Lawrence.com

The members of We Are Country Mice trace their roots back to Kansas and Wisconsin, perhaps the reason they're prone to singing about "the heartland." The group appeared on the Brooklyn scene earlier this year with a ragged, soulful sound that boasts of "contagious nostalgia and raw energy."

Lawrence's Transmittens traces its roots back to Cincinnati, where Jen Weidl and Danny Rowland met and started making lovely music together. Since relocating to Lawrence three years ago, the duo has written a charming body of songs built around drum machines, synthesizers, and choruses that will get stuck in your head for weeks. Their lyrics about hot dog suits, cow clouds and sparklemittens are hardly the too-cute variety of less capable twee-pop acts, but rather the artfully charming sort that The Magnetic Fields or The Field Mice might publish.

Lawrence songwriter Katlyn Conroy (of Another Holiday) will release a solo album this fall. Taking cues from personal faves like Jenny Lewis and Death Cab for Cutie, Conroy sings sweet, hummable melodies with hushed dynamics and twinkling keyboards.