Dutch multi-instrumentalist and producer Jacco Gardner's debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, offers a fresh take on the baroque pop sound of the 1960s.

Formed in 2008, Pickwick members Galen Disston, Michael and Garrett Parker, Cassady Lillstrom, Alex Westcoat, and Kory Kruckenberg forged a path toward neo-soul and in 2011 released a compilation of music from three of their EPs.

An active musician since 2006, John Murry is clearly climbing the social recognition ladder in the music industry with the upcoming March 5 release in the U.S of his critically acclaimed album The Graceless Age. The album is already available abroad.

With roots in Texas and operations in New York, up and coming post-punk band Parquet Courts is covering all the bases to make a bigger name for itself. The group’s first full-length album Light Up Gold is now available everywhere from Calgary to Yokohama, and the refreshingly raw ‘70s punk vibes throughout the record have it spreading quickly.

Since its formation in 2006, Hey Marseilles has defied easy categorization, drawing from jazz, folk, and indie pop to craft an ornate sound uniquely its own. In fact, Hey Marseilles’s sound includes symphonic cello, drumbourine, accordion, and viola in addition to the standard lineup of guitar, bass, and drums.

If you like reggae music inspired by the sound systems that roam Jamaica pumping out the vibes, you will like The Lions. In 2007, a dozen or so reggae and soul artists met in Los Angeles, California and, somehow or other, developed the band The Lions.

Folk-pop trio, Star & Micey is made up of Cosby (guitar and vocals), Geoff Smith (bass, vocals, and percussion), and Nick Redmond (electric guitar and vocals). The folk pop trio’s debut album, Star & Micey, came out in October of 2009.

Growing up in one of the most remote, backwater towns in South Carolina, KaiL Baxley is attempting to captivate listeners around the world with his upcoming album Heartstroke/The Wind and The War (Forty Below Records) on February, 2013. Categorized as a blues artist who intersects his musical style with alternative beats and hip-hop rhythms, Baxley offers a unique and fresh perspective to his music. In his small town of Williston, South Carolina, Baxley was raised in the iconic James Brown’s home town. Having interacted with the legend on numerous occasions when he was younger, Baxley attributes a significant portion of his success to Brown for inspiring him to share his music with the world. Interestingly, an accomplished amateur boxer in his youth, Baxley started his musical career after receiving a guitar, from his godfather, for his high school graduation present.

Author Henry Miller was famous for creating his own genre of literature out of many preexisting ones. Similarly, musical group The Henry Millers creates a unique sound combining several popular genres: indie rock, electronica, dance, and gospel. The band resides in New York City and consists of five members: John McCallum on vocals/synth/guitar, Katie Schecter on guitar and vocals, Philip Nuttle on bass, JJ Lindenthal on piano/organ/ synth, and Dan Kirschen on drums. The quintet draws influence from a range of artists, from The Beatles and David Bowie to Modest Mouse and The Smashing Pumpkins. McCallum is responsible for writing the majority of the group’s music.

Leagues is truly in a league of its own. The Nashville trio – consisting of vocalist Thad Cockrell, guitarist Tyler Burkum, and percussionist Jeremy Lutito – produces, in their own words, ethereal joy explosions of pop and rock quite unlike that of their contemporaries. This is due largely in part to the band’s approach to songwriting and overall idea of musicianship. Cockrell, Burkum, and Lutito are inspired by songs rather than artists. Thus, their own songs are crafted with that same intention: to inspire others in a unique way. The band’s self-titled EP, released in 2011, garnered much praise and recognition for this philosophy. Leagues’ debut full-length album You Belong Here, set to be released January 29, hopes to have a similar reaction.