Friday Roundup.

A couple of returning solo artists take us into the weekend:

Dan Kibler-Dan Kibler. Back with his first album since 2008 and his debut on the Kool Kat label, Dan Kibler once again regales us with an album of mature power pop. With production from Parallax Project's Mike Giblin and help from longtime collaborator Jeff Murphy of Shoes, Kibler's tunes remain rooted in pop yet have a world-weary tinge of Americana to them, not unlike Bryan Estepa or Ted Lukas. Opening rocker "The Misunderstood" is a great example of this dynamic, as is Tom Pettyesque "Broken Bent and Bound". "45 Seconds More" is straight-ahead power pop, as is his cover of The Zombies' "I Can't Make Up My Mind", and "Another Day" and "Is it True" show he's capable of first-rate roots rock. A welcome return, and Kool Kat is offering up their usual bonus disc including tracks from his fine first two discs.

Kool Kat | Listen at official site

Kevin Bents-The Honors. Also back for the first time since 2008 is Kevin Bents, whose The Means was a pleasant out-of-left-field surprise. But while he isn't surprising us this time around, The Honors is still top-drawer singer-songwriter pop. "Not the Kind" is an excellent mid-tempo track that recalls solo Donald Fagen, the piano-and-guitar number "I Wait" shows off Bents' pop skills, and the spare ballad "Somebody Got a Hold" has staying power. Perhaps the most interesting track here is "Downtown", a busy yet melodic track that starts and ends slowly yet rocks and mixes in some R&B in between. So do I go for the usual punny ending and say that Bents passes here with "honors"? Why yes I do.

CD Baby | iTunes

Thursday night Link-o-Rama.

I have a bunch of new releases I want to spread the word about but don't have the time or motivation to write about them at length, so I'll just briefly summarize and provide the pertinent links.

The Hard Way-Tell Me When You Can't Breathe. Remember back in 1977 when the Klaatu record came out and people thought it was the Beatles under an assumed name? Well, substitute 2011 for 1977, The Hard Way for Klaatu, and Superdrag for the Beatles and you get the picture here. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Eric Bay-Pair Shaped. Fine debut EP from this British singer/songwriter who has a McCartneysque flair. Absolutely love the track "Cheer Up". CD Baby | Facebook | iTunes

The Test Dream-Shades of Love. Full-length debut from a band whose EP I featured a couple of years ago (did that lead them to send me a copy of the new one? No, I had to find it on my own. Hmph). Dreamy indie pop that meets the promise of the EP. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Dan Kibler-Capsule. How ironic that I feature a disc named Capsule in a blog post consisting of capsule reviews? OK, not that ironic. Anyway, Kibler (when not making cookies with elves) is a Pennsylvania guitarist who's played with Parallax Project and has this album produced and engineered by Shoes' Jeff Murphy. And the tunes match the pedigree, so give it a listen. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Marco Joachim-Hidden Symphonies. When we last visited Marco Joachim, he was releasing Songville at the end of 2007. That disc found Joachim channeling Wilburys-era Bob Dylan; this one finds him switching Wilburys to Jeff Lynne as he's gone for a more ornate and hooky sound. Verdict: it worked. "Those Days" has that late-period ELO sound down and "Things You Do" is bouncy Beatlesque pop. A very pleasant surprise. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes