Panda BearTomboy (Paw Tracks)Baltimore native Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear) specializes in expansive soundscapes buttressed by sturdy minimalism and sunny melodies. In fact, he’s perfected that...
Red SammyA Cheaper Kind of Love Song (self-released)Red Sammy's Adam Trice played a handful of these songs solo at The Windup Space in April, with just an acoustic guitar and a hushed desperation...
Wye OakCivilian (Merge)Is Civilian destined to be 2011’s Teen Dream? That breakout CD catapulted Beach House—Baltimore’s other celebrated dream-pop/indie-rock duo—to international acclaim, and this...
Celebration, Felicia Carter & Amy Shook, and Skull Defekts
CelebrationHello Paradise (Friends)After releasing two discs on a well-known indie imprint (4AD) with major distribution, Celebration split from the label and began posting its music online. Over the...
ArbouretumThe Gathering (Thrill Jockey)When I first heard Arbouretum had brought a keyboardist into the fold, I groaned at the prospect. Over the course of its three previous discs, the band had been...
The BridgeNational Bohemian (Woodberry Records/Thirty Tigers)These local roots rockers smartly enlisted Los Lobos's Steve Berlin to produce this CD. Although The Bridge is blessed with two excellent...
Philip GlassViolin Concerto No. 2: The American Four Seasons (Orange Mountain Music)Glass wrote this concerto for violinist Robert McDuffie, who had encouraged the composer to write a companion piece...
Marc RibotSilent Movies (Pi)Ribot's recent solo show at An die Musik was a stunning display of virtuosity, imagination, and ingenuity. Though he's primarily known as an A-list sideman for the likes...
Chester River Runoff, Crack the Sky, and The Marsalis Family
Chester River RunoffBlue Heron Farm (Crumptone)This Chestertown-based bluegrass band plays with a frayed edge that contrasts favorably with the lightning fast precision that’s often associated with...
Kermit RuffinsHappy Talk (Basin Street)Look out Wynton Marsalis, there’s a new public face of American jazz, and he’s a charismatic trumpeter, too. A founder of New Orleans’s legendary Rebirth Brass...
