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Imagine a song recorded by Morrissey, written by The Everly Brothers and produced by Roy Orbison, and that should provide some idea of what to expect from "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the lusciously arranged single from Richard Hawley's Lady's Bridge.

The trio triggers the mood of both rustic Appalachian mountain settings and stylish basement coffeehouses. Tempering the song with bleary-eyed sadness, the sparse lyrics convey a lot with very little.

The Hold Steady might just be the best bar band in America. With its riff-heavy mixture of classic rock and Craig Finn's lyrically dense storytelling, the group crafts intricately detailed musical universes that have already made it a critical darling and fan favorite.

Not content with musical convention, Chris Garneau restricts his soft voice to starts and stutters, as if it refuses to leave his lips. At its most fluttery, it brings to mind the likes of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens, but Garneau breaks free of easy comparisons in "First Place!!!"

Provo Utah's pop duo Adam and Darcie have a distinct musical chemistry that involves the use of layered harmonies to produce warm, gentle pop. Traveling from California to Massachusetts, the group managed to record some very likeable songs without the use of any studio tricks.

Miranda Lambert's album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is appealingly nervy and dark — never more so than on its crackling opener, "Gunpowder and Lead," which outlines the tale of a woman lying in wait for her abusive boyfriend, shotgun in hand.

In the past, Eisley has made music characterized by an off-center sway that's all about being overcome: by the moment, the emotion, the music. But Combinations and the song "Taking Control" are about overcoming, with a newfound directness and heaviness.

For the last 10 years, guitarist Ben Chasny has been recording as Six Organs of Admittance, lacing passionate and largely instrumental guitar-ragas with shorter passages that hint at a gift for simple, direct melodies. "Shelter from the Ash" pushes prettiness to the fore.

Hear a performance by Rice, who strikes a balance between independent and mainstream pop, drawing on the likes of Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, The Band, Joni Mitchell, and Gram Parsons. Further North feels more rough-hewn than the dramatic psychedelic pop of his debut.

Though it's set in the bygone pre-Sexual Revolution era of 1962, British novelist Ian McEwan says his latest book, about a disastrous wedding night, still manages to connect with a younger generation of readers.

Atop atmospheric sound beds that often conjure spaghetti Westerns, Taylor Kirk's dusky croon can seem seductive, inviting and, when he prefers, deeply creepy.

The Montreal singer-songwriter's brain seems to overflow with wise and exacting ways to reflect on the way hearts work.

Austin indie-pop trio leans into the sparseness, delivering harmonies, atmosphere and hooks that are more universal than musical.

Hear the Paris native merge the oldest instrument, the human voice, with a palette of colorful electronic sounds, applied with a painter's touch.

Even as the world falls around the black-metal band's shifting song, there's nuance at play.

Quilt is a perfect name for a band whose every song seems to knit together three distinct tunes. Its spirited and casual second album makes a great first impression, of the kind that almost inevitably leads to many more.

In a nostalgic love song produced by SHE, the 22-year-old London rapper opts for an atypically airy, emotional vocal delivery.

"Dead Mantra" always returns to its core sentiment: that "he who fears death cannot enjoy life."

Earle's "Look the Other Way" is a funky evocation of misery — blues for driving with the top down.

"Fantasy Friend Forever" could one day enslave nations by dint of its sheer infectiousness.