To answer the obvious question, yes the Howlin’ Brothers do indeed howl on their major label debut called Howl. They also hoot, holler, bash away at banjos while fiddling as the barn burns down.

Missing longtime member Tom Pittman, but none of the knee-slapping fun, the Austin Lounge Lizards’ fizzy Home and Deranged takes on such typically topical subjects as airport patdowns, big-ego music stars, fat-cat bankers and government conspiracy theories.

A song about hard-won acceptance, Stone Blind Valentine’s “Think What You Will” begins with a raw acoustic riff from Colby Maddox before Emily Hurd enters — all steely resolve, but barely obscuring a sweeping moment of heartbreak.

Though I have occasionally written about politics (and in that case, it was about the stupidity and lack of logic as opposed to particular ideas), I’ve for the most part avoided writing about religion. Can (or should) an atheist write about religion?

Well, it’s the 21st century. It has been for some time now. And like many people, I spend more than a few hours each week surfing the ‘net, looking for great but often obscure performances from classic rock acts or mostly unknown artists.

It’s funny how certain bits of music can get under your skin. Several years ago, I was having a visit with my old buddy Gene out in upstate New York.

As a jazz cellist, you may not think you’ve heard Friedlander — but you’ve heard this dude and probably didn’t know it, I would bet.

With today’s passing of Earl Scruggs at age 88, we returned to a stirring tribute to the three-finger banjo style of this Country Music Hall of Famer by Ricky Scaggs.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, despite their rocket-ride to Grammy fame in 2010, hadn’t yet made an album that captured their live set’s boot-scooting, blues-belting string-band revivalist verve — until now.

Susie Fitzgerald offers a series of richly textured, bravely constructed, profoundly moving and ultimately deeply inspirational story-songs on Plenty. But first, she kicks up her heels a little.