump...

Each Tuesday we will feature new music that should (or whatever) be on your radar.

2. Marjorie de Muynck - In The Key of Earth:
Within four epic musical movements named: Pulse, Light, Ancient Aquifer and Breath, Marjorie de Muynck explores the very essence of sound. She finds a very deep connection to our planet that so many are desperately trying to find. Through overtones and harmonics, de Muynck creates a cacophony of sounds that creates a bridge between sound and music. "In the Key of Earth" is not intended to "disembody" but rather to "ground and relax the listener through resonance with the Earth using Ohm, a scientifically based and spiritually upheld sound healing frequency." There is something deeply spiritual when reconnecting ourselves to the Earth, something that de Muynck allows us to do with each listen.
Download: The entire CD - it's only four tracks.

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