The three song EP from Wes Hntr doesn’t leave a lot of room to meander. It’s  a rather focused arc of engagingly instrospective lo-fi musing, pop song and quietly reclusive  wrapup. Roughly seven minutes of music isn’t a whole lot to make a judgement on but I can safely say that I’d like to hear a lot more.

If you were not aware, Seth Timbs was once best known as the frontman of Spongebath Records own Fluid Ounces – a piano pop band that led to far too many Ben Folds comparisons just by virtue of the instruments involved. Since that time, he’s released a number of solo albums that continue along the path of heartfelt, lyrically clever, pop songs cut with just the right amount of self-deprecation and longing. He’s also managed to introduce a great number of additional instruments to ensure that the Folds comparisons cease; and rightfully so as Timbs is an excellent songwriter in his own right and doesn’t deserve the easy journalistic lumping. 

If you aren’t paying attention, you might not realize that one of the latest releases from Gummy Soul is actually an entire cover album. They’ve taken the 1993 Souls of Mischief album, 93 Til Infinity, and reworked it from the original influence hip-hop style to the Gummy Soul R&B style. It works quite nicely.

It’s clear that within the first minute of the first track of the newest from Faux Ferocious you’re listening to some legitimately Hot Shit rock music. By the end of the song the landscape has been established, you’re listening to a well balanced bit of upbeat, desert psych rock mixed with the occasional laid back stoner vibe. I can’t wait to see this live.

At first, I was hesitant to post about Earl Burrows, the side project of Matt Watrous. His prior work is as a member of The Shins and The Raconteurs and, to my knowledge, he’s a recent Nashville transplant. Was this an authentic “Nashville band” or merely another group of folks jumping on the bandwagon?

Turns out, my concerns were ill conceived. Every song that has been released from this project – Hey Me Israeli, Go Home Girl and Our Kind are all spectacular. The last being a song about not feeling welcome in Nashville. 

Well, feel welcome sir. Having heard your full record, the best songs haven’t even made their way into the world yet. Everyone should jump on this when it’s released September 18th.

The new EP from Townies is a scant three songs but they lay a solid groundwork for future endeavors. The dreamy languid vocals evoke a narrator yearning for another place. It’s fitting that they round out the release with a Mazzy Star cover of “Fade Into You” – the perfect fit for the dual vocal duties of Maddie Medley and Emily Clement. 

Nice work Townies, looking forward to more.

I dunno what’s going on this week but great new music is crawling out of the woodwork. This EP from Fuzz Ghost is, as one would hope, a lo-fi, fuzzy, dose of rock songs. I recommend cranking your headphones and going for full sound immersion.