The Luna Moth, Speak Destination (1/5, self-released, thelunamoth.com): Clocking in at just under 35 minutes, this three-song EP is best suited to be angry elevator music. The nonstop crescendos get lost in a sea of constantly-beating-you-over-the-head trance music that barely breaks yawn-worthy. JW (Thurs., Jan. 5, Chop Suey)
Manooghi Hi, Silence (out now, Mowlawner Records, manooghihi.com): This Seattle rock-and-world-fusion collective's second album is most successful when it blends riffing electric guitars and Indian-inspired chants, led by Bombay native Mehnaz Hoosein's piercing vocals—such as on the opening track, "My Friends," and particularly on the band's dizzying cover of "Kashmir." EKT (Fri., Jan. 20, Crocodile)
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Massiah, "Homage" (out now, self-released, massiah.bandcamp.com): The second single from Massiah's upcoming Welcome to Shadowville mixtape is packed with overly literal rhetoric that might have cut deeper had it come out before MCs like Immortal Technique blew the lid off the niche. He sounds like a genuine guy with a lot to say, though, so we'll check back in. TH
* The Maxines, Drugstore (1/24, K Records, krecs.com): Four songs of super-fuzzed-out garage rock from this Olympia duo, Matt Murillo and Kelly Norman. For just two people, they make a helluva lot of racket, taking turns singing lead vocals and playing fierce and pounding simple riffs. Think equal parts Bikini Kill, the Melvins, and White Stripes. DAVE LAKE (Sun., Jan. 8, Rendezvous)
* OC Notes, Emerald City Sequence (out now, self-released, emeraldcitysequence.blogspot.com): The Seattle studio wizard returns with a conceptual audio-visual treat: He puts his own twist on the 1978 Afro-celebratory Wizard of Oz remake The Wiz. Notes can do no wrong. TH (Tues., Jan. 10, Neumos)
Out Like Pluto, Take Over (1/10, The James Polk Shuffle Music, outlikepluto.com): A fun pop-punk effort fronted by female vocalist Kari Tarr, though the smidgen of anger and attitude on songs like "Rocco" and "Bridge" plays a lot like Taylor Swift would if she wore Converse and listened to Simple Plan. JW (Fri., Jan. 13, King Cat Theater)
* Gregory Paul, The Fremont Abbey Sessions (out now, self-released, gregpaul.com): The hiss of analog tape and the cavernous natural reverb of Fremont Abbey adds a layer of pathos to Gregory Paul and Holly Merrill's transcendent harmonies, lending an old-school air to Paul's already classic songwriting. JMG
* qp, Go Dum (1/17, Car Crash Set, carcrashset.com): qp's bass track is both more engagingly hollowed-out and more rhythmically hyperactive than the hyphy to which it nods. Remixes from Car Crash don Ill Cosby to Seattle expat Jerry Abstract. ERIC GRANDY
Quickie, "Phoenix Jones" (out now, self-released, quickietheband.com): Quickie's homage to our local man in tights is beyond-polished pop-punk, so commercial that it gives you the feeling that at any moment they may bust out some tips to improve your credit score. MDL (Sat., Jan. 14, Comet Tavern)
Red Jacket Mine, "Poplar Bluff" (out now, self-released, redjacketmine.bandcamp.com): This Seattle rock-and-soul trio's genial new single boasts easy, mellow instrumentation, a compelling chorus, and—the sharpest arrow in the band's quiver—frontman Lincoln Barr's sweet, smooth, and unassuming vocals. EKT
Soul the Interrogator, "Remainder" (out now, self-released, soundcloud.com/soultheinterrogator): Hesitant brag-rap with boring cadences. Skip. TH
Spurm, Spurm 3 (1/14, ggnzla Records, spurm.me): The GGNZLA house band goes out with one last blast of horn-y, strangulated punk spunk (and one Who cover) before label boss TV Coahran and crew split for other projects. Comes as a 5 x 7 flexi-disc postcard. EG
* Sweet Secrets,Color Force (out now, self-released, sweetsecretsband.com): This Seattle six-piece merges the best of their previous two EPs into a debut full-length that gently straddles the line between the sweeping guitar rock of the early '90s (The The, U2) and the lush indie rock of the '00s (Interpol, The National, the Strokes). Roger Lloyd's fluid vocals next to Corey Knafelz's steady percussion inspire comparisons to a range of influences, but the band wholly owns these 12 tracks, blending dreamy song structures, killer guitar hooks, and luscious harmonies into gorgeous pop resonance. GE (Fri., Jan. 13, Skylark Cafe and Club)
Gabriel Teodros, Colored People's Time Machine (1/19, Fresh Chopped Beats/MADK, gabrielteodros.blogspot.com): Like those of onetime bandmate Khingz, each song Teodros writes is an earnest statement that approaches current world issues with a love-first attitude. Though he doesn't balance his good-natured demeanor with cutting lyricism as well as his friend does, his is a positive voice that deserves to be heard. TH (Thurs., Jan. 19, Chop Suey)
Urban Seeds, Grow (out now, self-released, urbanseeds.net): Easygoing, sample-free R&B that alternates between smoothed-out MC rhymes and soulful, reggae-influenced vocals. Not edgy or groundbreaking, but full of solid musicianship. MDL (Fri., Jan. 6, El Corazon)
* Various artists,Coastal Sightings (out now, Cairo Records, templeofcairo.com): Paradoxically, music and art space Cairo is small enough to hold maybe 50 people at a crowded show, but big enough to land on the front page of The Seattle Times. It's the current Velvet Underground of Seattle's DIY scene: a Kool-Aid drunk by only double digits' worth of people—all of whom, however, were inspired to start bands. Cairo Records' annual Expo Festival–accompanying compilation, this year dubbed Coastal Sightings, scans the breadth of that small but fertile scene—from analog electronics and ambient noise (acts like John Oven, Teflon Don, U, White Rainbow, and Secret Colors) to abrasive no-wave punk (Footwork, M.Women, Stickers, Flexions, Stephanie), plus outliers like King Dude's doom folk and Idle Times' garage-rock classicism. It also includes one wonderfully odd, weightless collab between twee poppers Witch Gardens and chillwavers USF—a cross-genre pairing that brings out the best in both and a fine example of the sort of creative dialogue for which Cairo provides space. EG
