Truth and Salvage Co.
Truth and Salvage Co.
(Silver Arrow/Megaforce)

As the first new artists to be released on the Black Crowes' Silver Arrow label, Los Angeles-based rockers Truth and Salvage Co. have delivered a debut EP that bears strong resemblance to its benefactors. However, while the Crowes often display more blues-based yearnings, what you'll find here is straight-up Americana roots rock that harks back to many a golden West Coast summer in the '70s. Rendered by a sextet of musicians with four lead singer-songwriters with North Carolina origins, every song boasts strong vocal harmonies and even stronger Nashville-tinged guitar. There's also understated organ work on the infectious "Call Back," and "Welcome to L.A." has enough twang to make it the best country song you've never heard. If this is just a taste, bring on the full-length.  —Michael Cimaomo

Hoots and Hellmouth
The Holy Open Secret
(MAD Dragon)

Hoots and Hellmouth, in addition to sounding like the name of the strangest sitcom never to have aired, is a sort of retro-acoustic mad romp of a band from Philadelphia. The music swings out of the speakers with slabs of foot-stomping rhythm, an exuberant backdrop for unusual lyrics like, "It's a crust for the mud pie that no one wants to eat," and "Oh, holy night of divination in the jungle of love." The whole endeavor seems like it's going to veer off the tracks, but instead it sustains an energy of uncertain provenance, mixing instrumental surprises with unusually well-delivered lead vocals. The album even takes turns toward flat-out pop, gospel and soul. Whatever this music might get called, it's beautifully crafted stuff, one of the best albums I've heard all year. You can catch them at the Iron Horse Dec. 1. —James Heflin

Darlingside
The January EP
(independent)

Darlingside is certainly a band that's not afraid to show its sensitive side. Its repertoire ranges from gentle ballads to bouncy pop songs, but the scent of innocence is never far from its core, and it's hard for a cynic like me to comment on such a creation without irony. I will say that musically, the former are generally preferable to the latter, providing a better canvas for the plaintive violin parts (the mix's most original feature), and seem more earnestly composed. The snappier numbers, at their best, range from Ben Folds-style melodic movers to, at their worst, Dave Matthews/Los Lonely Boys pop saccharin. There is an attempt at something like hip-hop in here somewhere, though it's more just hinted at than actually busting a full-on rhyme. Though they're local, I honestly would have guessed that this record came out of California.   —Tom Sturm