Online radio sampler highlights LXIII

All five of these standout late night tracks were released this year:

KBEM (Minneapolis, MN)

• Cherry Blossom Song-Allegra Levy (Torch music meets jazz through Levy's breathy alto voice and the band's more-than-able support.  Although the person about whom she sings sounds generally depressed, the upbeat melody of Levy's original tune, released in March, suggests that there's hope.)
• Brothers Under The Sun-Steve Nelson (This uplifting vibraphone melody is the title track of Nelson's latest CD, released in April.)

KCR (San Diego, CA)

• Real Stuff-Leif Erikson (There aren't a ton of catchy lyrics about living simply and idealistically to which a listener could almost dance.  Erikson pulls this off, however, in this indie rock release from July.)

KVSC (St. Cloud, MN)

• Count Your Blessings-Mattiel (The discomforting yet memorable hook and lyrics suggest a Wild West showdown.  This is another standout indie rock release from July.)

WHRB (Cambridge, MA) 

• Greeney Blue-Mellah (An interesting mood piece, released in May; the guitar and vocals are repetitive in a positive, mantra-like way.)