Self-produced fourth full-length from Tyler, Texas' all-in-the-family band Eisley finds the four siblings (and a cousin) further refining and expanding their sound. A mix of off-kilter but melodic pop choruses and a dollop of arty indie rock, Currents (May 28, Equal Vision) is both smart, adventurous and, says the band's Sheree Dupree-Bemis, "honestly the first time we’ve had total and complete free reign over the making of one of our records and it felt so liberating." Referencing the album's title, she adds, "The current is constantly moving and flowing no matter what and that’s what we’ve always done together and plan to keep doing.” New track "Drink The Water" displays the band's confidence in experimenting in the studio as interesting rhythmic time signatures, an angelic vocal chorus, darting orchestration and a haunting piano hook combine in a swirl of dense production. Stream the title track after the jump...

L.A. singer/songwriter Cary Brothers teams up with the always wonderful Garrison Starr for "Disappear," a new song lifted from Brothers' recently released EP Let Me Be. The self-described "therapy record" following a painful breakup contains five new songs and is Brothers' first collection of new, original music since 2010's Under Control.

Fifth full-length Trouble Will Find Me from The National finds the critically acclaimed Brooklyn band arriving at a new inner-peace mindset that probably owes more to sheer exhaustion -- tours, children -- than anything else. Not to mention the re-immersion into the deep pool of classic songwriting from the likes of Neil Young, Roy Orbison and Cat Stevens that has brought their songs a less mannered more direct focus. The creative tension that accompanied the recording of The National's two most recent albums -- 2007's Boxer, 2010's High Violet -- has been replaced with a confidence and what the band's Aaron Dessner refers to as the band's return to a "free wheeling" approach adding, "It just feels like we've embraced the chemistry we have." That particular musical molecular structure remains grandly brooding with frontman Matt Berninger's baritone still commanding the spotlight. But there's a lighter touch and more simply laid out strategy this time around, fewer churning rock dirges, more crisply delineated lines. In the end an album that's "more fun", says Aaron, "or at least The National’s version of fun.” Stream "Don't Swallow The Cap" and watch the videos for "Sea of Love" and "Demons" below...

Piano-playing Sunday Lane and in-demand session and touring violinist Jessy Greene are the L.A.-based singer/songwriter duo who call themselves Fauntella Crow. Lane has released her own mostly sunny folk/pop recordings while Greene has graced the stage (and studio) with artists such as The Jayhawks, Wilco and Dave Grohl's recent "Sound City Players" project. Their promising new EP Lost Here combines strong melodies with an ethereal aural atmosphere, the combination of keys, strings and Lane and Greene's dual vocals making for an inviting chamber pop listen. Full bio and a stream (and video) of lead single "Just Try" below...

The list of bands looking to channel the feel and sound of '70s Laurel Canyon folk/rock is long and growing longer but few can match The Parson Red Heads in their ability to sidestep soundalike retreads and bring their own songwriting -- and instrumental -- chops to the forefront. The follow up fall full-length to the Portland, OR, outfit's excellent 2011 Yearling is in the works and the new track "Times" is something of a preview arriving as part of a new six-song EP 6 due June 4. "This song was the first song we recorded in our sessions at Type Foundry with Scott McCaughey," says Evan Way of the Red Heads. "We had such a great time making this song come to life in the studio, adding elements, taking elements away, just trying to create a really specific and memorable atmosphere to the song. It was one that sort of wrote itself, coming together all in one night, and is maybe one of my favorite songs we've ever recorded." Watch the in-studio recording of the song after the jump...

Over the course of their first three albums, London's The Boxer Rebellion have tweaked the sound of what their bio refers to as "grand ambition" to find critical acceptance while building upon their staunchly D.I.Y. indie strategy. This is, it should be noted, the first band to break into the U.S. Top 100 albums chart for their breakout album Union without a physical CD release. But after tapping high-cred producer Ethan Johns for their dark, more organic-based The Cold Still, The Boxers have pretty much embraced their inner arena-rock gloss for their new aptly titled LP Promises. Produced by Billy Bush (Garbage) with the band, these eleven new songs are teeming with the big and the bright, epic anthems meant to rattle the rafters with sky-high melodies and rippling U2-meets-Coldplay riff-rock opulence. And guess what -- it works. No one will mistake the paint-by-numbers "Keep Moving" for overly edgy or arty adventure. But no one will deny the sheer rush of indulging in the comforts of that cool bassline intro, the Edge-like guitar pyrotechnics and vocalist Nathan Nicholson's perfectly pretty vocals. By the time the chorus hook drops it's almost an unnecessary embellishment. Stream the equally delectable "Diamonds" (and watch the video) below the digital fold...

