From the heart of the country, well, Oklahoma, comes this month's first band. Their sound is on the ballad side of rock, with mid-tempo numbers that evenly mix acoustic and electric guitars. They use hooks along with other nice melodic devices that make the young girls lazily swing their arms to the groove of the music. The band might remind you of, say, 3 Doors Down, Matchbox 20, or 10 Large Crates (sorry, I just made that one up) in that they never cut loose like head-banging madmen. No ear-piercing guitar solos or thunderous rhythm sections, just plain pleasing music. The songs are well crafted, and the disc is slickly, but not overly produced. In fact, each song sounds as if it could easily be a hit of the month on any given rock radio station. If there is a knock to be found, it is just that the disc is perhaps too well done. That is, there is stylistic variation, but more a matter of degree than of kind here, and a bit of idiosyncrasy might have been a nice touch. That minor snippet aside, this is a well done disc from songwriting and instrumentation to production. www.cardinaltrait.com

On a world-beat, trance-music kind of note, we now present Phyllis Addison. And though the picture on the disc's cover looks like she is about to leap out and put you in a wrestling hold, the music is a bit more restrained. While many of the songs feature lyrics on a spiritual tack (even the liner notes mention copyrighted phrases of Avatar Adi Da Samraj), it is the music that captures my attention. This is not music that you hear and think, ah, a bunch of slackers found some instruments and are trying to sound Eastern, but rather music that seems carefully put together. The song "Real Love" is about the only thing commercial or radio friendly that you might find here, and it doesn't even kick into gear until the 45-second mark. The rest of the songs, and forgive the blanket generalization, are more groove oriented, more loopy, yet without the feeling that you're shopping in a new-age vitamin store. It is, in a sense, distracting, and I think that might be what Addison was targeting. For example, I sit here listening to the disc, and four songs later, I still haven't finished a sentence. Lyrics aside, for me anyway, a cool disc with some wicked grooves. www.phyllisaddison.com

Ah, another three-song disc slips in. This time, the lass hails from LA, or at least hangs there now, and the three tunes found here are of a blues-based funk genre. There are shades of Marianne Faithful, without as much guttural grit, but a sense of toughness as she sings. At times Minasian seems to strain just a bit for the notes, as on "How Do You Let Me Down," where she sounds like Dale Bozzio, but the effect is good. On "Live and Die," she sounds like Alanis, without the vocal vacillating or nasal inflection. As a three-song EP, this definitely gets her in the doorway. As for any further, Minasian shows us a strong effort, but these ears want more. www.aniwho.com

The first song, "Pretty Girl," begins with guitar strumming, and Jett singing, "I'm a pretty girl. I'm a superficial bitch. I'm a pretty girl. I'm a psychotic witch." And I am sold instantly. The music in the background is part psycho surf, part Radiohead, when they pedal a note and build up on the dynamics. And as the song builds, I say, yes, this is what I was waiting for, this is what I wanted for Christmas. Why? There is something intense in the simplicity of the music. A significant accomplishment, since it's not a simple task to make simple music. As the song goes on there's a dark edge, a NYC sound, and the feeling of pain and loss. There are sounds like Mazzy Star, Cowboy Junkies, Lou Reed. The song "80's Girl" will make those who lived through that era chuckle with delight as Jett weaves lyrics and popular culture together in a funky number. Jett has a wicked sense of humor as well, as on "Instead," in which she begins, "It's kind of like you want a Ferrari and instead you got an Atari," and the chorus starts off with "I wanted love, I got you instead." The music has a cowboy feel to it with touches of dissonance that wink at the listener. A smart disc that continues to impress me. Get it now. www.jodijett.com

