In the late 90s/early 2000s, Jenny Lewis turned heads with Rilo Kiley, an L.A. based indie-pop quartet whose members embraced the DIY ethic and paid their dues with a little help from rising labels Barsuk and Saddle Creek. At the height of their career, Lewis launched a solo side project with The Watson Twins (now successful in their own right) and tapped into her country inclinations for the sweet and twangy Rabbit Fur Coat followed in 2008 by the powerful Acid Tongue, all the while touring with a back-up band featuring her longtime beau Johnathan Rice, also a solo artist in his own right. Eventually the couple started writing music together and decided to put out a proper album of material that is—as their stage name reflects— equal parts Jenny and Johnny. The record, I’m Having Fun Now, continues Lewis’ penchant for roots-rock with plenty of pop sensibility. It’s sweet, sunny and by the time it wraps you should definitely be having fun.  Jenny and Johnny will also be playing The State Room on Sept. 8 so you can witness their chemistry up close.

Even serious fans of My Morning Jacket might scratch their heads over the name Carl Broemel but they’ll definitely recognize his voice as the frequent companion to band mate Jim James’ most beautiful and haunting harmonies. Rolling Stone recently included Broemel in their list of contemporary guitar gods, labeling him and James as Skynard-Art Theorists. But there’s no Freebird-style riffs on Broemel’s solo debut. Instead, All Birds Say is a work of stripped down pastoral folk whose understated beauty is suited for idyllic mornings when you can take your time and soak it all in.

You’d think that being a member of a world-famous rock band would assure Radiohead’s Philip Selway a certain amount of critical excitement leading up to the release of his solo debut, but it turns out prejudices against drummers run deep. Early reviews of Selway’s new album, Familial, tend to start with some comment about drummers as aggressive one-trick ponies whose attempts to strike out on their own are simply vanity projects. Well thank God Familial is an achievement, enough to give lazy critics pause. For the album, Selway channeled his teenage self, returning to the type of songwriting he used to practice in his bedroom.  The songs are quiet and precise, powered by Selway’s soft, delicate and often haunting vocals. Like the title of its closing track, the songs are made for The Witching Hour.

On his 2009 release Hombre Lobo, Eels mastermind Mark Oliver Everett, literally howled for fresh blood—the lone wolf in hot pursuit of some lowbrow companionship. The album, a fairly straightforward, fuzzed-out garage rock record, kicked off a trilogy of LPs followed by the stripped down and rather dour End Times. Today, the final installment reaches listeners and for longtime Eels fans it offers a welcome return to more upbeat material. Everett, a man who goes by the one-letter name, “E”, treats the record like one whole work (as opposed to tracks arranged as interchangeable, shuffle-ready singles), with orchestral interludes linking one chipper song to the next. “E” sat down to write a positive album that wasn’t too vapid or cheesy and he succeeds. That classic Eels flavor—a sly, dry wit—is all over sentimental ditties like “Things Are Looking Up” and “Spectacular Girl,” the video for which follows the subject as she transitions from boring office job to her night gig as a black-clad assassin for hire.

The Brooklyn-based band known as Chk Chk Chk came around before the advent of Google and probably didn’t figure on their name making it impossible to easily locate anything about them online. The actual name is three exclamation marks in a row and while difficult to search or pronounce, it definitely reflects the group’s high-energy sound. Strange Weather Isn’t It, their first album in three years, was recorded in Berlin and in interviews leading up to its release was rumored to deliver major doses of Berlin house music. Well, if this is what Berlin house sounds like, then mark us down as fans of the movement. To most listeners, the album will likely just sound like more of the same body-moving dance-punk with an undercurrent of seedy sexual innuendo that Chk Chk Chk has always done so well. Strange Weather is a bittersweet achievement, arriving in the wake of drummer Jerry Fuch’s untimely death last year.  While honoring his memory, the band moves forward with this irresistible record. Put it on and get ready to sweat.

For an up-and-coming band, greeting an onslaught of approval right out the gates is a mixed blessing. Ra Ra Riot’s 2008 debut full-length, The Rhumb Line, raised interest for both its stunning orchestral pop and tragic back story, arriving shortly after original drummer and songwriter John Pike’s sudden death. Two years later, the Syracuse, New York band vies to beat the dreaded sophomore slump with The Orchard, a record weighted with big expectations.  So, how is it? Well, there are moments that deliver the instant satisfaction of The Rhumb Line’s “Too Too Too Fast” and “Ghost Under Rocks,” most notably “Boy” and “Too Dramatic,” but of course the band is maturing and experimenting so this one might require a few listens before it’s your new favorite. Be sure to check out the song “You and I Know” which features cellist Alexandra Dawn’s debut on lead vocals.

Also in stores today: Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan team up for their third full-length collaboration, Hawk; Grass Widow paves the way for the post-Riot Grrl generation with their Kill Rock Stars debut; JJ Grey and Mofro ride on with Georgia Warhorse.

Remember to buy local!

