A partnership made in protest funk heaven; Georgia Anne Muldrow and Declaime have joined forces yet again as G&D for the excellent effort Black Love & War. Ultimately thought-provoking and moving all at once, these two outstanding solo musicians are even more potent together.

Inventive pop trio half•alive’s debut full-length Now, Not Yet had enough steam to grab them a Lolla set without even dropping yet, and it was worth the wait. Catchy, emotive, and all-together impressive. 

These London indie rockers return with a second, excellent full-length in The Other Room. With plenty of fuzzy guitar and echoey vocals, Crushed Beaks hits all the right buttons for us to get our groove on.

When you combine the talents of the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama with the marvelous songwriting of Marc Cohn, you get magic, and the live Work To Do is certainly musical sorcery. 

Marc Cohn will be at City Winery on November 13th. Tix are $48 - $65. The Blind Boys of Alabama have no current Chicago dates. 

The latest album from alternative rock group Dirty Heads, Super Moon, arrives as an unabashed stoner buffet.  With their newest album, Dirty Heads is constantly throwing as many crunchy and mellow beats as they can while committing to experimentation and exploration. The California outfit's blend of rap, rock, and reggae is just what you were looking for to underscore late summer hangouts with your buds and your bud. 

-BBO

A musical amalgam of genre-mashing, L.A. musician Cheschi takes every influence available from hip-hop, to folk, to punk, and a keen sense of pop culture and combines them into the crazy excellent Sans Soleil. 

A vetern road dog and indie rock maverick, Pete Yorn has seen it all, and Caretakers has that roughshod, well-worn feel that makes you feel instantly comfortable and right at home.

It’s been ten years since L.A. post-hardcore outfit Touché Amoré blew up with their second album...To the Beat of a Dead Horse, and to celebrate, they’ve put out an anniversary edition with two versions of the excellent and influential record with Dead Horse X.

A wonderfully mellow and gorgeous effort from Fionn Regan. His latest record, Cala, finds the Irish singer/songwriter leaning even farther into his folk roots.

New Zealand sister duo Clementine and Valentine Nixon have made Purple Pilgrims an act to follow. With Perfumed Earth they have produced a dream pop gem that will be tough to top.

Musician and writer Andras Jones has seen a lot in his day, and he gives portrait after song portrait of his life experiences in All You Get.

Truly formed from a Band Camp friendship, Boston indie pop rockers Lilith formed over four summers at the titular musical right-of-passage, and their debut, Safer Off is one of those special records you can tell a ton of care and effort went into producing.

The second album this summer from the legendary emcee Murs and his producer 9th Wonder. If you enjoyed Brighter Daze in any way, The Iliad is Dead And The Odyssey is Over is everything you could want. 

The newest EP from English rapper Barney Artist finds him at the top of his game. Bikes Are Bikes is self-expressive hip-hop at its best.