The cream of this week's musicalicious crop is oh, so creamy.

LittleHorse, Strangers in the Valley

I've been listening for the last couple of weeks to LittleHorse's new album, their third, and it's a keeper (also, judging from the somewhat lesser quality of the two songs they've remixed here from their previous CD, it's probably the best).

Led by two brothers, LittleHorse is a two-piano power-pop band that sounds a little like (take a deep breath) Queen plus a Latin band, and Billy Joel, backing up Joe Jackson, with Jellyfish on vocal harmonies. Or something. Whatever it is, it's one of the year's highlights - inventive but accessible, loaded with creamy harmonies, top-drawer musicality, and joyful fun. Highly recommended. Listen at their Myspace page, or at CD Baby where you can also buy it.

Eliza Lynn, The Weary Wake Up

Although I wasn't terribly impressed with Eliza Lynn's song on Putumayo's recent Americana compilation, I like the label's work so much that I almost automatically give a listen to anything from an artist they have included in the past. Lynn's new CD turns out to be a solid, if not spectacular, set that embodies the term "Americana" in its broader sense, drawing on folk balladry, rock, blues, bluegrass, and jazz, but projecting a single characteristic voice.

Part of that consistency comes from Lynn's literal voice, a cocky, cutting, but cloaked instrument that curls around cryptic lyrics like "You don't know when it comes, cause it's here before you're ready. But if you walk it out the door, you'll be begging it back on your knees." In the brighter numbers, like "Hold My Breath," "How Many Times," and the Dixieland-style "Puddin' Pie," her smiling twang reminds me a little of Ellen McIlwaine, while her darker moments, like the trippy banjo-and-bass tune "Conrad" and the newgrassy "Bound," express more of a snarly, Lucinda Williams sensibility.

"Intolerance Blues" is one of the more vivid political songs I've heard lately (and I've heard a lot). Lynn nails jingoistic country singers and right-wing hate radio with one swipe: "A country station is playing a song of vengeance, riding on patriotic hate... The country they sing of sounds like an angry drunkard - blinded and happy on his drug."

And she picks a banjo as mean as her fights. Altogether, this is a nicely put together CD that grew on me with each listen. Sample the CD at her website or listen and buy at CD Baby.

Dave Sasscer, Quiet Mind

Here's another artist who does a good job with a variety of styles.

First off: making relaxing soft rock that doesn't get smarmy or sentimental is a neat trick, and David Sasscer pulls it off nicely here on several songs.

But as the set progresses one hears nods towards Santana, reggae, soul, funk, country, Eastern mysticism, and groovy, late 60s-style pop. Each song, though, has a simple, sweeping flow, even when rocking, which some of them do. The lyrics flow too, soulful and compact.