Welcome to our fourteenth installment featuring CMJ’s OurStage Staff Picks from the CMJ Relay Blog. CMJ is well known for their industry leading New Music Report magazine, which contains music reviews, artist news and interviews with the best artists being played on college radio.

Or, the Whale

“Call and Response”
Alt Country Channel
Four-part harmonies and pulsing bass put the heart in this up-tempo tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, eliciting strong sympathy with its driving melody and lush vocals.
RIYL: Jayhawks, Old 97s, Fleetwood Mac

Lady Maverick

“Reminiscin’”
Alternative Hip-Hop Channel
Acoustic guitars paired with funky beats keep Lady Maverick’s solid rhymes about her African roots and old-school hip-hop fresh and emotional, while still allowing the girl some serious street cred.
RIYL: Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Bacci

Einar Lunga

“It is going to be your darkest day”
Folk Channel
Lunga has a talent for the subtle and offbeat whispers of somber darkness that feel introspective without toeing the “woe is me” line. This is tender, dark folk done right.
RIYL: Devendra Banhart, She And Him, Joni Mitchell