Whu Gnu – Walking Spanish (self-released) by Michael Toland

The band freely mixes pop, prog, folk, psychedelia and jazz in ways that highlight the tension between styles as much as the compatibility.

For Against – Never Been (Words On Music) by Michael Toland

With Never Been, Lincoln’s FOR AGAINST continues down its chosen path, eschewing commercial rewards for more consistent and fruitful artistic ones.

The Mary Onettes - TT the Bears (Cambridge, MA) - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Tim Bugbee

Wiretree – Luck (self-released) by Michael Toland

Peroni has the remarkable ability to absorb his influences without regurgitating them.

Fanfarlo - Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)/The Bell House (Brooklyn) - Monday, August 21, 2009 and Tuesday, August 22, 2009 by Rachel Pesin

Fanfarlo wowed New York twice with their warm, orchestral pop—and I was lucky enough to attend both shows.

Various Artists – It Crawled From the Basement: The Green Monkey Records Anthology (Green Monkey) by Michael Toland

Created and curated by producer/musician TOM DYER, Seattle’s Green Monkey Records operated in the 1980s and early 1990s, covering the city’s independent music scene.

Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (In the Red) by Matthew Berlyant

The darker lyrical content may be typical for a sophomore album, but this is no sophomore slump.

Scott Warren – Quick Fix Bandage (Jangular) by Michael Toland

Quick Fix Bandage is a warm bath of heartfelt, finely crafted folk rock.

Telepathe: A Different Sort of Minimal Synth by Kristen Sollee

A colorful Brooklyn duo with equal parts hip hop and synthpop apparent in their spartan beats are still very much of the moniker, ‘minimal synth’.

Cats on Fire - Our Temperance Movement (Matinee) by Dave Heaton

New doesn’t have to be new, if that makes sense; or, familiar-sounding music is still new if you haven’t heard it before.