Guy Forsyth

In a fashion not dissimilar to how it brought succor to black Southern field hands, the blues has also been a means for white kids like Guy Forsyth to escape their suburban roots and acquire some soul. And unlike hordes of his fellow Austinites whose music prattles endlessly through the 12-bar blues and SRV-style guitar wanking, Forsyth's actually done something with the form to make it his own. On his latest, Love Songs For and Against, the blues is the foundation that makes his pop- and rock-inflected musings on political and romantic redemption carry some gravitas and not just seem like hippie-dippy hash pipe dreams. Better yet, in a live setting, this triple-threat talent--singer, guitarist and harp player--works a room like a man hungry to feel the love and willing to be a seductive showman in order to capture his listeners' hearts, minds and urban (or suburban) soul.