Jonathan Carabba of Submerge Magazine is hear this week to guide us through the landscape of new music. 

Artist: Todd Morgan and the Emblems
Track: "Tell Me" 
Release: Sweet Pretender 

Featured in the current issue of Submerge, on news stands now. 

Early twenties musicians. Originally formed as a 50's cover band. Now more pop with roots in rock and blues. 

Todd (lead singer/songwriter) plays out a lot and he's the real deal! A true entertainer. Music is his full-time job. Obvious nods to Beatles and other classics but with a modern take (think Black Keys meets Elton John). 

Album release show for Sweet Pretender is August 14 at the Fair Oaks Clubhouse Auditorium. 

Artist: The Ghost Town Rebellion 
Track: "Murder On Grand Island" 
Release: Ghost Town Rebellion: Volume 1

Featured in the current issue of Submerge, on news stands now. 

Local group The Ghost Town Rebellion's new EP is like a five song historical chronicle of the city. 

Shawn Peter (lead singer) is a Downtown Sacramento Community Service Guide head and Historical Supervisor (one of those "yellow jackets" you see guiding people around downtown). Band incorporates history into songwriting. 

Pure rock 'n' roll with hints of blues, punk, and Americana. Love their use of banjo, horns, slide guitar, etc., to keep things fresh and interesting, but it's still heavy enough to move to.  

EP release show is August 14 at Old Ironsides. 

Artist: Gentleman Surfer 
Track: "Easy But Knot" 
Release: Gold Man 

Sacramento prog rock group. A real band's band, a lot of musicians I know love 'em. They play fast, they're technically skilled, and they're not afraid to keep things weird. 

New album Gold Man came out in late July. They play jazzy, math rock, video game soundtrack type stuff. Seeing this band live is a must, they're mind blowingly fun to watch. 

Next show is August 14 at Cafe Colonial. 

Artist: Tinariwen 
Track: Chaghabou
Release: Emmaar 

Grammy award winning Saharan blues band. The desert is their home (Mali, Africa) and you can sense it in their sound. 

Their story is the stuff of legends (from performing in Tuareg camps in Libya on battery powered amps, to swapping guitars for guns to fight for their independence, then returning to music, now touring the world playing esteemed festivals and venues). 

Due to political instability, the band recorded this album away from their home in Mali for the first time. Set up shop in another desert: Joshua Tree. 

Obviously lyrics are not in english, but still something to grasp onto with their gritty guitar work, galloping rhythms, and poetic like vocal melodies. 

Tinariwen is playing The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley on August 16. (Also San Francisco on August 15 and Santa Cruz on August 17)