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The artist-in-residence at New York's Middle Collegiate Church is on a mission to transform the way people think about organists and their instruments. On his new CD Revolutionary, he plays a virtual pipe organ that uses computers, amplifiers and speakers to create a big, bold range of sound.

Chop Chop is, for the most part, the work of songwriter Catherine Cavanagh. For Screens, her upcoming sophomore release, Cavanagh wrote each song, provided vocals and also performed many of the instruments by herself. She did receive help from her friends and family, though, including her brother and U.S. military sergeant Frank Cavanagh, who was once the bassist for Ohio-based band Filter.

In a session recorded by KEXP during the CMJ Music Festival, Fujiya & Miyagi's members play the ambient funk cuts off Lightbulbs. The band closed the set with an unreleased song, "Sick and Tired" — a piano-driven romper that sounds like David Bowie's "Suffragette City" on a heavy krautrock kick.

It's hard to believe that the guitar noise of A Place to Bury Strangers comes from just three people. At the Gibson Showroom in New York City, the band ran through a quick sound check and delivered by far the loudest set KEXP recorded during the CMJ Music Festival.

Landreth is a guitarist's guitarist, but he's not well known outside music circles. His latest CD, from the Reach, is his ninth, but audiences have mostly seen Landreth play slide for the likes of John Hiatt, Jimmy Buffett or Clifton Chenier.

Listen to Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights, the sophomore release from Vancouver, B.C.'s The Awkward Stage, and it's obvious the pop band weaves an overarching theme through each track. Though the songs on the album vary stylistically — its three gentle instrumental interludes contrast greatly with an energized song like "Hey, Modern School Girl," driven by its drum beat and guitar riffs — they all offer a glimpse into what life is like for those who didn't leave their awkward stage behind in junior high and are still determining their worth.

As a kid, Charlie Haden was a yodeling cowboy during radio's Golden Age. He's since become a respected jazz bassist for musicians such as Pat Metheny and Keith Jarrett. But the bluegrass of his youth was an irresistible siren song, and now he's recorded Rambling Boy with friends and family.

It's hard to listen to The Silver City, the new CD from Minnesota chamber-pop artist Jeremy Messersmith, without thinking of Sufjan Stevens. Both artists have similar voices and a love of richly orchestrated story songs. They also find inspiration in geography.

Frightened Rabbit's lyrical themes of heartbreak, disease, death and suicide might seem overbearing, but as evident in this session from KEXP, there's a cathartic quality to the band's songs. Frontman Scott Hutchinson also talks about the band's reflective side.

Led by Congo-born singer Marie Dualne, Zap Mama combines musical styles from throughout the African diaspora to create an earthy R&B vibe. Here, the group brings its soulful multicultural mashup to a live performance on Mountain Stage.