St. Louis band the Jungle Fire comes into its own garage funk own with "Brothers and Sisters," a collective cry for justice and a declaration of pride -- all set to monster bass, tough flute (yes, it's possible) and a whole lot of soul.

With a sultry delivery and a slamming beat, Xenia Rubinos' new track "Hair Receding" melds hard, experimental rock and Afro-Caribbean sounds into something deeply felt and wholly original.

The current deluge of electronic-pop music can make distilling the fine nectar from the saccharine cliches a challenge. Advice: sip from the pop-craft of "Berlin Lovers" by Still Corners (aka Greg Hughes and Tessa Murray) and you'll know just how satisfying and evocative electro-pop can be.

Opening with charming, almost twee modesty, "Bird Years" by Plaid Dragon, a band from Springfield, Mo. featuring singer Inge Chiles, takes to the wing with glockenspiel, playful vocal counterpoint and a bracing theme of physical and emotional rebirth.

There's no denying it: Some songs just cry out summer, and so it is with Treetop Flyers' "Things Will Change," a rhythmically flaring, sun splash of pure jangle and harmonies.

A stirring melody, a call to new beginnings: "Nothing Arrived" by Villagers finds singer and songwriter Conor O'Brien rising above any indie folk labels.

Formerly known as the Majestic Snails, Austin, Texas band the Gorgeous Hands, featuring brothers Chris and Rusty Galis, get off to a fine power-pop start with the catchy single "Desperate Mainstream."

Creamy and dreamy, the latest from Little Boots -- aka UK songwriter, singer and DJ Victoria Christina Hesketh -- leads listeners on an ambient electropop journey down the "Motorway."

"You can't plan every piece," sings Grant Olney on the new single "Not From Body," but the tough puzzle of learning to love and getting fitful glimpses of peace all falls into place.

Framed as a seductive duet and swaying like a gypsy waltz, "Whim" by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based songwriter Aly Tadros puts an eerie yet wry spin on an age-old tale of seduction and unrequited desire.