This is the final installment in the saga of music reviews I?have written for The News over the past few years. Enjoy. – Charlotte Kyle, Features Editor

MANSIONS

Everyone needs music that reminds them of home. That’s why any project Christopher Browder has been a part of is constantly in rotation when I’m thinking about Louisville.

I first heard Browder’s music in 2007 when he was playing shows in a band called Once More Than Never. Since then he’s put out some of my favorite songs and cured any homesickness I’ve felt.

FAVORITE ALBUM – “Dig Up The Dead”

FAVORITE TRACK – “Seven Years”

LIMBECK

I first saw Limbeck open up for All-American Rejects. I loved AAR but was unfamiliar with their independent label past. This was the night I started to understand independent music.

It blew my mind how many amazing bands weren’t on major labels, and I became obsessed with $5 concerts and baking cupcakes for poor musicians. Limbeck enjoyed my cupcakes and I enjoyed their tunes.

FAVORITE ALBUM – “Let Me Come Home”

FAVORITE TRACK – “Names For Dogs”

VAL EMMICH

If Limbeck was my introduction to indie labels, Val Emmich was my introduction to leaving them. Emmich was signed with Epic Records when I first started listening but he left not long after.

He not only survived, but he also flourished into an incredibly talented, honest artist who cares about his music and his fans. His latest album was completely fan-funded.

FAVORITE ALBUM – “Sunlight Searchparty”

FAVORITE TRACK – “At The Risk of Sounding”

BETHANY JOY

Bethany Joy Galeotti has been my musical and lifestyle inspiration for a while. She has a natural inner beauty that I admire and talent that I envy. As I started listening to her I also checked out her inspirations.

She’s one of the reasons I fell in love with old Billy Joel, Sam Cooke and “Wicked.” She personally never sticks to one genre, a musical wild child in a spiritual eccentric.

FAVORITE ALBUM – “Come On Home”

FAVORITE TRACK – “Leaving Town Alive”