Title: Society, Secret
Artist: Elevator Action

Review: Elevator Action’s music reflects a British pop influence, yet they rock out the American way. Think David Bowie meets the J. Geils Band with a salute to The Cars. The production is strong with lots of bottom in the mix and a hot guitar sound. The singer’s voice is made for radio.

Title: The Sammies
Artist: The Sammies

Review: The Sammies have cool ’80s pop/rock vocals and a similar sound. Their influences appear to be Simple Minds and Tears for Fears...and that’s a good thing. The production is first class, and the songwriting rocks. The Sammies should be the next band from the Carolinas to make it nationally on the radio.

Title: Cast Straight
Artist: in-V

Review: in-V takes alternative rock in a variety of directions leading off with punk, settling into new rock and throwing in a few surprises along the way. “Wooo!” sounds a lot like early 1980s British pop punk, as does “Unpopular” with a clear nod to Big Country. The band features strong melodic work with driving instrumentation.

Title: Bombadil
Artist: Bombadil

Review: Like the Avett Brothers, Bombadil has succeeded in creating a novel sound that defies categorization. Many of the songs have the feel of Kevin Ayers’ early 1970s work, but the Chickasaw Mud Puppies seem to haunt “Sinister Side” and Leonard Cohen harkens on “La Paz.” The tunes are engaging with pleasant, often unusual, harmonies.

Title: The Gleam/Four Thieves Gone
Artist: The Avett Brothers

Review: Four Thieves Gone from early 2006 signals a new direction for the Avetts. There’s still plenty of the ravegrass that put the band on the map, especially the opening cut, “Talk on Indolence,” but the songwriting moves in new and maturing directions. This album clearly reveals that the Avetts can have staying power. The Gleam, which was released later in the year, is a mellower, more reflective, affair that again explores new territory for the band. Although a fine piece of work, it is not your best introduction to the Avetts.

Title: Straight from the Glass
Artist: Don Eidman

Review: Eidman has released an enticing debut album that draws the listener in with infectious melodies reminiscent of the early Jimmy Buffet and a delivery more akin to Billy Joe Shaver. With a budding political consciousness and a reliance on alcohol for solutions, Straight from the Glass fits neatly on the lost pathway of Americana. “Skywriter” is perhaps the highlight among the album’s many jewels.

Title: Jailhouse Religion
Artist: David Childers & the Modern Don Juans

Review: David Childers’ most recent release, Jailhouse Religion, is his strongest batch of songs yet, combining his ruggedly hoarse voice with some of the band’s rowdiest playing yet. “George Wallace” is one of the best songs Childers has written, proving Childers and his first-rate band are much more than a party band.

Title: From the Bottom
Artist: Rick Spreitzer

Review: From the Bottom confirms that Rick Spreitzer is one of the region’s most gifted songwriters. His songs have the homespun comfort of Steve Earle’s best work, and he couches them with female harmonies and intricate acoustic picking.

Title: CatawbaCity
Artist: Bill Noonan Band

Review: Bill Noonan has long been one of Charlotte’s most influential artists. Since the Rank Outsiders ended, there hasn’t been much to hear from Noonan, but his band’s new album, Catawba City, shows his songwriting remains a rough jewel placed somewhere between Townes Van Zant and the Allman Brothers. The title cut reflects on Charlotte’s growth from a “dirt-track town” to a “playground for the rich and pretty.”

Title: Bourbon and Black Crepe
Artist: Cattletruck

Review: Cattletruck has captured the cowpunk of Uncle Tupelo and sets it in layers of guitar distortion and storytelling that evoke the Drive-By Truckers. These are tales of disintegrating relationships that hit all the harder spots in country rock.

Title: I’ll Be Around for a While
Artist: Daniel Lambert

Review: On Daniel Lambert’s debut album, he shows us that country music doesn’t have to be slick pretty-boy pseudo pop. In fact, it works best with simple arrangements that revive the spirit of “cry in your beer” country blues as Daniel exemplifies in “Reasons for Losing You.”

Title: Backwoods
Artist: Tom Eure

Review: Tom Eure’s voice has clearly matured on his latest release, and the music draws you in like George Jones while exhibiting the passion of Hank Williams. Country songs simply don’t get any better than “Tattered and Torn,” and that is but one of the jewels on this fine collection.

Title: Step Right Up
Artist: The Turnstiles

Review: The Turnstiles offer carefully crafted, multilayered country-inflected pop in the vein of early Wilco and Son Volt. The hooks draw you in and won’t let go; you’ll be humming these tunes for months. From the lyrical stylings of “Catalina” to the rocking “One More Saturday Night,” the album delivers on all levels.

Title: Live 2,3,4,5
Artist: Gigi & the Big Love

Review: Gigi Dover draws on the highlights of her first two CDs in this live setting. You’ll imagine yourself in a smoky lounge enjoying the jazzy-blues of “Blue Lonesome” and “Will I Know Love?” The band’s signature live cut has become its cover of Bobbi Gentry’s “Ode to Bill Joe,” which features extensive sitar work by Eric Leavell.

Title: Live on the Ragged Edge
Artist: Trip Rogers Trio

Review: Trip Rogers is best served live, and on his newest CD he continues to pursue his schizophrenic, yet addictive, live persona, alternating between touching tales of personal engagement (“Hero” and “Curtis”) and humorous reflections on society (“Where’s the Hook” and “New Barbarians”). A particular highlight is Trip’s cover of Bill Withers’ “Use Me.”