Recreating the strobe-tastic, glittering energy of a 3am club scene would appear to be high on the to-do list of Dungeonesse , a dizzying, beat-heavy collaboration of Baltimore chums Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) and John Ehrens (White Life). Marrying airy melodic hooks to some skittering drum-and-bass jolts and Wasner's headlong sprint into breathless, can-you-keep-up lyricism, Dungeonesse (word play on the oft-misspelled dungeness crab) keep things frisky and sugar-coated on their self-titled debut (May 14, Secretly Canadian). At first blush, "Drive You Crazy" (stream after the jump) is ultra-light to the point of empty calories. But like the similar smart-popping R+B tip of Channy Leaneagh's Poliça, the damn thing just sucks you in and you're off on some mindless -- but ecstatic -- little joyride. Even better is the gorgeous, early-Eurythmics-sounding "Nightlight." "Something that Jon and I talk about a lot is the idea of reclaiming pop music," says Wasner, "placing it squarely in the hands of, I dunno, say a couple of regular nerds from Baltimore."

Whatever your mind conjures up when you hear the words "traditional folk songs" is about to get turned on its head with Songs For A Traveler, a genre-bending collection of vintage folk standards, 50's country gems and random lullaby and 19th-century logging song tossed in for good measure. The man behind the remarkable project is Todd Carter, a New York-based singer (phenomenal, actually) multi-instrumentalist and arranger who goes by the pseudonym The Looking. The concept of reinterpreting folk standards is nothing new but Carter's dramatic, occasionally operatic and densely orchestrated approach gives songs like "Wayfaring Stranger," "Long Black Veil" and Hank Williams' "Angel of Death" a powerful, goose-bump-inducing force. One of the album's best tracks is "River in the Pines", a Wisconsin logging song (and duet with Sasha Dobson) that Carter describes as "a wonderful old ballad" adding, "I kept hearing this REM-esque guitar lick that became the opening of the song." It's that kind of imaginative rethinking that makes Songs For A Traveler one of the most rewarding left-field surprises of the year. Stream "Black Is The Color" below and the full album at The Looking site.

The angular meets the angelic with Alpine, a Melbourne-based band of art-pop Aussies who have delivered one of the most original and eclectic albums of the year. Melding the dual-harmonied, pixie-ish vocals of frontwomen and longtime friends Lou James and Phoebe Baker with brisk, scattered beats and some ridiculously inventive guitar play, Alpine turn their A Is For Alpine (May 21, Voliv) into a collection of songs so imaginative and just plain different that the effect is as mindbending as it is mesmerizing. A 2010 EP Zürich and some quirky videos laid the groundwork, creating buzz and garnering airplay but nothing quite prepared us for the brash and audacious full-length debut (named iTunes Alternative Album of the Year). More than just a collection of literate and quirky love songs, the album works as an album -- not an easy thing to do, actually -- shifting from one odd tempo to the next, darting down one musical alley only to double back mid-stream on a whole new rhythmic twist or splendid out-of-the-blue chorus. In a word: brilliant. Watch videos below...

Joseph Arthur is a freak of nature, a throwback to a time when musicians released more music. Consider that in just the two and a half years since his Fistful Of Mercy release with Ben Harper and Dhani Harrison, Arthur has issued two full-length solo albums (one a double-disc collection) and a set as RNDM with Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament and Richard Stuverud. In 2008 alone Arthur released four EPs and a full-length album. And now Arthur is up to it again. On June 11 he’ll submit The Ballad Of Boogie Christ (Lonely Astronaut/Megaforce), which was recorded over several years in New York, LA and Minneapolis. "For some reason, I've been avoiding finishing this record for a long time," Arthur laughs.Arthur recently told Consequence of Sound that The Ballad Of Boogie Christ is “a big production with horns and soul singers; a psychedelic soul record,” though you wouldn’t know it from the rootsy rocker “Saint Of Impossible Causes,” which bops along nicely on a bed of acoustic guitar and distant piano—and is that a sitar? Watch the icon-checking video for the album's title track after the jump.