Ellington

San Diego underground heroes and newest proponents of twisted alt-gothic-country, Castanets are Americana at its most melancholy; singer Ray Raposa even terms it "derailed psych-country." Obvious references are The Velvet Underground, No Neck Blues Band and Six Organs of Admittance, but there are hints of the Delta Blues seething just beneath the surface. These haunted tales of frustrated redemption and somber love ballads reflect the unsettled substrata of American life. If you like your music on the murkier side of "twang," then this one should be perfect. -- Alex Slawson and Herman Snell