The ten songs on this CD showcase Rau's voice quite well. The feeling is somewhere between rock, folk-rock, and country, leaning more toward a Cowboy Junkies/Lone Justice feel. Some songs are rough and raunchy without being threatening, like "My Own Way," which features nice guitar work from Mark Spencer, while others are temperate and moody, like "Light On My Feet," which plods ahead, but in a good way. "Welcome" is a beautiful, haunting piece of work, the kind that'll get you misty eyed and pensive in a hurry. And if you're looking for a bit of trivia, bassist Mike Ruskin is the son of the original owners of Max's Kansas City. A well produced effort.

What would you get if you crossed, say, Aerosmith with Guns N' Roses? Sonically speaking, the answer would be American Trashed. Though there's only four cuts on the CD, it's clear that these guys have learned from the aforementioned bands. The songs have that tinge of late '70s rock, when outfits like Aerosmith and Ted Nugent ruled the airwaves. And if you're fine with that, then you'll do no wrong with American Trashed. Steve Broderick's vocals will have you thinking of GNR's Axel Rose, in a slightly lower register without the high pitched wails or screams that Rose resorts to. If the boys have an album's worth of material, it'd be a good buy, if the songs are as good as these. No gimmicks, just rock and roll. www.joetown.com

The label says, "file under Horror RNR," and that's as good a description as I can come up with for this 21-song compilation disc. Comprised predominantly of NY bands, the project stems from Friday night shows at the Continental. But what matters most, as always, is the music, and this disc doesn't disappoint. The bulk of the tunes have a creepy, psycho-rockabilly bent, with more single string riffs than you can shake a corpse at. Some are Crampish, like Hillbilly Werewolf ("Hillbilly Werewolf Theme") or Psycho Charger ("Grave Robbers From Outer Space"). Others are heavy-metal oriented, like Needulhed ("Psycho Inn") or pure rockabilly with the Spectres ("Rockabilly Macabre"), or pure power pop, like the Serpenteens ("X-Ray Eyes"). The mix guarantees you'll find something here to like, and though the production on some cuts is a bit rough, it won't kill you. A cool CD from start to finish. www.deathrock.com/graverockers

The cover to this three-song disc shows El in black jeans, a black vest with white piping, and black curly hair (looking like Cher during her Moonstruck phase) in front of a pond with white geese. The two songs that aren't covers – "My Inspiration" and "Precious Love" – are big, new age numbers, that sound like background music in that movie where Tom Cruise was trying to save a unicorn. The other is a cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit," done in a kind of Yanni meets Depeche Mode style. New age stuff ain't really for me, but it's done well here, and if you're the type that's into crystals and dreamcatchers (and again, forgive my snickering), this is up your alley. www.bayislandrecords.com

There's some top-notch musicianship here, the production is as clean and clear as a spring day in the Rockies, and to top it off, there's intelligent work behind the lyrics. The songs verge on a midwest country/folk style, I suppose alt-country is a better label, but even that doesn't do the music justice. If there is any minor weakness, I'd say it's Smith's vocals, which at times seem a bit buried in the mix. In other spots he seems to be holding back, unsure, and the result is an emotional abandonment, a thinness. The lyrics are the strength here, smart and poetic. From the title cut, "I checked the fingerprints on your back, below your shoulder there was a scratch, looked at my hands, they don't match." From twelve-bar blues to ballads, Smith covers it all, and does a good job. www.rockitrecords.com

Groovy baby. That's the first thing that popped into my head when I threw on this CD. A free-flowing, jazz funk jamfest trio that will plunge you deep into a blacklit room, complete with a thick shag carpet (orange or green, your choice), lava lamps, beanbag chairs, and black-velvet paintings. Don't believe me? Check these lyrics from "The Sounding of the Trumpets": "Open up wide to the sounds, radiating colors and emotions, hear the depths of the road less traveled, calculating on those heady potions, ride high the edge of controlled beauty, flowing celebrations never empty." Button, button, who's got the button? Guitarist Erik Rabasca gives a credible performance on rhythm and lead, as do band mates bassist Tim Goodwin and drummer Geoff Goldman. Far out man.

Another trio here, although the sound is quite a bit heavier. Hailing from Baltimore, Vulgaria present power pop with an edge. There's an overall grungy tone, a Seattle meets London feel to the songs. And while you're at it, toss in a bit of Replacements, with a hint of Cracker. The end result is a power pop disc that grows with repeated listenings. Kurt Deemer's vocals have that indie whine appeal without the pretension, and the songs work the dynamics well, rising and falling when necessary. This is apparent on "Swallow the Ocean," one of the better cuts, which starts off heavy, lays off a bit, and then comes on strong for the finish. "Vice of Device" will have you tipping your hat in the direction of the Replacements, but the boys pull it off, and do it well. Keep up the good work. www.vulgaria.com

Don't know why Pop has the blues, could be a reference to the throwback blues-rock seventies sound that permeates the disc, or the lo-fi production (sounds like a sixteen track studio at best). Lead vocalist Roger Romeo takes songwriting credit for 12 of the 16 songs (four covers), and though in the photos he looks like a pudgy Brian Ferry, his voice is not in the same league. The music, on the whole, falls into a not bad, not good area. "That Girl's in Love" gets up and goes a bit, and will remind you of southern rock. In general, things get livelier when Romeo plays slide guitar. Special points for lyrics on the bluesy "Rugburns," when he muses, "Rugburns on her elbows, rugburns on her knees, baby I think your cheatin'." A cover of Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Koochie Man" sounds positively Foghat. Cheer up Pop, I say.

