If you’re standing in a forest, tilting your head way back to glimpse the tops of all those majestic, thickly trunked trees, it’s just impossible not to be moved by their centuries-old resilience; the stoic strength that sees them through even the harshest storms that Mother Nature can unleash.

Yet locked deep within the core of each of those mighty oaks and towering sequoias is something even stronger than their outwardly impressive surface layers: the heartwood.

A tree’s densest, most durable—and often most beautiful—element, the heartwood is the robust, knotty marrow that keeps it standing proud and tall for all to marvel at. And not only is Heartwood also the name of Canadian singer-songwriter Sora’s astonishing third release, it’s as well the perfect metaphor for her music: gorgeous, rich, endlessly enduring.

Independent musician Matthew Ryan is releasing his latest album, Dear Lover, in digital format today. The CD is available at most digital music stores including: iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, The Nokia Store and more.

I had to make sure I put in the right CD when the intro to “City Life” blared out of the speakers. With an electronica vibe accompanying Ryan’s vocals, it gives a refreshing feel to a familiar voice. Ryan’s previous albums also included some songs with a hint of electronica sound, but “City Life” is a track that takes it to a new place.

Ryan keeps an upbeat tempo feel with the title track, “Dear Lover,” which begins with a heart felt vocal asking, “Tell me what want. Tell me what you want…,” over a simple distorted riff. This song proves to show how emotionally sound and powerful his vocals can be. There are very few artists in the rock genre whose vocals can outshine the instruments.

with the sun shining and temperatures heating up, day 2 was a stark contrast of day 1 at lollapalooza. one of the benefits of following lollapalooza on twitter is getting secret information. for instance, early friday morning, lollapalooza tweeted that perry farrell would perform with leann rimes at the kids stage. today was no different.

shortly after lunch, lollapalooza tweeted that buddy guy would be performing at the kids stage, so that’s where i went. performing a song with quinn sullivan, the large crowd at the kids stage got to experience not only a guitar star in the making, but a guitar legend jamming with him. even though it was only one song, it was a great surprise. and with the end of that surprise comes another surprise, band of horses came a day early and will be performing at the kids stage in a few hours.

it was cold and rainy, not the typical august friday in chicago, and definitely not the typical start to lollapalooza. historically speaking, this festival, at least in its current form, has always been a weekend of sun and heat and lots of great music. but today was different, but it didn’t put a dapper on the performances or the crowds.

things started off with a rousing set put on by black joe lewis and the honeybears. even with the soaked crowd and cool temps, joe and co. got the crowd dancing with their infectious rock and soul. getting the crowd to sing along and participate is one of the band’s strengths, and they definitely played those strengths throughout their damp set.

so i’m reading a bunch of reviews of lollapalooza from music critics and i’m left wondering what they’re looking for when they’re watching these bands? some critics say things like, “i caught the last song of a band’s set,” or “i saw the band’s first two songs” and follow that up with, “the last song really brought down the band’s set” or “the first song set the mood for a boring set overall.” and i’m left thinking WHAT?!? you clearly just said you didn’t see the entire set and yet you’re reviewing the entire set? it doesn’t make any sense to me.

Nightmare of You has proven that practices makes for vast improve with their sophmore album, Infomaniac. The New York City-based indie rock band has created an album based on synergetic instrumental measures.

The background of the indie band’s musical influences of the Talking Heads and Supergrass surely rounds out the sophisticated sound Nightmare of You provides on the CD.

The first line that captured my ear is “Someday, but not today,” which is a laid back track that gives us the “struggling life experience,” which incorporates a tasteful guitar solo.

The soulful song, “Experimental Bed,” is lead in by a hip-hop drum beat and is accompanied by a classic rock guitar sound that leaves you wanting more.

After distributing two successful demos around the indie music community, indie pop rock band, The Rad, has recorded their first EP, Fake It Til You Make It.

The EP was produced by John Naclerio (Brand New, My Chemical Romance). The Tyler, Tex. based quintet’s EP release date is 6.23.2009.

