Asbury Park singer-songwriter Brian Erickson is no stranger to releasing records. After a nice catalog with his late, great band The Paper Jets, he released the debut EP of his new band, The Extensions, last year on Mint 400 Records, also the home of his pals in Dave Mooney and The Viewers Like You, The Clydes and Fake Pockets. But in a decade-plus as a front man, Brian never has released a solo outing. ... READ ON

Don Ryan is a North Jersey singer-songwriter whose compositions are delectable cocktails of ageless beauty and gritty discord in a hypnotizing blend of classic Americana and gypsy jazz with a more modern, psychedelic-folk sound. His long-awaited Mint 400 Records LP, “Warwalking, Pt. 1,” follows the 2013 EP, “Live in Studio,” and an epic 2011 debut LP, “Tangle Town.” ... READ ON

South Jersey singer-songwriter Stella Mrowicki has scored again with an amazing EP entitled “Pine Trees and Wildflowers,” a five-song follow-up to last year’s brilliant self-titled debut. ... READ ON

Phillipsburg-based punk trio Houston & the Dirty Rats are the Dirty Jerz's hardest-working band, having played 100 shows in 100 days last year throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada. To promote the new EP, “Songs! From Bathroom Stall?," the band’s latest single, "The Lying Game," was made into a video from that tour that captures the adventurous spirit of the band and the razor edge but tongue-in-cheek fun they bring to the song. ... READ ON

Culled from their new LP, “Strum It Again,” Central Jersey-based Lost Romance premiere their video for the latest single, “The State I’m In,” which is the Makin Waves Song of the Week here, on ThePenguinRocks.com and its “Radio Jersey” show.... READ ON

Within less than a year, prolific award-winning Morris County-based alt-folk singer-songwriter Sonofdov has followed his Mint 400 Records label debut LP, “Towers,” with an EP, “Battle Lines,” for the North Jersey indie.... READ ON

Bob Makin takes a look at the latest releases by Brian Fallon, Debra Devi, Dinosaur Eyelids, and Gooch & the Motion in this month's Record Roundup.... READ ON

New Brunswick-originated jazzadelic rap act Cook Thugless premiere their latest video, “California,” which chronicles their love of their new state... READ ON

Less than two weeks before graduating from Rowan University with a degree in music technology, Jersey Shore singer-songwriter Stella Mrowicki self-released her EP, “Pine Trees and Wildflowers,” a follow-up to last year’s self-titled debut.   ... READ ON

Jersey City rapper Murdock and childhood friend Jack Blerry have collabed on the new album, “I Finally Feel Alive,” the title track to which is the Makin Waves Song of the Week making its video premiere here.... READ ON