Sonically speaking, this EP is like a drunk driver: reckless, all over the road, and ready to crash any second. For the sober set out there, it's a jazz-rock fusion free-form jam 10,000 Maniacs meets Return to Forever. Vocalist Anna Tsangaris has a smoky voice similar to Natalie Merchant, and that's okay. The bulk of the sonic mayhem can be attributed to guitarist Chad Williams, who has spent a good deal of money on pedals and effects, and uses them a lot, at times muddying up things. Imagine Robert Fripp or Adrian Belew in the drunk driver analogy, and you get the picture. "Rainbow Song" is a laid back, jazzy number, with some nice lead work by Williams. "Only You" is the best cut of the five, more structured than space jam, and allows Tsangaris a chance to show off her pipes. www.plasticshiva.com

With a thick press pack that mentions her acclaim and awards, her slot as an opener for acts like Roger McGuinn and the Mavericks, plus rave reviews, anticipation for this disc was quite high. Her voice is good, no doubts there, a young Joni Mitchell meets Tanya Tucker style, and it's showcased best on "Russian Roulette," a bluesy number where she belts it out with no restraint. Yet there's something amiss here, some intangible quality that made listening to this disc difficult. Maybe it was the ultra clean backup band, which bordered on antiseptic. "Like Christ," for example, begins with just Fleischmann and her acoustic guitar, and sounds great, till the rest of the band charges in. Similarly, "Splitting Hairs" is pure vocal and acoustic, and the track sounds ten times better than the other stuff. Wacky world, eh? www.kathyfleischmann.com

This has to be the freshest sound I've heard in a while. Imagine Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa collaborating on a hip-hop influenced CD. Yeah, you heard me. And although I have some issues with white guys rapping (reminds me of Vanilla Ice, shudder – to me the Beastie Boys are the only crackers who seem to pull it off), there's wicked fun to be had here. Pete McCauley on guitar knows the fretboard like the back of his hand (which is kinda funny, since that's what he'd see when he plays, but I digress), bassist Mike Mehsikomer cuts a deep enough groove to plant crops in, and drummer Chris Weinberger keeps time like a Swiss watch. Moods swing in and out here, "Build Your Temples" has a reggae slant to it, while a cut like "Dig You Out" is a ripping hip-hop funk fest. "Beanbag Chair" uses Latin rhythm, and hearing the boys sing "In my beanbag chair" is too much fun. Not bad for three lads out of Minnesota. www.eddiemac.com

You know, after a slew of CDs, both good and bad, you get something completely different and it sounds great. Such is the case with Lugo. A graduate of the Performing Arts High School, and winner of several Amateur Nights at the Apollo are just some of his credentials. He calls his sound "Latin Soul," a pleasing mix of Latino, hip hop, and R&B, and the way the music world is heading (the Grammys, for example), young Lugo might cash in being in the right place at the right time. The only problem here is I don't speak Spanish (well, I know cerveza and a few other key words), and there were no liner notes accompanying the disc, no track listings, nada. Lugo moves smoothly from ballads to the uptempo stuff, with a silky voice that's sure to get your blood running, and make the honeys swoon. Cerveza, por favor! www.mp3.com/lugo

Here's a trivia question: Who was the drummer of Debbie Harry's original band, the Stilettos? If you came up with Scheebo, pat yourself on the back, and surprise, here's his new CD. And what you get is a techno-midi festival, a Kraftwerk meets the millennium. At first listen, the opening track, "Aspiration Beat" sounds like a 15 year old let loose with a PC and soundcard, but patience is needed here. With a longer listen, the disc plays like a cool soundtrack to an international espionage thriller (and the absence of vocals furthers the soundtrack feel). And while skeptics who give this too quick a listen will pass it off as sounding like a chimp let loose in Radio Shack in the toy section, those who persevere are rewarded with music along the lines of the more interesting avant-garde composers. This may not be for everyone, but if you get it, so much the better.

Canadian Bill Lascelles presents his debut CD, an acoustic-electric foray of soulful, from the heart songs and ballads. And if you hear the influences of artists like Van Morrison, Neil Young, Levon Helm and the Band, and others in that vein, then we're both listening to the same thing. And while Lascelles may not hit the jackpot on all eleven songs (there's a clunker or two, sorry to say), when he hits, he comes up a winner. And lyrically, Lascelles isn't a misogynist, as the title might have one think, but more of a lament of the appreciation of women through somewhat jaded eyes. "Don't Taker the Time" builds pressure so effectively you can feel the singer's pain. "I Want to Know Why" begins with vocal and guitar, then rocks when the whole band plays along. There's enough variety here to warrant a pick, and he'd be worth checking out if he leaves the safety of the Great White North to tour the States.

In Sanskrit, if memory serves me correctly, "Ananda" translates as "bliss." And with a voice somewhere in the vicinity of Jewel, Portishead, and Mazzy Star, well, the name fits. The sound is fortified by good use of a string section on "Shameless," but again, it's the vocals that carry the weight. The second cut of this 3-song EP has a Beastie, hip-hop funk going on, that abruptly cuts into a Renaissance-like sound before shifting back. Weird, and not great, but not annoying enough that you'll be reaching for the remote. The final cut, "I Dream Awake," is a soft, beautiful number, Jewel-like in a way, and then rips into a country refrain and quickly dies. What? This CD is over?!?! Someone get this band some money and into the studio, stat! With a sound like this, they should go big soon.

Another winner in a similar vein to Ananda, but with a bit harder, raspier voice and edge, a la Kate Bush. Overall, dark and mysterious, particularly "Circa 1973." Think of a David Lynch, blue-velvet type lounge, hazy with cigarette smoke, and you're in the mood for bourbon. What's interesting here is the addition of a live cut, "Blessed Be." Interesting because there's nothing lost, the vocals are powerful and sexy, and the band behind the voice is right on and dynamic. The only complaint here is, like some of the other discs, there's only four cuts here. Another band poised for the big time. www.madelinzero.com