The first track, “Minor Chords Are So 2003,” establishes The Rad’s rock sound, which focuses on the boyfriend’s view of trying to a “sold out” relationship.  The song’s live concert-ready track extends throughout Fake It Till You Make It.

The San Jose, Calif. based quintent has opened eyes and ears with their latest self-titled release. Already making noise with their first single, “You’re A Fake”, the band has hit the radio airwaves and have been touring in support of the album.

The album is filled with sing-along tracks that will have fans screaming lyrics during live shows.  

I Am Empire’s intro track, “Encompass”, sets the stage with an in your face guitar riff and trascends into an all-around rock track that will keep the lyric, “We are the lost and found…” in your head for days.

As mentioned, “You’re A Fake”,  blazes out of the speakers with lead guitar picking accompanied by a solid riff, which leads into the lyric, “Get up, Get up!!”. This song has just began to break out the band, and has lasting power.

On The Buzz, we want to feature all aspects of the music industry. We are conducting interviews and writing articles about the independent musician to the independent journalist writing about the indie movement.

Please send us your press releases, flyers or artist info. to n.pacheco@gighive.com.

Embracing each other’s musical backgrounds, Deborah Connors and Nate Harasim have formed an intricate sound generating De’Nate’s album Reminisce. The musicians have collaborated their efforts to form a unique sound to the contemporary jazz format.  

The duo introduce their sound with an ambient sound with the title track; applying Gordon James’ jazz-type fills and Connors’ elegant vocals, “Reminisce” allows listeners to prepare for an eccentic smooth vibe.

The next track that captures the ear is The Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams”, cover where Connors utilizes her vocal range with the back drop of an ambient arrangement provided by Harasim.

“Let Your Body Move” makes you want to literally do that with its pop club dance vibrance and the guitar solo of Frank Selman. Selman and Darren Rahn play off one another at the tail-end, which makes a listener want to keep their bodies moving.

Admittedly, I wasn’t originally as smitten with Misery Signals’ new album Controller as I was with their 2006 release Mirrors, or even with 2004’s Of Malice and the Magnum Heart. At first I thought the band was merely trying a move in a different direction on this album, rather than a step forward. That said, I actually fell in love with this album. 

It took a few listens to really get into the album, but once I did I realized the superb recording quality on this album (produced by Devin Townsend). I began to appreciate it more as I started to notice much of the beauty that I had missed while initially focusing only on the heavy riffs and monster vocals. I overlooked the intricate way in which the guitars play off each other, creating the beautiful chaos that I’ve come to expect from Misery Signals. 

Unlike the previous offerings, each song is very, very strong on its own, whereas on prior albums there was one or two songs that needed the support of each album’s epic contributions. The songs on Controller just have a different flow to them that is not immediately as palatable as their earlier albums, though after a few samples it goes down just as well-albeit with a slightly different taste. Some transitions from crunchy riffs to more melodic parts are seamless, while others take a few moments to catch up to as they are so abrupt. 

Los Angeles’s, Jay Nash’s, latest album, The Things You Think You Need , is a good representation of what you get when you juxtapose rock, folk, pop and a bit of country and then add a bit of poignant acoustic guitar in the mix. It is an effortless and easy album that is extremely likeable from the very first track.

The album succeeds in calling to a wide range of emotions, and the more cheerful tracks make for a good balance with the few somber songs, the former gaining an upper hand when determining the record’s overall mood.

The album displays Nash’s thoughtful lyrical ability which allows quiet moments of reflection and lamenting to coexist with more funky, playful offerings. With a vocal style reminiscent of both David Gray and Isaac Slade (The Fray), Nash’s soulful and seamless voice is the strongest when crooning his feelings of scorned melancholy. But he is also quite at home leading the more pop-oriented radio-friendly tracks, or even doing his best to channel Bruce Springsteen on track 6, “Hard Lesson.”

The one song that just doesn’t fit the mold of the album is on the last song, which is actually untitled. A more electronic feel combined with the haunting lyrics makes this a very short but ethereal track. 

The stark contrast in instrumentation makes this the most memorable and anomalous moment on this wonderful album. It leaves the listener with an unfinished, haunted feeling when Nash ends with “Open your eyes, you’re not alone.”