Throughout the 12 tracks on their self-titled debut, Bobby toys with loads of different sounds: slow-building folk on “We Saw,” downbeat pop on “Sore Spores,” jangly precision on “Groggy,” and noisy ambient on “The Shed.” Tones pile on top of tones, thick percussion decants over the harmonies and the vocals stay soft, the constants in a dense world of experimentation.

It’s those vocals, dual male and female voices, which keep everything grounded. Melancholy opener “We Saw” features its title repeated again and again sang atop a rising pyramid of anxious rust and strings, as if its narrators have witnessed the unspeakable and are now left unable to saw any other words. “It’s Dead Outside” could be a sequel to Wilco’s “Radio Cure” with its electric-noise-meets-acoustic rhythm approach. “Shimmychick” squeals like a chipper pop ditty dunked underwater.

BOBBY might come off as rainy-day music, but after a few listens, it becomes sit-on-your-car-and-look-up-at-the-swirling-night-sky music. And the best part? It works whether you’re with someone you really care about or if you’re flying solo. BOBBY harnesses both of those moods into a bulky stew of sound, ready to be ingested by all.

(Partisan Records, 281 N 7th St., #2 Brooklyn, NY 11211)

• Heavy Cream by Leigh Metzler

• Odd Future by Suzi Pratt

• Atari Teenage Riot by Mat Hayward

• Bumbershoot by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Pentagram by Mat Hayward

• Devo by Leigh Metzler

• Peelander-Z by Shahab Zargari

• Yeasayer by Dave MacIntyre

• Amon Tobin\'s ISAM Live by Heather Schofner

• Monotonix by Chad Elder

• Title Fight by Chad Elder

• Occupy Wall Street by Jammi York

• Lily Verlaine Burlesque by Mat Hayward

• The Kills by Cayte Nobles

• Matt and Kim by Suzi Pratt

• Lemuria by Diana Guay

• Dum Dum Girls by Leigh Metzler

• The Joy Formidable by Cayte Nobles

• Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros by Kevin Rafter

• New York Food Film Fest by Ryan Howell

• Primus by Kris Arnold

• Rage Against the Machine by Suzi Pratt

• The Sounds by Cayte Nobles

• Queens of the Stone Age by Cayte Nobles

• Secret Chiefs 3 by Kris Arnold

• Sick of It All by Peter Borghard

• Tamaryn by Timothy McLaughlin

• The Tubes by Mat Hayward

• Dropkick Murphys by Mat Hayward

• The Devil Wears Prada by Elizabeth McClay

• Mirah by Heather Schofner

• The Jukebox Romantics by Peter Borghard

• Wild Flag by Cayte Nobles

• Yelle by Mat Hayward

Check out some of the amazing photography we’ve featured this year! Impressive, to say the least.

On first listen, I thought this was a new side project of Tom Petty (yes, the Tom Petty), as Burke’s vocals are eerily similar to Petty’s singing voice (both outfits are out of Florida, Petty from Gainesville and Burke from Bradenton), with a hint of Bob Dylan thrown in. A majority of the songs on Mergers & Acquisitions tell stories; songs about life on the road, traveling, and days of old.

With Burke’s memorable vocals and the music provided by the backing band — especially with the use of steel guitar provided by Scott Anderson — the album relies on the traditional folk style, but with toe-tapping tunes like “Song of Seven Sisters,” the album cruises along like an Americana road trip through the heart of this nation. This is an all around enjoyable album full of infectiously catchy songs and moving stories beautifully sung by Burke.

(Suburban Home Records, PO Box 40757, Denver, CO 80204)

This album, his fourth solo full-length in this style, features some impressive cameos:  Frank Turner, The Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon, and several members of Lucero.  Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn produced the record.  The guest list is impressive, but it is unclear exactly what contributions each have made.  Overall the record is tonally consistent and the production is crisp.

The record is fine, but it’s kind of depressing.  For certain artist, making downer albums can be incredibly compelling, ensuring that the record will be listened to end-to-end once started.  I don’t get that compulsion with Covering Ground at all.

(Side One Dummy, 1944 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90068)

Now, Jesse Lortz has returned triumphantly with solo project Case Studies and this debut album. Armed with his guitar, a few friends, a secluded cabin, and a head and heart full of nostalgic reminiscences of love found and love lost, he has produced something brilliant. On “My Silver Hand” with the help of a lovely lady, he sings, “I’d like to still be in your bed/but I would settle for your life instead,” with a buoyancy and fragility that is equal parts sorrow and hope. He is a skillful storyteller and waxes poetic on the tribulations of monogamy, the recapitulation of sexual experiences, the fears of loneliness, and the resilience of the human spirit. “You Folded Up My Blanket Like We Were Already Lovers” reads like a personal diary entry, Lortz’s brutal honesty creeping up from the depths of his mind. When he sings, “I’m a long, long, long, long, long, long way from home/and I like it” he sounds as though he is still in the process of convincing himself of his own words.

His guitar playing is powerful and compliments his voice well, playing to the intricacies of both and keeping the whole album simple, with a distinct West Coast vibe that is equal parts wild west barroom bard (“Secrets”, “California Ghost Story”) and flannel-clad secluded northwest poet (“Dagger”, “The Eagle, or The Serpent”). He doesn’t bottle up his words into pretty, consolidated verses but lets his mind go as if he were writing stream of consciousness, his thoughts pouring out naked and pure, his voice harmonizing with pain and pleasure on every track. This refreshing, stripped-down style adds to the complexity of Lortz’s lyrics, and forces the listener to keep coming back, again and again. Reader be warned: you’ll be hooked.

(Sacred Bones, no address provided)

• Solar Fest

• Jon Cleary\'s Philthy Phew

• Jon Cleary\'s Philthy Phew

• Antje Duvekot

• Sarah Lee Guthrie (granddaughter of Woody, daughter of Arlo) & Johnny Irion

Sixteen years ago, SolarFest started with an innovative and original idea: hold a festival showcasing the power and possibilities of solar energy. The 2011 festival featured Antje Duvekot, Sarah Lee Guthrie (granddaughter of Woody, daughter of Arlo) & Johnny Irion, and Jon Cleary’s Philthy Phew, among others.

(Barsuk Records, PO Box 22546, Seattle, WA 98122)

As a whole, Spring Fools is a change in sound from earlier Matt Pond PA work, but isn’t a complete sea change that renders the sound unrecognizable. There’s enough left so that longtime friends of Matt Pond PA will still love it, but the new vibe is enough to open up the sound to new fans. This is a solid EP.

(Altitude Records, 7 West 22 St. Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10010)