For Brighton, UK born and bred yet very much the adopted Australian son singer songwriter Mike Rosenberg, being independent has proven to be the best road he could have taken. There was a time, back in the early 2000s, when things looked very different. There was a five-piece band called Passenger and the big money label behind it and there was a critically acclaimed debut album, Wicked Man’s Rest, but when the members of that band chose to go their own separate ways in 2007, Rosenberg opted to stick with the Passenger moniker and trust in his music, his voice and his guitar to take him where it would. He took to the streets and discovered not only that the experience enormous fun, but it also proved empowering for the likeable musical troubadour.

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Angel Olsen has a fresh edge to her sound, a warm and wonderful range, and an otherworldly skill and charm. Her special presence became apparent through her debut, Strange Cactiand radiates even more on her sophomore album, Half Way Home. Released last month on Bathetic Records, Half Way Home is a continuation of Angel's elegance, a collection of both new and old music, honed and matured, thoughts revisited. It presents this beautiful woman and her extraordinary voice taken to a new level, in no doubt a growth and reach brought on by many road trips with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and crew. It's an emotional stew with Angel's robust voice up front, bold and engaging, aching to be heard. Joined by Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang) behind the board and playing throughout the songs, Half Way Home showcases the wondrous sounds of a songwriter with such a voice that is rarely found.

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With accesories and regimines being more exciting than some females these days, it's nice to know that some of us can still rap. Rhymesayers has its hands full with this one, but part of that is because she has boobs. Psalm One, the self-proclaimed "fuck a" fem-cee is gearing up for her second offering, the follow-up to 2006's critically acclaimed "The Death of Frequent Flyer". After telling academia to piss off, then inviting it into the bathroom again, touring, male-to-female-to-female contact, manicures and dirt baths, Psalm is doing the unthinkable: letting you in. With the skills that are hardly anything but stellar, new production, old friends and the world by the tight and curlies, it's on once again. And what more could you ask for? She's not your prom date; she's the one you hung out with at prom in the back of mom's volvo, got blasted and talked about all the people with their noses in the air and thumbs up their asses. And she plays drums. Go figure.

Bassel & The Supernaturals officially released "Dreamer" at The Empty Bottle in Chicago on February 28, 2013 as part of a humanitarian effort for Syria during an intense civil war that has drastically affected Bassel's family along with millions of others. Bassel Al-Madani is a Syrian-American souljazz artist born/raised in Northeast Ohio, currently residing in Chicago, IL. Despite facing intense challenges in recent years (including a massive apartment complex fire and car theft), he has been frequently recording and touring the nation since 2008.

"Dreamer" was engineered at Hinge Studios in Chicago, IL during the summer of 2012. The album was an independent effort by Bassel & The Supernaturals, and the funds generated from their presale campaign helped to support their recording experience, a 3-week US tour, and a charity donation to Syria.

Bassel released "Submerged" as a solo effort in 2010 at Used Kids Records in Columbus, Ohio. Shortly after the conclusion of a four-week tour supporting his first LP, he was invited to perform at the Pelotonia opening ceremony with The Counting Crows and Augustana.

Bassel's self-titled EP was released in 2008, featuring the production talents of Sinkane (Ahmed Gallab), who has actively performed in groups such as Yeasayer, Caribou, Of Montreal, and Born Ruffians.

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Olympia is an album of transformation. Though it has only been two years since Austra’s 2010 debut Feel It Break, it presents a quantum evolution in the Toronto-based band’s sound, structure and style.

After three years of non-stop international touring with the likes of the XX, Grimes and the Gossip, when it came time to record Olympia, Austra had evolved into a complex collaborative effort between its six members. “Previously, I would flesh out songs before I brought them to the band, but this time I left them bare and let the others fill them in” explains Katie Stelmanis, the principal songwriter/vocalist.

Olympia is also the first confessional record for Stelmanis as evidenced by the heartfelt lyrics of piano driven lead single “Home” (stream now). “Home” expresses the anxieties of waiting up all night for a lover to return. “I was mad and upset and the song just wrote itself,” says the singer. The album touches on a range of sentiments that stem from a relationship ending, a relationship beginning, and friends’ struggles with addiction and motivation. Despite the sometimes dark lyrics written in collaboration with band member Sari Lightman, Olympia is bubbly and buoyant— fundamentally a dance record, which Stelmanis says was the band’s aim all along. “We are really into dense harmonies and big beautiful melodies, but I also love techno and dance music. I wanted to bring those elements together.”

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