10 albums to listen to this spring

For independent music makers in Boston — and everywhere else — these can be scary times. The real estate crunch makes it harder to find housing or venues to play at. Streaming revenue remains negligible while inflation makes touring harder than ever.

But none of that has stopped the outpouring of creativity from Massachusetts musicians, labels and studios. As the quantity and quality of albums coming out in the next few months show, local music makers have been busy writing and recording unique and compelling music, whether they’re working in the fields of jazz, rockabilly, kompas, indie rock, folk or somewhere in between. Here’s a peek at some of the projects listeners can enjoy now or in the near future.

Revered Boston singer-songwriter Lisa Bastoni's first LP in five years is a cycle of songs that grapples with the role of water, from the faucet to the ocean, in what she calls “my life at this moment — as a working artist, teacher, single mom.” Bastoni can look at some of modern times’ most intractable problems from an endearing and funny angle, like in the single “Let’s Look at Houses,” which suggests an entertaining afternoon looking at unaffordable real estate.

The full-throttle Boston rock duo of drummer Amy Young and guitarist-singer Justin Keane kick off their new EP with a tribute to overnight radio weirdo icon Art Bell. But you don’t have to believe in aliens or Bigfoot to appreciate Canyon and Locusts’ verve and drive. The duo’s last album was released by Red on Red Records, and another effort for the Boston label was in the works when owner Justine Covault passed away last year. Young and Keane regrouped, finished the record, and dedicated this release to Covault.

East Boston-bred Sal Baglio has been a leading light of the Boston rock scene ever since he formed The Stompers in the late 1970s. More recently, he’s been penning songs from a rock opera about rock ‘n’ roll aliens. The piece has been performed in Nashville and now has been put on wax by a cast that also includes Boston musical luminaries Jen D’Agora, Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks, and screamer supreme Barrence Whitfield (making his second recent rock opera appearance). Let’s hope this most fun extraterrestrial affair gets mounted on a Boston stage in the near future.

The Massachusetts experimental music collective Sunburned Hand of the Man has such a lengthy and tangled history that when the tastemaking outlet Aquarium Drunkard made a podcast about the band, it ran for eight episodes. “Nimbus” was largely recorded over a week at member Adam Langellotti’s home studio in Turners Falls by a cast that featured a mix of regular, long-absent and brand-new contributors. The range of psychedelic freakouts, pointed spoken word pieces, ambient dreams and acoustic guitar melodies is so great that at times the LP sounds like a mixtape that collects several bands — all of them worth hearing.

The U.K.’s Black Kat Boppers have long brought their ferocious rockabilly sound to massive festivals like Glastonbury, and they’ve given Florence + The Machine and Damon Albarn an authentic 1950s vibe. When it came time to make their new record, they came here, making the disc with Boston honky tonk great Shaun Young at Revere’s Jet-Tone Studios for release on the locally based Swelltune Records label. The songs capture the band’s early rock, blues and Jamaican-inspired energy and the stone cold vocals of lead singer Roy Phillips. [The Black Kat Boppers appear at The Porch in Medford on April 13.]

String music fans will know Nate Sabat as the bassist of Boston bluegrass band Mile Twelve. Now he’s made an entire record using nothing but his upright bass and his voice. The mesmerizing record was produced by legendary old-time musician Bruce Molsky, who also inspired the concept when Sabat saw how Molsky could sing and play the fiddle at the same time. Sabat includes both his poignant originals and new and old songs from the folk and pop traditions. [Nate Sabat appears on April 17 at Club Passim.]

DJ WhySham, one of the 2021 ARTery 25, is a beloved and tireless collaborator with her peers from and beyond Boston both in the studio and onstage. While her past records have been heavy on showcasing other talents, she’s finally stepping into the spotlight with her next LP, which will include her first-ever solo single “City Dreams,” which she describes as a DJ’s anthem of ambition and a testament to the grind.

If you don’t think there’s striking original music being played outside of Boston and Cambridge, Jennifer Tefft will prove you wrong. Tefft has been belting out unadorned roots and straight-ahead rock at roadhouses all around New England since her 1997 debut, and on her sixth studio album her creative energy seems to be flowing more than ever, with Grammy-winning producer Bob St. John adding a sonic crunch. The single “Caffeine” has already proven to be a live favorite. [Jennifer Tefft & The Strange’s album release show will be June 14 at Koto in Lowell.]

Marblehead-raised jazz singer and composer Lauren Henderson often shows up on playlists of today’s most important jazz talents. She named her new album after the Spanish word for “shadows.” She continues to explore the depths and nuances of Afro-Latin and Black American music, culture and history through her music. The all-star cast includes fellow jazz stars vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Sean Mason, bassist Jonathan Michel and drummer Joe Dyson.

When Boston singer-songwriter Alisa Amador won the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Concert, she told WBUR she’d been thinking about quitting the music business prior to the win. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and instead she’s releasing her first full-length LP. “Multitudes” is a word that has the same meaning in English and Spanish, making it the perfect title for a bilingual record about life, searching and mourning. It’s the bold artistic statement that anyone who has watched Amador’s rise would expect, and Amador’s unique Latin-tinged indie folk sound remains as vibrant as it was when she burst onto the Boston scene.