Introducing… Great Guys Records

• Sport Fishing USA

  
  Photo by: Aaron Lingenfelter

  Sport Fishing USA is a rock band, born in a garage but not limited to the associations usually tied to such a lineage. Though their origins mimic Neil Young's, where Neil used only a handful of notes on guitar, Nathan Moore uses them all and then some -- the band's crazed cover of "Miserlou" stands as testimony to that. This is music best experienced at crowded house shows, covered in sweat. To satisfy your Sport Fishing urges until their upcoming release, there’s always “Snakes Will Be Snakes.”

• Blond

  
  Photo by: Brien Vincent

  In many ways, their name says it all: Blondes do, so they say, have more fun. Or maybe you interpret the name as more of an homage to the pastoral and introspective folk rock of Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde"? Somewhere in the middle you've found the perfect mix. The reverb-drenched pop tunes from this Athens-based band never stray far from blissful affectations of rural Ohio, but also never hesitate to let their hair down -- every glorious yellow curl. While they record their sophomore album, Loser, enjoy “Walking Hands.”

• Speaking Suns

  
  Photo by: Ben Williamson

  Speaking Suns make music that is at once patient, thoughtful and ebullient. To classify their tunes as indie pop would be doing the four piece an injustice; yet the blend of crunchy guitars, syncopated drum and bass with elaborate jazz keys has that certain je ne sais quoi that turns a song into an earworm. Check out the video for their song “The Disenchanted,” off of their 2014 album “Vanishing Country.”

• Manray

  
  Photo by: Maggie Carey

  A Dayton three-piece that toes the line of retro rock with a sneer and a snarl, Manray blends all of the intensity of garage punk with the accessibility of American Bandstand. Catch them most weekends playing around the city; Joey Beach's ragged howl, Alec Snead's rockabilly melodies and Matt Carey's breakneck drumming are best served live. While they’re working on their sophomore effort, rage to “Say What” off of their 2014 self-titled record.

• Injecting Strangers

  
  Photo by: Jeremy Kramer

  Cincinnati-based band Injecting Strangers summons the ghosts of doo-wop while conjuring their particular art-punk concoctions. These guys are crooners, but instead of finger snaps they keep time with thunderous cymbal crashes. Theirs is beauty in the bombast, and the combination has us all crying out for more. They're looking to press their recent release, Patience, Stranger, on vinyl, so you can already rock out to “Detroit.”

• Wheels

  
  Photo by: Steven Bognar

  Folk music is simple, pure, beautiful. What are the chances that five teenagers from Yellow Springs would master the effective use of these principles before they graduated high school? It certainly took Crosby, Stills and Nash much longer, and you won't hear any better tunes or more crystalline harmonies from those folkies then you will from Wheels. Longtime fans will rejoice to know that Wheels is working on new tunes after an extended hiatus. In the meantime, get back to your roots with “The Dove” off of 2013’s the Black Album.