Carl Creighton is nothing if not autobiographical. On the website of his boutique label, The Homesick Collective, you can read of his past 27 years in minute detail, and get the impression you’re witnessing an artist purge from an eventful past. Carl’s work as Howth similarly reads better as catharsis than concept. Truly a songwriter for our times, his emotional letting is rarely perfect, but maintains an almost embarrassing honesty when discussing topics ranging from Occupy Wall Street ("Belly of the Beast"), to kissing someone named David ("David"), to paying off his student loans ("Alexander Hamilton").
The past couple of years have found Carl traveling frequently across the US. Now living in Brooklyn, Creighton uses these geographical signifiers as touchstones through his ouevre. From describing the blinding lights of Bloomingdale’s, to the darkness found at Alexander Hamilton’s grave, there’s a hodgepodge of ideas here that reflects the bouncy journey of a twenty-something just beginning to discover life’s joys and disappoints. It’s the kind of America you find in Jeff Mangum and Paul Simon, where discovery meets disillusion, but the journey makes it worthwhile. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham, in the picture) has always been a bit of a spooky guy. From ‘I See a Darkness,’ to his work with Dawn McCarthy, he’s dwelt in the darker corners of country-folk for some time. But his new project with Dominic Cipolla of Brooklyn’s Phantom Family Halo brings his work closer in line to early ’70’s psych-country like Hawkwind and The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo. This is one of the more unlikely unions of the year, bridging a gap between Cipolla’s brain-melting retro-machinations to Oldham’s country road tales. The collaboration didn’t sound like an obvious idea in the world to me at first, but on listening to ‘The Mindeater’ off their new EP of the same name, those thoughts melted away. I mean literally melted, this is some far-out stuff. They’ve recorded three songs so far (fittingly from the 2nd floor above a funeral home in Brooklyn) and expect a full-length to be released early next year. Pick up their new EP Mindeater (Knitting Factory Records) wherever spooky psychedelia is sold. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

The Dub Trio guys are a little bit like the intellectuals of the NYC Metal scene. Being an intellectual metal-head is a little bit like being a powerful super-hero who writes essays for a living (since super-heroes aren’t paid, right?). I mean, it’s really like having it all, the superior brains and the brute force. As suggested by the name, they mix Metal with Dub, but also inject a fair dose of noise rock in their tracks. Their experimentalism is not of the self-indulgent kind – led by drummer/sample triggerer John Tomino, these guys are concise, tight, and explosive. If this resonates with you, don’t miss the release of their new album "IV" at Mercury on 11.10.

Lana Del Rey‘s grip on our NYC charts’ #1 position is a testament to the fact that there is no such thing as bad press. The controversial Brooklyn based chanteause has created a rare wave of negativity amongst some bloggers about her image and music. As a result, many music listeners became familiar with her music and – evidently – enjoyed it. Constant news regarding new releases, remixes and shows in the UK are contributing to keep her on top of our NYC charts (see top 20 on the left, and top 300 here). Whether bloggers want it or not, it looks like a new NYC star was born!