Secret Dakota Ring is the homemade indie-pop brainchild of Andy Ross. A candy factory! Symmetrical washes of electric guitars, sweet harmonies and tom-tom rolls. Hitsville chorii aplenty.
DOWNLOAD: "The Fade to Black" from Cantarell (SBR26)

Noisy, sexy indie punk. One pretty guitar, one ugly guitar, one punk bass and one jackhammer drummer. Screaming and whispers from Tina. Chaos collides with beauty and, BANG, you're in love.
DOWNLOAD: "Stranded" from I Can't Sleep Unless I Hear You Breathing (SBR11)

Josh Kaufman makes songs that are hard to forget about. Ultra-melodic, lush, cinema-scope folk-pop about family, life, loss. Tinges of country, Dylan, big hooks.
DOWNLOAD: "Run Away" from Off and Away (SBR16)

A future-world psychedelic party-jam super -partnership. Laptop gurgles and slinky synths joust with beats galore and fuzzy bass in a fast and furious fantasy realm.
DOWNLOAD: "Right Makes Might" from Right Makes Might / Long Shot (SBR17)

American-styled old-school rock and roll. Riff-happy power trio fronted by one shoutin' drunkard. Weird chords. Songs about airlinebottles, Dylanology and giving up on rock and roll.
DOWNLOAD: "Point of Pride" from In Defense of Fort Useless (SBR07)

The Gentlemen deliver original circus-country and dixieland-swing with plectrum banjo, string bass, dueling kazoos, foot percussion, & a triangle. Tight harmonies, matching suspenders, and good old Vaudevillian charm!
DOWNLOAD: "William Howard Taft" from Heavy Petting (SBR 18)

Josh Kaufman and Annie Nero, young and in love, sing sweetly and play like angels.
DOWNLOAD: "Dance Area" from Jack and the Pulpits

When Erik's not playing bass in Cat Power he's making lush, psychedelic pop that goes heavy on happy accidents and ragged soul power.
DOWNLOAD: "The Rococo" Tape" [MP3] from Rococo (SBR40)

Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard and Doug Gillard are Lifeguards.

Old pals who mine the fertile wells of the classic rock. The grooves are slow-burning and good-feeling. The playing is expert and soulful. There are layers of delicious melody tucked in every crevasse.
DOWNLOAD: "Yes I Know" [MP3] from 'Yes I Know' / 'Slap Or Pinch' digital single (SBR21)

Benji Cossa makes sincerely beautiful homemade melodic pop with roots. Classic, mad-genius charm, ragged edges, and other-worldly singing. Direct, joyful, richly detailed music made by a very nice man who enjoys flying a kite.
DOWNLOAD: "Sunset" by Between the Blue and the Green (SBR13)

To-the-point, tuneful, parsed and pared down but high in energy, The Octagon wails it briskly with effect. Sticky, hummable Rock and Roll abandon.
DOWNLOAD: "Suicide Kings" from Arm Brain Heart and Liver (SBR37)

Kickstart carry the true heart of rock'n'roll in their collective chests. They play roaring, contagious pub-anthems about drinking, gambling, rocking, drinking and drinking.
DOWNLOAD: "Harmonica" from Kickstart (SBR12)

Saadi is Boshra al Saadi who previously brought us the bittersweet radio ga-ga thrills of Looker. With this new project, Boshra's agenda is decidedly less rockist but no less catchy, intelligent or complex. You'll hear rhythmically sophisticated, electronically flavored pop of the finest vintage.
DOWNLOAD: "Bad City (Serious Business Remix)" [MP3] from Bad City 12" (SBR42)

The Shangri-Las backed by the Pixies. "One collective stiletto heel in the Brill Building circa 1963 and the other in what used to be CBGB." Put the top down, turn it up, sing along.
DOWNLOAD: "After My Divorce" from After My Divorce / Master's Gone Away (SBR15)