Metallic guitar stabs into a flumping cool beat starts “ +x-“ the tune that begins STIMULI’s 11-song release. This heavy Oakland, California-based trio has lots to offer as becomes quite apparent as their self-titled release slowly reveals.

Opening with roiling high-endy tremolo hits (Nicko McBrain’s drums sound like garbage cans they are so metallic) of “The Wicker Man,” hat we have hear is a reissue of Maiden’s 12th studio album, Brave New World. Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith came back to the band to make Maiden a solid six-piece hard rocking outfit once again and here it shows.

A jaunty “Wallflower” opens Lillimure’s self-titled, debut. With its stop and goes, floaty harmony vocals, slipping sly horn work, plus Sam Caldwell’s light tickling keys, the listener is brought head first into what turns out to be quite a dense jazz-pop release.

Too often these days you get deep into a ‘danceable’ record only to lose any real signature artistic essence to too much studio trickery and mined beats. I credit Nao Yoshioka and her long-time producer/manager (and SWEET SOUL RECORDS CEO) Naoki Yamanouchi with having the guts and skill to make each song its own little gem.

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The snappy lead single, “Dark Side,” kicks off Tanya Gallagher’s new EP One Hand On My Heart. There is a fun running fast-to-catch-up to the
kinetic lyric delivery and flicky acoustic, organ, snare interplay here that makes for a neat opening brew. The very effective, “Barren Land,” two songs in,
really showcases Gallagher’s unique laconic pleading. It happens to be the first of the real standouts here, with its wonderful stark production allowing for the true heartache of the vocal breath and dignity. As is true throughout One Hand On My Heart the harmony vocals here are just perfectly placed.

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Dipping back into his history, as he has been want to do lately (as plenty of classic artists have been doing now that they can release stuff easily on the web) Neil Young presents an 11-song live document from highlights of a February 5th 1971 concert he played at the University Of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Dwayne Russell’s piano leading “Find a Way,” was well welcomed by the time it appears four tunes in. It’s a big country-rockin’ ballad, with a sprinkle of Train and a little Bon Jovi, but it’s as strong a tune as any of these ten. Actually, despite the heavy guitars from Clark and Rob Carlson, what makes lots of these tunes here work for me (especially the rockers) is Dwayne Russell’s organ.

The roiling acoustic and lifting harmonies of “You Won’t Miss Me (Here)” kicks us off to Bus Stop Poets Leave it to the Kids, their latest LP. This Detroit 4-piece has a very good handle on melody and layering their production, while keeping their acoustic sensibilities well in hand.