Raised by a country songwriter dad amid old-school guitarists in Shreveport, Louisiana, 20-year-old Dylan LeBlanc can't help but let his roots show on his debut, with brooding songs built around pedal steel and fingerpicked acoustics. He's got the doomed romanticism of Townes Van Zandt, and his slurry voice shines with backup from Emmylou Harris and dad James. The vibe is chill and a bit same-y. But on "5th Avenue Bar," a grim boozer's tale set to cello and synth, you can hear all sorts of roads opening up.

“Tonight's the Night”

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."