‘Let Come What May’
by Skamasutra

The title track of Skamasutra’s new disc sounds very much like a Mighty Mighty Bosstones tune, except with more polished vocals replacing Dicky Barrett’s raucous growl. The Exeter indie band accurately replicates all the hyper reggae guitar riffs, New Orleans brass accompaniment and bouncing beats and rhythms of quintessential ska, rapidly shimmying through eight original songs and one cover.

Ryan Montbleau Band: ‘Patience on Friday’

Now a familiar face in the Boston area music scene, Ryan Montbleau has definitively established his voice with his second official full-band release, “Patience on Friday.” The 14-track album is an explosion of musical output, spouting forth with a seemingly inexhaustible fountain of rapid, rhyming lyrics and instrumental zest.

Unlike Montbleau’s earlier solo acoustic albums, “Patience” brings in a formidable cast of hired guns to heighten the instrumental craftsmanship surrounding the songwriter’s original compositions. At the heart of it all is Montbleau’s voice, a fresh confluence of urban and rural heritage, combining Stevie Wonder’s funky and soulful range with Ray LaMontagne’s folky, earthy tone.

‘Coalesce’
by Pondering Judd

Pondering Judd finished tracking its latest release on Oct. 16 and rapidly turned around a fresh CD, “Coalesce.” The album title references the band’s growth into a tightly knit group of highly compatible musicians. The members have achieved a sense of unity and confidence that makes the recording sound as professional as anything you’ll find at Tower Records, and their devoted local following will surely rejoice in the new disc.

Audrey Ryan
‘Dishes & Pills’

Originally from Bar Harbor, Maine, indie singer/songwriter Audrey Ryan has toured the nation 15 times since 2004. Now living in the Boston area, she has also toured in Europe and is signed to UK label Folkwit Records. With her second full-length album, “Dishes & Pills,” she brings energy, creativity and enhanced life experience to the table.

TrapJaw Affiliates: ‘TrapJaw Affiliates, Vol. 1’

Jay Broyer, “The Sound of U”    

Roundhouse 

Scalawag
Wheel on Steel
self-released
Manchester can seem a bit like a musical black hole unless you’re a big fan of metal and hardcore (in which case it’s the place for you!). Scalawag is a bit of an alien in that aggressive scene, favoring a more laid back, song-oriented rootsy/jam sound that appeals to folks who like good songwriting, yet prefer electric guitars to a coffeehouse acoustic style.

Avant garde double bass playing singer-songwriter Nat Baldwin is currently on a 30-plus date national tour which will land the singer on both coasts before it’s over. Baldwin is on the road in support of his latest release for the local indie label Broken Sparrow, “Enter the Winter.” Along for the ride are the like-minded Dirty Projectors, who employ Baldwin on bass as well. “Enter the Winter,” recorded under the watchful eye of Djim Reynolds’ “Estate” recording facility, keeps Baldwin’s bowed double bass and haunting vocal work in the forefront on Baldwin’s left-of-center indie folk. While his previous work was more sparsely adorned, this CD takes on some drums and horns, as well as a percussion driven foray or two into out-there jazz.

Full-time enrollment as drummer in his brother’s contemporary folk outfit (the up-and-coming Mammals, currently on tour with Arlo Guthrie), has not kept Chris Merenda  from recording and releasing a follow-up to his 2003 solo debut, “The Regimen.” While Merenda’s first effort was a genre-jumping affair, with a rather motley grouping of songs held together by power of his brash J. Mascis-inspired yowl, “Hello Freedom” proves the songwriter is beginning to land. 

New EPs from The Press, Funkfoot and New Shoes deliver clever rhymes, swanky rhythms and artful songwriting. 

When the band Mating Dance started playing at last week’s open-air Tong, many in the crowd lining Pleasant Street were confused. The band’s faces were obscured by paint and masks. The drum set was cobbled together with a bucket and silver buffet pan and the saxophone seemed strangely out of tune. Their set started abruptly, with a metal pail being dragged across the ground. They looked and sounded like a hastily assembled garage band in a Bill Burroughs novel. Between songs, there was some hesitant clapping. Was the song over? When did it even start?

As you might have guessed, guitarist and singer Lex Romaine and saxophonist Joe Riillo’s latest release, Live at the Chicory House, documents the veteran swing and blues duo’s grade-A live show. The album, recorded earlier this year at a nightclub in Lex’s hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Penn., does well capturing the pair’s affable and easy repartee, which they’ve honed during their 27-year musical affiliation (they go, officially, by the friendly shorthand Lex & Joe).