Wrong End & Black Snake, Mojave Blues, Balto (from the self-released No Hard Feeling)
These two songs represent the scope of Balto’s musical power – the unbridled rock and roll fury of “Black Snake, Mojave Blues” and the powerful emotion of “Wrong End”, the band’s seeming farewell to music:
I don’t believe in songs no more
In the long dead horse of rock’n’roll
This is just a part of letting go
I don’t believe in songs no more
Do It Myself, Olivia Ellen Lloyd (from the self-released Do It Myself)
Lloyd unleashes an unapologetic anthem of post-breakup independence, delivered with sharp wit and steely swagger.
There’s something in you starving
Instead of nourishing yourself
You keep on feeding off of me
But now i need me for myself
True Believer, Jason Isbell (from the Southeastern Records release Foxes in the Snow)
Isbell shares a raw, unsparing portrait of a breakup, where Isbell pushes back against blame with weary defiance and hard-earned resilience.
All your girlfriends say I broke your fucking heart, and I don’t like it
There’s a letter on the nightstand I don’t think I’ll ever read
Well, I finally found a match, and you kept daring me to strike it
And now I have to let it burn to let it be
Keys to the Tacoma, Joshua Ray Walker (from the East Dallas Records/Thirty Tigers release Tropicana)
If you look the word “infectious” in the dictionary, this song is listed as an example. Ok, maybe not – but it should be. Choruses don’t come much catchier than this.
hell when you come around, Kirby Baby (from the forthcoming Inside Man)
Kirby Baby introduces himself with this ode to falling hard and fast for a romantic partner, and the subsequent consequences when things don’t work out.
Trapped, Ben Kweller (from The Noise Company release Cover the Mirrors)
Kweller completed a song that was begun by his late son, turning a composition that started as a reflection on lost love into a haunting, posthumous dialogue between father and son.
What Color Is Love, Willie Nile from the River House Records release The Great Yellow Light)
Nile strikes gold again with a stirring ballad about the quest for love.
Where I Belong, Galactic featuring Irma Thomas (from the Tchoup-zilla Records Audience with the Queen)
“Where I Belong” is a fiery declaration of purpose, with Thomas proclaiming her enduring strength over Galactic’s driving R&B groove.
Another House, Andrew Duhon (from the Well Kept Secret release The Parish Record)
Duhon presents a stark, tender portrait of a mother slipping into memory loss in a song carried by quiet strength and unflinching emotional clarity.
How To Cure a Heartbreak, Andy Frasco and the U.N. (from the Fun Machine Records release Growing Pains)
Frasco and company crash through sorrow with open-hearted intensity, turning emotional fallout into a cathartic anthem—loud and unflinching.
Won’t Be Long, Kris Delmhorst (from the self-released Ghosts in the Garden)
Delmhorst shares a tense, driving rocker that captures the reckless inevitability of a relationship on the verge of collapse.
Well we always knew we’d probably crash
Never ever ever letting up on the gas
Buckle up baby, I think we might be hitting the wall
Stuart Little Killed God (on 2nd Avenue), Ben de la Cour (from the Jullian Records release New Roses)
“Stuart Little” is a surreal, darkly comic tale in which a beloved storybook mouse turns murderous, showcasing de la Cour’s twisted wit and boundless narrative imagination.
Palm Readers, Palmyra (from the Oh Boy Records release Restless)
“Palm Readers” pulses with anxious energy, pairing a racing rhythm with lyrics that expose deep self-doubt and a longing for connection: “I talk to myself like you talk to a kid after they’ve done a bad, bad thing.”
She Don’t Love Me Anymore, Charles Wesley Godwin (from the Big Loud Records release Lonely Mountain Town)
Godwin strips everything down on “She Don’t Love Me Anymore,” letting just his voice and guitar carry a stark, emotionally gutting portrait of heartbreak and regret.
The Van Pelt Parties, Patterson Hood (from the ATO Records release Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams)
“The Van Pelt Parties” roars with layered guitars and a driving beat as Hood recalls chaotic, late-night gatherings from his childhood, capturing the wild blur of adult excess through a kid’s wide-eyed lens.
American Equator, Pete Mancini (from the Paradiddle Records release American Equator)
Mancini channels unease and disillusionment through searing guitars and stark lyrics, painting a vivid portrait of a nation on the brink.
Important, Michigander (from the Totally Normal Records/Thirty Tigers release Michigander)
Steeped in melancholy, the song begins with bare solo piano before the band swells in, deepening its reflection on yearning for an unreachable love and accepting the heartbreak that follows.
Promised Land, Ward Hayden and the Outliers (from the Faster Horses Recording release Little By Little)
Ward Hayden and the Outliers give “Promised Land” a raw, twang-laced makeover, turning Springsteen’s defiance into a slow-burning statement of grit and resolve.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.