Bek Allenson - "Jetta" ft. Alan6333 (self-released) Bek Allenson is a new songwriter and producer based in Andover; "Jetta" is his second single. "Jetta" is a skeletal electro song, matching scattershot production with Allenson's resonant voice. Despite the title, he sings of lost love and the arduous process of trying to move on. A sideways glance, a missed phone call, general emptiness — the gang's all here. Allenson layers his production piece by piece, adding in synth lines here or plunging bass notes there. Things stay relatively subtle until the song crescendos with arpeggiated synths into a brief verse from Alan Coronado aka Alan6333. Coronado continues with Allenson's themes, but adds some punchlines for good measure. He's cut off mid-line, like he was forcibly yanked away from the mic. Like it was depending on his presence to continue, the song subsequently dissolves into a sea of bass. Listen to "Jetta" below...

Dom Winterbauer - Crash (self-released) Sometimes it feels like the Minneapolis scene consists of ten people playing in two dozen bands with different lineups. At least that's the feeling I get from Dom Winterbauer's second solo record. The Minneapolis polymath released two albums this year under their own name, in addition to playing bass in Miloe  and The Argument (who just released their own full-length). Both solo albums have stretched into Real Estate-esque dreaminess. Crash  condenses the Winterbauer's sonic styling into a more focused release (debut Blue Fish  was almost twice as long). Each moment luxuriates it its cloudy textures and looseness. Slowly is the fastest way to find direction. There's hardly any differentiation from song to song, creating a consistent river of wistful and hazy pop. With only a few exceptions, Winterbauer played every instrument, wrote every song, sings (almost) every vocal, and recorded/mastered the entire album.  Live ba...