Los Angeles-based artist Leslie Stevens started her music career in a punk band before hooking up with her current group, The Badgers. For Stevens, the transition to country wasn’t difficult. Punk celebrates storytelling, three-chord song structure and lyrics delivered at face value. “That’s true of roots music, too,” she says. Leslie Stevens and The Badgers had the good fortune of teaming up with producer David Bianco (Tom Petty, Bob Dylan) to record their full-length debut, Roomful of Smoke, which originally came out in 2009. The band recently signed to Thirty Tigers and are re-releasing the record today. The album’s title, Roomful of Smoke, refers to fallout from the raging forest fires that consumed parts of North Hollywood in 2008—not just the physical ash falling from the sky “like moths,” but more specifically how one thing morphs into another without warning. As Stevens puts it, “When you set out to make something you have to leave some of it up to fate.”

Auditory Viewing || Leslie & The Badgers perform Ballpark Lights from ISHOTHIM on Vimeo.

Many people first learned about Ray LaMontagne through his sweet little ode to one-half of Detroit’s mighty rock duo, The White Stripes. In 2008, he hit the airwaves confessing his crush on Meg White and came across not as a creepy stalker but as a perfect gentleman who thinks Meg’s pretty swell. He just wants to take a walk with her, hold her hand—maybe watch the sun go down. The song’s light and airy tone is complemented by LaMontagne’s rich, husky voice which sounds more serious than the lyrical content suggests. On his new album, God Willin’ and The Creek Don’t Rise, LaMontagne maintains his soulful outlook with an introspective work recorded live over a swift-paced five days in a barn outside his Massachusetts home. Unlike his previous release, Gossip in the Grain, the new LP is self-produced and very much a collaborative effort drawing on the talents of his longtime backing band, The Pariah Dogs. It might be a team project, but LaMontagne still stands out—whether the spotlight-shy folk artist likes it or not.

What’s the point of multiple pseudonyms? For an underground artist like Matthew Dear, adopting numerous names helps provide some distance between various musical endeavors.  As a techno producer and musician, he’s best known for his work as Jabberjaw whose output is “quirky” and “phosphorescent.” He also releases material under the names Audion and False, whose tracks are floor-pleasing and twisted, respectively. As Matthew Dear, the name printed on his birth certificate, he procures a haunting brand of avant-garde pop that on his latest and fourth release under the Dear handle at times draws heavily on his quirky techno sensibilities. Released on his own label Ghostly International, Black City is an eclectic, OK, somewhat of a mixed bag of tricks with nary a dud in the bunch. In the mood for a 9-and-a-half minute space-out jam? “Little People” has your number. Prefer something more low-key? Maybe something along the lines of a TV on the Radio meets Tricky remix? Check out “Soil to Seed” and “Monkey.” And, in keeping with his cutting edge work, downloads of Dear’s new album come with a Black City Totem, a sleek sculpture designed to approximate the tangible pleasures of vinyl or even CDs that Mp3 technology negates.

New Music Tuesday runs each week at 8:35 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Be sure to tune in next week for more fresh picks. And don’t forget to salute your local independent record stores!

It’s kind of a slow day on the new album front, but at least a couple of solid releases hit stores today. Want to hear about them? Here it goes:

On their third full-length album, Staten Island instrumentalists The Budos Band leave behind their sunny Afro-Beat sound for something slightly more nefarious. On LPs one and two, the collective more or less stuck to basics, cranking out groovy 60s-flavored tunes rooted in tradition. For their latest release, the teachers-by-day/party-starters-by-night rifle through skeletons in the closet to produce melodies suited for a pitch-black drive round dead-man’s curve. Certain numbers bring to mind Mulatu Astatke, the great Ethiopian jazz legend who landed new fans with his contributions to Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers soundtrack. Like Mulatu, The Budos Band are increasingly skilled snake charmers seducing listeners into a false sense of complacency before striking with fierce organ and horns. Utah audiences will have a chance to experience these tunes in concert when The Budos Band headlines The State Room on August 31.

And a little Mulatu for good measure:

Next, we turn to Sayde Price, a local artist who actually released her debut album this past Saturday with an intimate all-ages show at Slowtrain. Though not yet old enough to headline 21-and-over venues, the 19-year-old rural Utah native already demonstrates remarkable skills, most notably a voice that’s both sweet and commanding. Recorded live at June Audio with Scott Wiley at the helm, Price’s Wilt All Rosy features contributions from members of Paul Jacobsen & The Madison Arm and Band of Annuals. Its ten tracks reflect the young composer’s struggle to square her countryside hometown pride with the natural instinct to broaden her horizons. It’s a strong effort and indicative of great things to come. You can learn more about Price and her evolving career at JuniorAudio.com

Other noteworthy records in stores today include Sarah Blasko’s Day Follows Night, Lee “Scratch” Perry’s Revelation and Eli Paperboy Reed’s Come and Get It. That does it for another edition of New Music Tuesday. Be sure to thank your independent record store for fighting the good fight. Tune in next week for more fresh picks brought to you by KRCL.