This week has absolutely no release shows, sorry to say, so we'll be looking at stuff flying in under the radar and also one release debuting this Tuesday. --- First up is the latest from the Deer Child group, the booking and promotional agency based in Provo to help out artists in their area. This past December, they released a winter compilation album under the title We Are Frozen, which received a lot of interest from people in SLC and Ogden but didn't get as much press as you'd think it would. Well, they've decided to release another compilation for those of you unaware of the talent in Utah County, giving it the name Deer Child Compilation Vol. 1 : SIKA -- a double album of music by bands and musicians like Lady & Gent, The North Valley, the Archer's Apple, Baby Ghosts, Drew Danburry, Kathleen Frewin, L'anarchiste, Lake Island and more. You can download the entire album for free off their Bandcamp page.

Next on the list, the debut album from Megan Joy dropped a few weeks ago. If that name sounds slightly familiar, it should, as the local Fox Television station bombarded her name into your eardrums for the first few months of 2009 that she was on American Idol. Let's be honest: If you're a singer looking to make a name for yourself, just get on Idol and then get out before you reach the last five, then all you have to do is tour for a year and you're done. Joy made the smart move of immediately going to work on her debut album, a self-titled effort that really doesn't sound like she did when she was on Idol -- more soul and pop, with more of a chance for her to show her range than she was given on the world's biggest karaoke show. The album is only available for download; you can snag a copy directly from her on Bandcamp for $9.

Moving over to hip-hop for a moment, we've got the debut release from SLC performer Jodi Joe. Joe has been a part of the local scene since before he was in high school, making recordings and performing around groups while honing his skills. Unfortunately, that left him with very little work to credit to his own name until now. This debut full-length titled My Life has a nice blend of street lyrics and studio polish; it's at least worth a listen if you're a fan of the genre. You can download it now for just $5 off his Bandcamp site.

Switching to folk, the shortest one we're going to have anything to talk about is the debut release from The Sea & The Sea. This little gem showed up on Bandcamp a few weeks ago, and our search and requests for info have turned up nothing. Rather than wait for any info to come floating in from either sea, we're showing off this three track EP called Hello Thank You for everyone to check out. And if you're in the band, please write us!

Next up are a pair of releases from somewhat-solo performer Logan Nielsen. Not a lot to write about this guy, as he sprang onto the scene this year with no press anywhere -- or even shows, it seems -- but he dropped two albums onto Bandcamp earlier this month that are an interesting match, both going under the name Untitled. One is an acoustic solo album of 13 songs, recorded by himself with some loaned equipment; the second album is those same tracks with a full bands -- essentially, what could be considered a double album of the same 13 songs repeated in a different light. It's at least worth checking out; you can download both for a “name your price” tag on his Bandcamp page.

Friday marked the release of a short EP from Provo-based singer Amy Hansen. We really don't know much about her due to a lack of Web presence and, for that matter, of local gigs, but from what we've heard, she's got the talent. Earlier this month, she released a full-length album of covers, lazily called Covers By Amy Hansen. We're going to ignore that album and promote the EP she released today called Floods. It doesn't total more than eight minutes of music and is pretty much an instrumental release, but as a music writer, I find that far more interesting and engaging than listening to her cover Radiohead and Feist. You can download both for $2.99 each off her Bandcamp page.

And then finally this Tuesday, we'll see the latest release from The Shuttles. The Logan-based Americana band had one hell of a debut album back in 2010 called In This Valley, which, even though they got a lot of press on, they failed to capitalize on it lower in the state as they were primary based in Cache County. Shortly after the press died down, we didn't hear a peep from the band... until this week. Frontman Ben Hibshman (seen above) has transformed the band into a rotating group of USU students backing him as the lead guitarist/singer, and they've been hard at work putting together this sophomore release, The Storm Won't Stop Us. In many ways, this album is a departure from the previous incarnation, hitting more of an alt-folk vibe than the previous one; it's a very interesting direction both musically and lyrically to take the band. You can snag a copy off iTunes this Tuesday as it's released from Sioux City Records, and they'll be in town June 20 at Urban Lounge with Wild Cat Strike if you want to get a physical version.

Head out, love music, buy local!