On their debut self-titled EP, unsigned Seattle locals Banner Barbados triumphantly strum their bar-chords on a disc so full of everything underground rock and roll has ever been known for.

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I heard layers of melodies, awash with dirty guitar lines backed with clean, tactile, tight rhythms. I heard serious drum fills, organic bass wanderings.

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Fiction is a promising debut for a newbie band that's obviously confident in the music they are writing and recording.

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Amaker proves himself a strong and serious solo artist as he explores darker, more genuine territories, tongue-lodged-in-cheek swagger traded in (mostly) for edgy earnestness.

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Sonic Youth. Right away that's my first thought...

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Meloy, of Decemberists fame, recorded six Morrissey songs with just his nasally voice and acoustic guitars.

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This Is The New You, by Oregoners (or is it Oreganos?) Derby sounds a bit more like the old me, really. Influences are worn on sleeves (Brit-pop from my early adulthood writ large on those patches).

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107.7 The End hasmade a commitment to raise $50,000 for Vera and this compilation CD, Live from the Morning Alternative, is part of the fundraising effort, including the Divorce, Death Cab, Smoosh, and Pretty Girls Make Graves.

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The songs have hooks (some lyrical, some musical), and generally fit within the familiar formats of pop convention, but lack the gloss, sheen and precision of conventional pop music; the music shambles along, a bit unruly, but generally has a naïve and tentative sort of charm.

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This album from Seattle's The Fading Collection is a curious and clever series of remixes from the songs originally found on the album Interactive Family Radio. Remixers include members of Dahlia, Beehive, Kuma, and others.

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