‘I Am Here’ by Andrea Szirbik: Everything about singer-songwriter Andrea Szirbik’s debut album is endowed with warmth and feeling, like a toasty woodstove in a rustic log cabin. She sings with understated emotion, bestowing her simple, acoustic folk melodies with the power to linger in your psyche for hours.

The Dover-based singer and guitarist first recorded the songs on “I Am Here” for the 2011 RPM Challenge, but has remixed and mastered the CD. Although Szirbik has been performing for upwards of a decade, this is her first full-length effort.

The opening strings of “Change Is Good” quickly rope in the listener with a fresh, infectious melody. The song introduces Szirbik’s strong and distinctive voice, which somehow simultaneously manages to sound both girlish and mature.

The album features Joe Harding on bass, Jon Briggs on banjo and Matt Young on mandolin, with Chris Guzikowski adding sparse electric guitar work. Kevin Weiler pitches in elegant piano on “No Fear” and “Rosemary,” while Peter Connell plays acoustic guitar on “Springtime” and “Things to Share.”

Outside of an appearance by drummer Mike Thornhill on “Things to Share,” the disc includes little drumming. But it often adds subtle percussive touches to great effect, like the rhythmic sound of splashing water in “Puddle Jumper.”

The title track “I Am Here (Bryan’s Song),” is dedicated to Szirbik’s late cousin, with whom she originally planned to record her RPM disc. It’s a touching tribute that reminds us of the lasting presence of loved ones we’ve lost.

“Listen for my life in your life / Listen for my life in the life that you live / I live on, I am here,” Szirbik sings.

“Springtime” is an endearing highlight of the disc, with an irresistible guitar melody and verdant vocals that blossom like an early spring crocus. Each song features a faintly altered mood, from the urgent drama of “The Winter Song” to the ethereal sibilance of “Where the Tide Meets the Shore.”

The album ends with an upbeat bonus track sung entirely in Spanish and concluding with a spine-tingling looped harmonization of the word “ring.”

Visit www.reverbnation.com/listentoandrea.

‘Gypsy Heart’ by Featherscale: Featherscale consists of four local hard rockers with an unabashed fondness for witchcraft, wizardry and Irish mythology. It all feeds into their new album, “Gypsy Heart,” a fun and well-crafted recording of serious adventure rock.

The band’s core foursome includes Michael Dolan on vocals, guitar and keyboards; Amber Meagher on drums and percussion; Tim Clark on guitar; and Justin Hunt on bass. Robert McClung bolsters the sonic texture with key contributions on mandolin, violin and flute, and Jenna Greene provides backing vocals.

Dolan started the band for the 2009 RPM Challenge, recording “Topaz Stars in a Violet Sky” in February of that year. He decided the band deserved further attention and has now released a clean and solid follow-up.

It begins with “Invocation,” which roars to life with heavy guitar chords, like an ’80s hair metal anthem with a Tolkien-esque twist. From the beginning, the band delivers an authentic rock experience that sounds perfectly sincere and professional without taking itself too seriously.
The title track comes next, and it’s easily the album’s best offering. A buoyant, Celtic-sounding guitar riff is decorated with McClung’s deft flute and mandolin work, while Dolan sings of the rivers, mountains and skies that beckon him forth.

“King for a Day” and “Song of Brighid” have a more mystical aura, while “Galilee” is the album’s slowest (and longest) ballad.

“Chapel Perilous” brings a sprightly Celtic punk sound to the equation. Beginning with a raucous battle cry, “The Ballad of Thomas Meagher” is another punkish number that also serves as an exultant drinking song.

“I’ll drink and drink and drink and drink and then I’ll drink some more / and when I’ve had enough to drink, I’ll fight your bloody war / I’ll drink till I’m invincible, and fight until they yield / and then we’ll drink to celebrate and pass out on the field.”

The disc also includes an indulgent, Irish-infused, rawking-good cover of the old standard, “House of the Rising Sun” (which returns later as a secret bonus track). It ends fittingly with the magical send-off of “Hail and Farewell.”

Visit www.featherscale.com.