LOCAL BANDSDevilwood, Osmanthus Americanus (out now, self-released, facebook.com/devilwoodrocks): You have to admire rockabilly artists for toiling in a genre where the potential for commercial success is just north of xylophone funk. They make music they love, even if the audience for such music is severely limited. Devilwood operates in this tight sphere, their edges shrewdly sharpened by lead vocalist Hilary Allison, who sounds like Neko Case would if she got ditched by her fiance and had to play a show the very same night. MIKE SEELYJennifer Kelly, Nothing’s Lost (out now, self-released, jenniferkellymusic.com): Cheerful folk rock for grown-ups anchored by Kelly’s strong voice, which, like the songs, lacks any edge or bite. DAVE LAKEKylmyys, “Cosmosis” (out now, Automation Records, kylmyys.moonfruit.com): Kylmyys is Brian Kidd and Jason Chamberlain, ambient musicians and professional soundscapers (their website urges you to have them score “your next event or art gallery”), and this down-tempo electronic track falls somewhere between background noise and the club. Call it music for chilled-out contemplation. ANDREW GOSPE***Mad Season, “Locomotive” (out now, Legacy, rollingstone.com): A long-lost single from the late-grunge-era supergroup’s never-finished second album, Disinformation, “Locomotive” finds Screaming Trees growler Mark Lanegan sitting in for the band’s departed original singer, Layne Staley. Lanegan powers home outlaw lyrics over a tumbling guitar line that captures the band’s original drive as well as anything you’d imagine they would have cranked out after their lone classic, Above. More conveniently psychedelic than their occasional forays into Halloweenish zombie blues, but not as drawn-out as some of their trippier numbers, it’s a happy medium that old fans, and really any traditional rock fan, can dig. TODD HAMMNathaniel Talbot Quartet, Here in the Fields (out now, self-released, nathanieltalbot.com): Challenging what folk music is capable of, Talbot’s powerful, uplifting voice harnesses a country twang complemented by lush acoustic finger-picking and a violin that feels like it was birthed next to a babbling brook in the mountains. JOE WILLIAMSRenata, First Sip (out now, self-released, reverbnation.com/renatamusic): Little can be said about Renata other than that it’s fronted by a strong, spirited woman with powerful vocal cords and a penchant for jazz piano. While Renata itself is shrouded in mystery, the instrumentation alone is worth praising. JW* Service Animal, The Gravity Bear Demonstration (out now, self-released, serviceanimal.bandcamp.com): What starts as a grungy homage to 1990 Seattle’s signature sound evolves into a dynamic album that reveals a rangy, energetic act with one of the better band names in town. If you bred Alice in Chains with World Party (no easy task, given the seeming discrepancy), this is what you’d end up with. MS (Thurs., Feb. 28, Skylark)* Peter Vukmirovic Stevens, August Ruins (out now, petervukmirovicstevens.bandcamp.com): This five-movement, 53-minute suite for solo cello is lush and uncompromisingly brooding; “Leave them wanting more” is not one of Stevens’ aesthetic philosophies. Paige Stockley plays it stunningly; I would relish the chance to hear her do it live. GAVIN BORCHERT* Waxahachie, Transitory Discontent (out now, self-released, waxahachiemusic.bandcamp.com): Duane Rubinowits’ project sounds a lot like what you might imagine Weird Al would sound like if he were the lead singer of Cake and specialized in jazz. Rubinowits’ jams are addictingly absurd, and the man is astonishingly talented. JW