27-year-old Marcie is what’s known as a multi-hyphenate: singer-songwriter, dancer, guest vocalist on numerous dance tracks, and host of “Behind The Lyric”, a digital radio program in which she interviews prominent members of the dance music world about – what else – the meanings behind their lyrics.
While the songs on which the Boston resident appears have been released as singles and featured on compilations such as Ministry of Sound’s Gatecrasher series, she hasn’t yet released an album under her own name, preferring to collaborate with a wide range of DJs …

“I Dreamt I Was A Rockstar” [self-released] is the second release from Dayton, Ohio native Tonye Christopher, whose influences range from Justin Timberlake to Kanye West to John Mayer [whose fellow sensitive singer-songwriter Josh Kelley sings Christopher’s praises on his web site]. It follows on from his 2008 debut “The Puppy Love Letters”, expanding upon that album’s mellow acoustic guitar-led pop-rock to include R&B beats, synths, vocal effects and squealing electric guitars.

So there’s this dude, right. He heads up a project called Vendetta Against. I don’t know his real name. He professes an admiration for the talents of Miley Cyrus that may not be entirely sincere, has previously released music under another name, and keeps a sarcastic and informative blog about the recording/distributing process for Vendetta Against’s debut EP, “Shifty Eyes” [Tasty Treat Records]. Oh yeah, and he types really well.

“Love Is Proximity” [Sweet Goodness] is the latest release by Essex Chanel [pronounced Cha-NELL], the most recent project for Chicago multi-hyphenate Travis Lee Wiggins, formerly of bands such as The Salts, Dolphins Swimming and The Personal FX, and whose non-musical activities range from conceptual art to his newly-formed Sweet Goodness record label and management company.

The 757s are a four-piece from Minneapolis, MN, who have played alongside Grant Hart and whose members have served time in such late-80s/early-90s Twin Cities outfits as Bellwether, Tangletown, Mosquito Ranch and Hart’s post-Husker Du melodic rockers Nova Mob. All of which made me [a rabid fan of Husker Du and the indefinable but undeniable Minneapolis “feel” exhibited by those gentlemen and contemporaries such as the Replacements and Soul Asylum] very excited to review their sophomore album, “Freeway Surrender” [Automatic].