Sometimes the side project eclipses the parent band; such is the case with Casey Crescenzo’s The Dear Hunter. Crescenzo formed The Dear Hunter in 2005 when he began writing Alternative/Progressive Rock songs that didn’t fit the Post-Hardcore mold of his primary outfit, The Receiving End of Sirens.   

 Born in Lake Charles, La., Lucinda Williams has the keen ability to craft Southern tinged Country songs that attract both AltRock and Country fans. In her 30-year career she’s become known as a deft lyricist, which is appropriate because her father, Miller Williams, was a well-known poet. Most recently, in 2011, she released the album Blessed, which reflected upon her growth as a musician.   

In 2010, Natalie Merchant made a lovely two-disc album called Leave Your Sleep, inspired by the way raising her young daughter had given Merchant insight into the mysteries and complexities — the sweetness and the anxieties — of childhood. She wrote songs adapted from the words of 19th and 20th Century British and American poets whose children-related verse struck her as powerful.  

When it comes to Alt/Indie Rock, new bands appear on the radar almost daily. What has kept Young the Giant on the tips of everyone’s tongues is its ability to be more. The band channels its California home with a sound that is summery and playful, while its anthemic guitar sounds and danceable beats have a strange tendency to make you long for the beach. In a word: fun.