Maxwell
"BLACKsummers'night" (Columbia Records)
After an eight-year hiatus, R&B singer Maxwell returns with his long-awaited, often-delayed, self-produced fourth studio album. The nine-track set is the first installment of a planned trilogy, and Maxwell recorded the album with a live, 10-piece band. On the lullaby-like "Pretty Wings," Maxwell croons, "I had to set you free, to see clearly/The way that love can be when you are not with me/I had to leave, let love set you free to fly your pretty wings," over xylophone and guitar. Other tracks include the regretful "Bad Habits," a midtempo number with big horns and layered voice-overs; "Cold," about a cruel lover; the uptempo "Love You," on which Maxwell pleads, "Tell me I can be your man/Baby let me love you," over an organ groove; the jazzy "Stop the World," with heavy guitars and kick drums; the piano-backed "Fist Full of Tears"; and the inspirational "Help Somebody."

Maxwell Tour Info
Maxwell Chart History

Best of the Rest Out July 7
Those Darlins, TBA (Thirty Tigers) /// Tour Dates
Stellastarr, "Civilized" (Bloated Wire) /// Tour Dates
Rodrigo Y Gabriela, TBA (ATO) /// Tour Dates
Son Volt, "American Central Dust" (Rounder) /// Tour Dates
Corey Chisel, TBA (RCA) /// Tour Dates
Fritz Helder & the Phantoms, "Greatest Hits" (House of Helder/Nelstar) /// Tour Dates
We Were Promised Jetpacks, "These Four Walls" (Fat Cat) /// Tour Dates
Tiny Vipers, "Life on Earth" (Sub Pop) /// Tour Dates

David Nail
"I'm About to Come Alive" (MCA Nashville)
David Nail's new album was a long time coming; after releasing a single on Mercury Nashville in 2002 to limited success, Nail left the label, only to sign a few years later with sister MCA Nashville. Nail wrote five of the 11 tracks on his new album, with Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox contributing songs and Miranda Lambert guesting on "Strangers on a Train." The first single and title cut, a cover of a song by rock band Train, peaked at No. 47 on Hot Country Songs last summer.

David Nail Tour Info

Daughtry
"Leave This Town" (19 Recordings/RCA)
Chris Daughtry hit it big out of the gate, being booted from "American Idol" but then selling 4.4 million copies of his namesake band's debut album, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His new effort was produced by Howard Benson, who also worked on Daughtry's debut. "Leave This Town" finds the "Idol" alum and his bandmates singing more glossy, guitar-driven power ballads like "No Surprise," which RCA senior VP of marketing Aaron Borns says is already being enthusiastically received at radio and by fans. "Chris is Twitter-ing all over the place and getting all this great feedback online. To see it all happen instantaneously has been very exciting."



Daughtry Tour Info
Daughtry Chart History

La Factoría
"Demphra" (Panama Music/Universal)
With two sassy females rapping behind a featured male singer, Panama's La Factoría scored an international reggaetón hit last year with the single "Perdóname." Since the departure of Joycee, vocalist Demphra (aka Marlene Romero) has taken the La Factoría name and is exploring fast, danceable soca rhythms while still employing her rap-singing technique. Representing the new sound are "Fuiste Malo Conmigo," an uptempo pop-tropical track, and "La Vecina," a duet with labelmates Mach & Daddy. The first single is "Hay Otro En Mi Vida," a poppy reggaetón track with flute and guitar touches (and a generous sprinkling of AutoTune) in the catchy, trendy Panamanian romantic style.



La Factoria Tour Info
La Factoria Chart History

Best of the Rest Out July 14
Spinal Tap, "This Is Spinal Tap" (MGM) /// Tour Dates
David Garza, TBA (Cosmica) /// Tour Dates
Ledisi, TBA (Verve Forecast) /// Tour Dates
"Hannah Montana 3," TBA (Disney) /// Tour Dates
Gin Blossoms, TBA (Savoy) /// Tour Dates
Amanda Blank, "I Love You" (Downtown) /// Tour Dates
Chico DeBarge, "Addiction" (Kedar) /// Tour Dates
Joe, "Signature" (Kedar) /// Tour Dates
Trick Daddy, "Finally Famous" (Dunk Ryder) /// Tour Dates
Lisa Lisa, "Love N Life" (Mass Appeal) /// Tour Dates
Jordin Sparks, TBA (Jive) /// Tour Dates
Suffocation, "Blood Oath" (Nuclear Blast) /// Tour Dates

Sugar Ray
"Music for Cougars" (Pulse/Universal/Fontana)
Honesty, self-deprecation and a juvenile sense of humor have long served Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath well. So when the singer says things like "I know my voice is very limited" and "I know people aren't sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for a Sugar Ray record," he may just be trying to set the bar so low that any success seems significant. It could happen, since the band doesn't veer from the center lane it carved out for itself with the ubiquitous '90s radio staple "Fly." The band wrote the new songs in the studio during the past six months, and tracks like the breezy pop ditty "Boardwalk" and the midtempo ode to summer romance "Love Is the Answer" hew to the same path. More [http://www.billboard.com/news/sugar-ray-returns-with-music-for-cougars-1003968842.story]



Sugar Ray Tour Info
Sugar Ray Chart History

Best of the Rest Out July 21
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, "Under the Covers Vol. 2" (Shout Factory) /// Tour Dates
Anita O'Day, "Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer" (Red Distribution) /// Tour Dates
Our Lady Peace, "Burn Burn Out" (Independent Label Group) /// Tour Dates
Sean Bones, TBA (Frenchkiss Records) /// Tour Dates
Assembly of Dust, "Assembly of Dust LLC" (Assembly of Dust LLC) /// Tour Dates

Best of the Rest Out In July
Revive, "The Journey" (Worldwide, July 28) /// Tour Dates
Between the Trees, "Spain" (Bonded, July 28) /// Tour Dates
Hurricane Chris, "Unleashed" (Polo Grounds Music/RCA, July 28) /// Tour Dates
The Used, "Artwork" (Warner Bros, July TBA) /// Tour Dates
Wye Oak, "The Knot" (Merge, July TBA) /// Tour Dates
Rye Rye, "Go Pop Bang" (NEET/Interscope, July TBA) /// Tour Dates