I recently stumbled upon a young singer/songwriter named Pete Molinari, and was instantly floored. His bio describes him as a young country blues genius, and compares him to the likes of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Patsy Cline. Pretty audacious, but I’ve got to say I agree.

Molinari’s voice takes a little getting used to, just like Dylan’s. But once you get over his nasally falsetto and take in the overall feel of the music, you’ll wonder how a young Maltese/Italian/Egyptian man from the U.K. can sound so much like an American folk singer from the 1960’s. The influences Molinari cites are from another time, ranging from Jack Kerouac to John Coltrane to Johnny Cash. And they all come through in his harmonica-laden acoustic tunes.

His latest album, A Virtual Landslide, was just released a couple weeks ago on Damaged Goods Records and is already one of the standout records of the year. While I wasn’t able to find any free MP3’s, there are plenty of songs to stream on his website or his MySpace page. In the meantime, check out video versions of my two favorite tracks off the new album, “Sweet Louise” and “I Don’t Like the Man I Am.” Both are phenomenal. I suggest you pour yourself a Newcastle and spend some time with Pete Molinari.

You’ve got to admit it, HearYa has been bringing it lately. Ever since the Amy Winehouse post that prompted an outcry from a vocal portion of the HearYa nation, there have been some really good posts. Top-notch free tracks and posts about bands like Glossary, Ben Sollee, Delta Spirit, Felice Brothers, and Princeton have capped off what I think is one of the best weeks I’ve seen and heard on the site. This week should be no different, starting off with Elliot BROOD, The Big Sleep, AA Bondy, and I might have the icing on the cake (or “the crown on Amy Winehouse’s molar”) with The Helio Sequence’s new album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

The Helio Sequence may not win an Album of the Year Grammy such as past winners The Dixie Chicks, Celine Dion, Rob Thomas, or Amy Winehouse, but I can tell you one thing - You won’t be ashamed to say you bought the album 5 or 10 years from now. Heck, it’s been a whopping 4 years since their last album, Love and Distance, but even that record still holds up better than the scaffolding that holds up Aretha Franklin’s breasts.

Apparently the 4-year layoff was due to lead vocalist/guitarist Brandon Summers’ vocal problems. He was hitting the whiskey a little too hard while on tour back in 2004, and had to be relegated to complete silence during the day in order to save his voice for live shows at night. He would have been verrrry tough to beat at “the quiet game.”

But Summers’ and bandmate Benjamin Weikel are back and better than ever. In their latest effort, Keep Your Eyes Ahead, The Helio Sequence takes you on a meandering daydream of folk-inspired pop tunes. From the quiet finger-picking on “Broken Afternoon,” to the more jubilant, foot-tapping “Hallelujah,” The Helio Sequence confidently shows off their range here. It’s the perfect background music for a quiet Saturday morning, or a windows-down drive through the city on a sunny day.

My favorite tracks would have to be the head-nodding “Can’t Say No,” the dreamy “Lately,” and my favorite of all, “Hallelujah”. I’ve also included a great track off their previous album, “Everyone Knows Everyone.” Enjoy!

MySpace

The Helio Sequence - Hallelujah

The Helio Sequence - Everyone Knows Everyone

I have a buddy named Stanimal Shampton that used to love being asked the question, “What’s your favorite kind of beer?” He’d always respond with “free”. He also tried to light me on fire once and adores cheese. At HearYa.com, we make it a point to live by Stan’s mantra. Unfortunately, free beer is tough to provide over the World Wide Internet Superhighway, so we’ve replaced the word “beer” with “music.” You’re in for a treat today, because we found more than just a sampling. We found an entire album. And it’s really dang nab good.

I recently stumbled across a band out of Murfreesboro, TN called Glossary. Cool name, but I’ve gotta be honest - It evokes memories of 8^th grade health class. There were some weird things in the glossary of that class’s textbook. I remember having to look up terms like “jaundice, ““uterus,” and “chancre” and later being thoroughly tested on those terms. It was weird and it scared the crap out of me.

Anyway, this Glossary band is really, really, ridiculously good, providing a southern/indie rock sound better than any I’ve heard in a long while. Their latest album, entitled The Better Angels of Our Nature, is a glorious romp through the beer-soaked watering holes of the south. Great guitars, great vocals, and great lyrics. I’m calling it now: Woody will gleefully wet himself over this album. There isn’t a weak track on the entire thing.

And best of all, the entire album is available for FREE (!) download now through Glossary’s site. I highly encourage you to give it a d-load, but keep in mind Glossary was nice enough to put this out there for FREE. Throw these guys a bone – buy the album, see them live, or hit up iTunes and purchase some of their earlier work, which also sounds great.

Standout tracks on The Better Angels of Our Nature include “Almsgiver,” “Gasoline Soaked Heart,” “Blood on the Knobs,” and my personal favorite “Little Caney.”

Glossary is also touring with Drive-By Truckers in March. Get there.

Glossary - Little Caney

Glossary - Almsgiver

I recently purchased Matt Pond PA’s newest album, Last Light, and it’s pretty good. I really enjoyed many of the tracks off of Several Arrows Later and Emblems, but to be honest, I’m having trouble getting into Last Light. It’s definitely not a bad album. In fact, it’s rock solid. I’m sure there are tons of people out there that love it. For me it just won’t take.

It’s difficult for me to place why, but it could be that I don’t walk away from the album feeling anything. Last Light makes me feel like I just ate at Subway – unfulfilled. Like I just spent $7 on a 46 calorie sub with 1 slice of turkey on it, some Baked Lays that taste like drywall, and a Coke that didn’t get filled all the way to the top because it was too foamy. And they only put one measly napkin in the bag.

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some highlights on Last Light and, overall, you can’t go wrong with buying it. I enjoy “First Light”, “Locate the Pieces”, “People Have a Way”, “Taught to Look Away”, and “Sunlight”. It’s a slight departure from some of his older stuff, with more electric guitars and a more straightforward delivery. Again – a solid album, but it probably won’t knock your socks off.

I thought it was interesting the band offers two versions of the catchy song on the album, “Sunlight” – a clean version and the standard version with cursing. The clean version mutes the repetitive f-bomb he drops in the chorus. I don’t know if they muted the f-bomb because they had the audacity to think the song might get played on the radio, or if they thought little kids might be downloading their music. Either way, let’s not carried away here. Last time I checked you’re Matt Pond PA, not Snoop Dogg.

One more thing about “Sunlight” – it sounds eerily like “Ooh La La” by Rod Stewart. I’m irate with myself for thinking that, but even more cross at Matt Pond for forcing me to bring it to light. I dare you to listen to both songs. The resemblance is alarming. (P.S. - I’ve finally reached my HearYa quota on Rod Stewart references.)

I’m really hoping I “pull a Woody” (that came out wrong) and regret my conclusion about this album, similar to what Woody had to say about ’07’s Kings of Leon album. Only Time will tell.

Matt Pond PA on MySpace

Matt Pond PA - Sunlight Video