Ken Tucker

The California quartet, led by lead vocalist and main songwriter Taylor Goldsmith, has a new album called "All Your Favorite Bands." It explores sadness and doubt without being downbeat.

The young singer and songwriter lets his voice soar on his debut album, Ratchet. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it's one of the year's most striking collections, full of energy and optimism.

The Welsh band's name is a play on that of singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom. Ken Tucker likens the group's second album to a high-wire act accompanied by "furiously strummed punk-rock guitar chords."