Deception Past, If You Know What I Mean . . . (out now, self-released, deceptionpast.com): This band’s 12 members prove that you can take musicians out of their country hometowns, but you can’t take the country out of the musician. Down-home vibes can be heard clearly in the bluegrass, Americana-tinged stories they tell. AZARIA PODPLESKY

Ashley Eriksson, Colours (out now, K Records, krecs.com/artists/ashley-eriksson): When she’s not fronting Olympia’s LAKE, Eriksson is showcasing her light, airy, heartstring-tugging voice as a solo artist. Keep your eyes open when you’re out and about in the capital; you might just catch her “Colours Olympia” series, in which she plays each song from Colours, her seventh solo album, on a different public piano. AP

Hand in the Attic, Hand in the Attic (out now, self-released, handintheattic.com): Acoustic guitars provide the foundation for this indie-folk band, which rounds out its sound with banjo, slide guitar, harmonica, and other twangy accompaniments. The band’s strength lies in its ability to change shape from song to song without abandoning its sound—which is also true of frontman Alex Fox’s voice, at times a delicate almost-whisper (“Tree Song”), at others nearly raging (“Whiskey Water”). “Everything Will Breathe Pt. 1” might be the best Elliott Smith song he never wrote. (Thurs., Aug. 8, Conor Byrne) DAVE LAKE

Hunx and His Punx, Street Punk (out now, Hardly Art, hardlyart.com/hunx.html): Hell yeah, Hunx. You just wrote a snotty 15-minute-long album that makes me want to beat up my younger siblings and draw rude pictures of authority figures. This, my friends, is punk rock (my favorite songs are “Rat Bag” and “Everyone’s a Pussy [Fuck You Dude]”). I’ll say it again: Hell yeah. John Roderick will rate this among his top albums of the year. KELTON SEARS

Lesbian, Forestelevision (out now, Translation Loss Records, lesbian.bandcamp.com): One 44-minute track. An ADD-riddled ride through somewhere around 100 different genres, the “song” veers from doom to thrash to post-rock to ambience, then into some straight-up ’80s hair metal. Try not to get lost in there; the Television Forest can be a dense, impenetrable thicket. KS

Anthony J. Shears,

The Growth,

My ENDtroduction

[Deluxe Edition] (out now, Shear Genius Productions, anthonyjshears.blogspot.com): With personal stories and cultural observations, this hip-hop release is a meatier—and improved—version of his last full-length, The Growth. While familiar samples feel a bit rehashed, Shears’ honest delivery nods to the great MCs before him—something he acknowlegdes in name-checking Jake One and LL Cool J. This time the arrangements are tighter, the production more poignant, and the flow more realized. KEEGAN PROSSER

Syrinx Effect, gnarly & sweet EP (out now, self-released, thesyrinxeffect.bandcamp.com): Though the duo of Naomi Siegel (trombone, guitar pedals) and Kate Olson (vocals, saxophone, “toys”) describe their sound as improvised chamber music with effects, it’s difficult to tell that each song wasn’t carefully planned—especially the jazzy “the gentlest thing in the world” and “orangutan dance.” Sure, portions of each song are unexpected, but as a whole the EP has a very cohesive feel. AP

Tarana, Waves of Sound (out now, Mister E Productions, taranaworldfusion.com): Tabla? Glissentar? I’m not sure how to pronounce the names of some of the instruments Tarana plays, but I do know that this quartet of Ann Lindquist, Anil Prasad, Kenyon Curtis, and Jason Everett creates music with a fusion of worldly influences that’s both authentic and approachable. (Fri., Aug. 16, Hempfest) AP