This may be one of the best albums of the last 15 years, in my opinion. Josh Garrels is an independent singer-songwriter, and on this album he creates a musical experience that keeps the listener engaged. Brooklyn music collective Mason Jar Music delivers lush, hauntingly beautiful instrumentals and backing vocals throughout, with strings, horns, and other instruments as well as guitars and drums. When I first listened to this, I thought I had it pegged as a mostly acoustic folk/rock album after a few songs. But then when "Farther Along" had spoken-word verses, the next track was just an instrumental interlude, and then "The Resistance" had full-on rap, I realized that this artist was going to keep me on my toes. It's over an hour of top-notch songs that flow seamlessly into each other and it's still my favorite album by Josh Garrels.

Release Year: 2011
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Emery is a band that's hard to explain for me. They have a wide variety of sounds. There's definitely some screaming and lots of guitars, but it's also "emo" in parts and I think the sung vocals kinda remind me of a musical in the way they're sung for some reason. I'm Only A Man is their third album and it talks about the humanity of us and the struggles with relationships and ego. Honestly, the first time or two I listen to an Emery album, I usually am not sure I like it, but on subsequent listens I find more depth musically and lyrically, plus the unexpected turns it takes don't throw me off so much. This album is maybe not for everyone, but it's a musical roller coaster of rock, metal, emo, electronic pop, and many other things.

Release Year: 2007
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For the last 3 days, the Album of the Day has not been an album, but a shorter EP. Let's keep that going one more day. In the mid-2010s, Andrew Osenga, an artist who has worn many hats over the last 25+ years in the music industry, released four independent EPs, each a different style of music. Flesh is 6 tracks of electric guitar-driven rock written and performed by Andrew with some friends. The other EPs, Heart, Soul, and Bone are more pop, blues and instrumental, respectively. I like them all, but I was looking for some rock today and this EP keeps the energy high.

Release Year: 2015
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In the early-to-mid 1990s, delirious? was a part-time worship band called "The Cutting Edge Band". During that era, guitarist Stuart Garrard (aka Stu G) released his own EP of rock/worship songs titled Have You Heard. The 6-track EP was remastered for it's 20th anniversary and is presented with some remixes and a new live-in-studio recording of some of the original songs, to make it more of a full album. It's a fun look at independent Christian rock from the mid-90s as we near its 30th anniversary. I only started listening to this EP on the 20th anniversary re-release, but I love the songs. It's a snapshot of early solo work from my favorite bands and one of my favorite guitarists.

Release Year: 1995 / 2015
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