John Vanderslice, Robbers on High Street

As his day job, John Vanderslice runs San Francisco's Tiny Telephone recording studio, which features a Neve 5316 console, "the city's most comfortable couch" and the staggering ability to boast that Erase Errata and Cex have spent time there. By night (or perhaps late afternoon), Vanderslice makes compelling indie-rock records that feature his typically pinched vocals, lots of neat sound effects and stories about seriously wayward souls that deserve them. Cellar Door, his fourth and most recent album, is his best. New York's Robbers on High Street sound like a straighter, younger version of Spoon, who've also made use of Tiny Telephone's couch and console.