Bryan Clark & the New Lyceum Players
Southern
Intermission

I defy you to find a guitar part on this record that doesn’t flat-out rule. Bryan Clark and Adam Fluhrer seamlessly mix elements of blues, pop, country, jazz, and fusion—all tracked live with old-school gear. They do some of the best two-guitar interplay around, weaving riffs and sounds together in a super-compelling fashion. In addition to the non-stop stellar 6-string work, the production is top-notch, as well. Color me impressed. Rainfeather.

Chris Robinson
Brotherhood
Big Moon Ritual

The former Black Crowes frontman and co-guitarist Neal Casal (whose work you might know from Ryan Adams and the Cardinals) have created a roots-o-licious collection of tunes that is best described in the press packet: “…a breathing kaleidoscopic thing stuffed with chooglin’ soul, bedrock boogie, and shuffling wisdom.” It also has beautiful guitar tones, inventive parts, gorgeous solos, and killer vocals all around. Nice! Silver Arrow/Megaforce.

Conspirator
Unlocked: Live from the Georgia Theater

Do you want to love techno music, but get bummed out by the fact it sometimes has lame guitar or no guitar? Then you will find this set by Conspirator to be very inspiring. The band has the pulsating grooves and synth bleeps that you would expect, but what you might not expect is guitarist Chris Michetti, who delivers Nile Rodgers-approved funk on “Velvet Red,” technically demanding fuzz melodies on “Feed the Wolf,” bluesrock wailing on “S&M,” and full-on speedpicked shred on “Retrograde.” Sci Fidelity.