Babes indeed! Seems Casia cannot only belt them out with her pipes, but she has done time in mags like Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Her hair is fire red, and her eyes look green (though it's hard to tell from her website), and man, she's easy on the eyes and ears. Did I mention this is a heavy-metal disc? The guitars are loud and way out front, almost burying poor Casia's vocals, but she does manage to cut through. At times her voice reminds me of Deborah Harry, solid and forceful. She needs to be. The guitar work on this disc is unrelenting, almost a lesson in metal chording, riffing, and leads. The bass and drums are just as bold, and the whole band is mixed way on the heavy side, enough so that it gets to be a bit of an annoyance. But it's a small price to pay. "Without Love," the disc's closing song is a powerful head-banging number featuring Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard on lead. Here, Casia evinces shades of Pat Benatar when once again her vocals go from a whisper to a wail. As always, it's nice to see a female rocker, and Casia does it with style. www.cashcasia.com

This energetic trio from Brooklyn is such a breath of fresh air. Far from the slickly produced and formulaic sounds that pelter the airways, these lads have followed, as a poet once said, the road less traveled. Guitar chords punch the air, fragments of notes punctuate, slice, and cut their way to your ears. A frenetic rhythm section pummels at times, roughing up your head, or calms down before the next crash. As opposed to mainstream bands like the Buzzcocks or PIL were in their heyday, ATA brandishes their songs more as devices of assault rather than poetic numbers about lost love or other nostalgic treatises. On "The Runaway," for example, guitarist/vocalist Brendan McDermott sings, "When I come back around please stay out of my path, I can't think with the sound of your breath." You'd think it was a lost love song, except he closes with, "I know she's a runaway, a lunatic gone astray. What happened to my runaway? The poor girl lost her way." Bassist Andrew Lanza and drummer Jason Bennett provide a solid background for their frontman. On "Smoke and Mirrors," the pair establishes a funky rock feel before McDermott enters with an Adrian Belew-like chord shimmer. More punk than most bands who call themselves punk, and deserving of a listen. www.andthisarmy.com

The picture on the press sheet shows a girl with a bit of a sneer, looking like a librarian. Yeah, that's my take. And behind her is her band, looking disinterested, as if they're about to go over the Dewey Decimal system one more time. So with a bit of trepidation I pop in the CD, and sheaah, this ain't no librarian singing, at least not the ones I've met in my lifetime. Over rising guitar chords comes the voice, a kind of folky Natalie Merchant, but clearer, with no inflections, and behind her the band is establishing an ethereal, airy environment. Around the minute mark she starts playing with the words, twisting them ever so slightly, but with restraint; again at a minute and a half, she bends them again, and you know her pipes are no fluke. A check of the website shows, yep, she's trained, and it shows. On "Everything Is Free," Pronsky exhibits more of her vocal talent, playing with words and time, stretching syllables and tone while behind her the band shifts over chords. There's a cleanness to the disc, due to the production, no muddiness, and that helps the songs along. Each instrument can be heard, yet none dominate. The feel reminds me of early Joni Mitchell stuff, and that's a good place to be. www.rebeccapronsky.com

Holy hair metal, Batman! Well, that was my first thought when I caught a glimpse of the photo inside the jewel case. My next thought was about hair-care products and costs, but my brain is a bit burnt, so don't get too upset. The good news is, well, if you like rock and roll old-school style, verse/chorus/verse/chorus/lead-guitar solo etc., then you're in luck. Yes, I said, "lead-guitar solo," just like the good old days. After all, the reason many kids picked up a guitar was not to play chords, but to play leads, to make the pained faces, to flick picks at the crowd, the whole nine yards. Deadly Weapon play rock in that old-school vein, and they do it well. Kind of a cross between Kiss and Dio, the music is a tad on the dark side, but immediately accessible. And while I try to think if there is a market for this type of rock at the moment, "Thunder in the Midnight" is playing in the background, and the lead takes off and reminds me of Ace Frehley, and I think, yeah, hell yeah, I'd go see these guys. You won't find ear-stretching pyrotechnics like Satriani or Vai, but you will come across licks from the canon of rock, and for me, at least, I just gotta smile. www.deadlyweapon.org