It’s that time of the week again, so let’s find out what’s hot in this week’s new releases with the artists you should be listening to with me, Mark Sharpley. Put down those leftover Easter eggs and let’s get cracking (sorry) with…

MY AUTUMN EMPIRE

First up is My Autumn Empire aka Benjamin Holton from epic45. Hailing from Staffordshire, Holton releases his new album under the My Autumn Empire moniker entitled The Visitation and is a mixture of indie, pop and folk with the latter being heavily influenced by his parents. Like a lot of artists that have been featured in this column, the album is self produced as well and that’s fine by us. Available on the Wayside & Woodland label, this is one of his previous numbers, “Every Now And Then I Fall Apart.”  www.myautumnempire.co.uk | My Autumn Empire on iTunes

 SEBASTIAN BACH

Former Skid Row frontman and occasional participant in The Gilmore Girls, Sebastian Bach is, well, back with his new solo album, Give Em Hell. Featuring a vast array of talent (Duff McKagen, John 5 and Steve Stevens to name a few), Bach carries on the heavy tradition from his first solo effort, Kicking And Screaming. This will definitely satisfy all heavy metal fans, as the Skid Row reunion looks less and less likely. Available on the Frontiers label, this is “Temptation.”  www.sebastianbach.com  | Sebastian Bach on iTunes

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART

New York’s own The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart return to the forefront with their new album, Days Of Abandon. Formed in 2007 by Kip Berman and Alex Naidus, they recruited now former bandmate Peggy Wang and even played at her birthday party. This is the band’s third full album and it promises to be a good one. Available on the Yebo Music label, this is “Simple And Pure.”  www.thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on iTunes 

NEON TREES

And finally this week, it’s Neon Trees and the release of their new album, Pop Psychology. Hailing from Provo, Utah Neon Trees first came to peoples attention when they supported The Killers in 2008 and went on to do two full albums before this weeks new release. They have even given the world a cover of “Baby” by Justin Bieber but let’s not judge them on that. Available on the Mercury Records label, this is “I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends).” www.fameisdead.com | Neon Trees on iTunes

 And that’s it for this week! Join me next week for the choice cuts of the latest releases.
And don’t go stuffing yourselves full of chocolate!  Keep on keeping on…

 — Mark Sharpley

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