Ken Tucker

Led by New Pornographers member Dan Bejar, the band takes inspiration from The Twilight Zone and Edgar Allan Poe to evoke a distressed intensity on its new record.

The Canadian singer-songwriter wrote, produced and performed all 11 songs on his new album, presenting himself as a lonely first-person narrator pining over an ex-girlfriend.

The 23-year-old Southern blues rocker strikes out on his own with a soulful new album produced Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. The record is a real beauty — and a turning-point for King.