Old Faces, New Names.

Today it's two releases from artists we've featured before under a different name:

The Buzz-Got Me Runnin' EP. The Buzz is the latest project from Washington DC popper J. Forte, whom we last heard from as The Secret Pop Band a few years back and also has recorded under his own name as well as with Ape House. As The Buzz, Forte gives us an excellent 4-song EP that meshes well with his past work, with the title track a spare yet melodically rocking winner and the "Hey Beatles" finds him calling on the Fab Four for inspiration. And you don't have to be Canadian to enjoy the midtempo "Sweet Manitoba". A release worth buzzing about, and a shoo-in for the top 10 year-end EP list.

CD Baby | iTunes



Hall of Ghosts-A Random Quiet. Hall of Ghosts is the solo debut of the UK's Jim Williams, who is more likely known to you as the frontman of Popicana purveyors Additional Moog, whose Thirty-Three & Third was a real standout several years back. Williams doesn't stray too far from his old sound on this 8-track mini-CD which will appeal to fans of The Jayhawks and Wilco. The opener "Bye Bye, Big Blue", in particular, has a real Gary Louris feel to it, and "Giant Water" recalls Joe Pernice's work in the Scud Mountain Boys. And the upbeat "We Are Finally Happy for Standing Still" has the melodic charm of tracks like "El Guiro" from his Additional Moog days. A definite claimant for the title of melodic Americana album of the year to date.

CD Baby | iTunes