It was a fantastic week for new music. The content was diverse and of excellent quality. I usually listen to the whole show before it airs and I listened to this grouping three times. Well, let’s climb inside and give it a road test.

I opened the show with Boston area folk singer/songwriter Kris Delmhorst. In making this album Kris locked herself away in a rural cabin. She had minimal recording gear and a house full of instruments. What she came up with is a fine effort indeed. The album is titled SHOTGUN SINGER and it holds some fine folk tunes, like “To The Wire” and “Birds Of Belfast.” But she also reaches in to the Triple A realm with the really catchy “1000 Reasons.” Check it out for yourself on her myspace page.

Coming in now with an alternative folk style is the new disc from AA Bondy. The double A stands for Auguste Arthur. He was the former frontman of an Alabama grunge band, Verbena. Verbena went through several band changes until its demise in 2003. Bondy then retreated to his Catskills home in Upstate New York and began writing songs again but with an indie-folk sound. It’s been a good change for him. Check out this track, “Lover’s Waltz” from the album AMERICAN HEARTS.

Keeping in the folk-ish vein is with an evolving band from Irvine, CA, they are called Thrice. They started in the Post-Hardcore and experimental rock style but with the release of part two of the ALCHEMY INDEX: VOL 3 & 4, they are delving into the alternative folk genre. That may tick off fans of their early work but I found this track quite inventive and refreshing, it’s called “The Earth Isn’t Humming.” You can sample this track on their myspace page.

Last night, as my lineage, I played the Weepies, who are Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. They both started their pop folk careers as solo artists but they met at Tannen’s concert in Boston while he was supporting his debut, Big Señorita. They ended up being admirers of each other’s work and started writing songs together immediately, and soon the Weepies were born. In 2003 they issued the eight-song EP, Happiness, and two years later were signed to Nettwerk. The new album, HIDEAWAY, is technically their sophomore release and it has flavors of their previous work and touches of new territory. Let’s get you started with “Takes So Long.” As the second song of the lineage I played “A Painting By Chagall,” which is one of my personal favorites.

Moving to the diverse side of the show is the new release from Rupa And The April Fishes. Now, I have to admit this is a funny name. Rupa Marya fronts the band, writes and sings. She’s a triple threat. The Fishes apparently change with some frequency. Rupa refers to her style as “musica sin fronteras.” Which literally means music without boundaries. With this, I do agree. It is genre defying. The new album EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION pulls from all her backgrounds. She is of Indian decent, lived in the US, France and India. The song I picked for you tonight is called “Maintenant” and it has the feel to it that it would fit well in a movie soundtrack. See what you think, it’s the first track on their myspace site.

I also had the chance to play a track from the new Dianne Reeves CD. The new disc is WHEN YOU KNOW and I chose “Today Will Be A Good Day.” Ms. Reeves is probably best known as a vocalist. And nine of the ten songs are covers, some of which are quite familiar. Like “Lovin’ You,” made famous by Minnie Ripperton, and “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations. However, Ms. Reeves penned “Today Will Be A Good Day” and she credits her Mother as coining the sentiments of the refrain. She should write more.

Not to be slighted by any means by this order of artists, check out the new album from the Kooks. . They named themselves after the song on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory. The boys met while attending Brighton Music College in the mid-2000s. Each shared a liking for the Police, the Strokes and the Everly Brothers. That sounds just about right. The new disc is called KONK and I featured trace number one, “See The Sun.”

Last one, that I’m writing about is the oh-so familiar voice of James McMurtry. On the new disc, JUST US KIDS, he gets quite political, which is easily picked up on the track “Cheney’s Toy.” But politics asides, McMurtry is a talented lyricist and he paints a vivid picture with his songs. I fancied “Hurricane Party” and I could see it getting some serious airplay.

There were other selections as well and I will list them:

Griffin House “Live To Be Free” FLYING UPSIDE DOWN

Hilary McRae “Let’s Stop” THROUGH THESE WALLS

Anna Ternheim “To Be Gone” HALFWAY TO FIVEPOINTS

When all the shows songs are played in context, it sounds wonderful. Send me an email if you’d like the actual song order. I designed it sonically for flow and consistency.

Speaking of flow and consistency, check out my new compilation CD – The Uptown Blues Party, Vol.1. It’s available on CD Baby. Buy it. Help out a struggling artist. ;^)