Easter marks the second full-length for Seattle based These Arms are Snakes. Forged from the ashes of Kill Sadie, vocalist Steve Snere picked up where he left off and continued to front a powerful band known for their intricate guitars and furious drums.

Ladyfinger (NE) are the ballsiest band ever to come from Saddle Creek. As the story goes, they used to be known simply as Ladyfinger, but got into a legal battle with another group with the same name.

Justin Sconza’s EP Paint By Numbers is such a dreamy, weightless offering that it’s difficult to imagine this was made by an actual person, one who does mundane earthy things like drive, walk, and pay his cable bill. No, I don’t buy it; this “Justin Sconza” is not so much a man as he is a floating, ethereal presence who found a good deal on some recording equipment.

Country music Meccas seem to be springing up farther and farther from the South; there is now a thriving scene in Montreal, which boasts Angela Desveaux as one of its stars. She cites heroes such as Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, and her grandmother, and although you may not know her grandmother, this statement still gives a fairly good indication of her sound.

The question posed by Insomniac Doze, the third and most recent record from Envy, is fairly simple: how long can you take it? This veteran hardcore band from Japan has a specific and meticulous approach it closely follows.

You would think the song title “Jesus” would have clued me in, but I didn’t even realize Page France were a Christian-leaning operation until the album was almost over. “Praise to you, praise to me,” they sang, and I thought, “Well, sure, why not?”

For fans of the coveted material from Oregon’s Dead Moon, Echoes of the Past will be a highly sought after and enjoyed disc, but for those unfamiliar with the late-’80s/early-’90s punk/grunge outfit, this double disc is a daunting and exhausting listen.

With Rilo Kiley’s exodus in pursuit of the iconic rock mainstream and Conor Oberst’s subsequent reposition on the East Coast, it seems Saddle Creek Records isn’t the indie rock powerhouse it was only a few short years ago. Barring a full reconnaissance of the fall out – whether it be the hiatus of Cursive, the emergence of other prevailing indie rock labels, or even an abandonment of new folk – the fervor and the frenzy of said record label has most certainly been subdued.

When I first heard Xiu Xiu, I was blown away at the intelligence of their style of electronic pop. The vocals teetered on the edge of breaking down at any second, and it was all very exciting.

Made Out of Babies is a band that’s defined by their vocalist, Julie Christmas. Without her there would be little to talk about in reference to the band itself.

Over the past eleven years, Jucifer’s eccentricities have made them stand out from the crowd. For one thing, the husband and wife duo literally live out of their van with their dogs. For another, their unforgettable live show with an entire wall of speaker cabinets (some of which were once owned by The Spice Girls) could easily win them the heavyweight championship for the loudest two-piece band in the world.

As luminescent as their moniker suggests, this trio, consisting of vocalist/keyboardist Erin Fein, Brett Sanderson on drums, and Tristan Wraight manning the stringed instruments, pumps out endearing indie pop. Awash with ambient, shoe-gazing tides and placid flourishes of violins and harmonicas, Kill Them with Kindness soothes the beast with a spring in its step.