Once again, we’re taking a week off airing a feature show on a single band to bring you this collection of eight songs by some great San Francisco Bay Area groups.

Caves kicks off this week’s episode with a song from their excellent album Here is Vision. We first caught the band’s dynamic songwriting at a live show we reviewed here and were excited to hear that the band’s recorded work is equally strong. You can pick up the album over at the band’s MySpace page.

Long-time favorites Love is Chemicals are currently prepping their second album, the follow-up to their 2005 self-titled release. The track we’ve included in this week’s episode is their brand new song “Let Me Come Down,” which you can only find on our brand new compilation, The Bay Bridged, Volume 1, which you can purchase at our online store. Get more Love is Chemicals at their web site and MySpace page, and check out our interview with the band here.

We featured Oakland’s Mandrake almost a year ago, an episode you can find here. At that time, the band was still working on its terrific debut full-length Featherweight, which is now available in local record stores. The band is celebrating the CD’s release at the Hemlock Tavern on Wednesday, July 25th. You can get more info at Mandrake’s MySpace page.

Brian Glaze is back with a brand new album called Rainsplitter and, from the sound of the title track, it’s another winner from this Oakland singer-songwriter. Hear more songs from the new album at Brian’s MySpace page and the Birdman Records web site. Your next opportunities to check him out live are at the Hotel Utah on Tuesday, July 3rd and the Uptown in Oakland on Thursday, July 5th.

Make Me recently released their debut album It Only Hurts The First Time, a delightful, poppy record reminiscent at times of 90s indie rock sounds and a lot of fun. The band has a tour scheduled for the Pacific Northwest; check their MySpace page for all of the dates. The album is in stores now and can be purchased from Make Me’s web site.

We is Shore Dedicated is an exciting project from Sam Tsitrin of The Ebb and Flow, and Chris Cline of Scrabbel, along with jazz bassist Dmitry Ishenko. Find more of their music at their web site and MySpace page, and you can purchase their self-titled debut CD from CDBaby. Check out the latest on The Ebb and Flow here.

On their self-titled debut album, Ellul mix acoustic instruments, a variety of electronic devices, and vocal harmonies to skillfully craft moody, complex and rewarding music. You can hear more at their MySpace page and can purchase the full length from their label, Sounds Are Active. That site also has a collection of interesting remixes of songs from their debut. The band is currently on tour. Check the MySpace page for those dates.

Indie-shoegaze rockers Astral‘s latest release Transmission is an exciting set of epic dark rock songs with some shoegazer and psych feel to them. It’s also a prelude to a new full length album we’re looking forward to later this year. You can get all of the details at their MySpace page and web site. Astral is celebrating the release of the EP on Wednesday, July 18th at the Elbo Room with Peloton and The Love X Nowhere.

Thanks for listening! Make sure you pre-order your copy of The Bay Bridged, Volume 1 at our online store and come to our CD release party on Friday, July 13th at Thee Parkside, featuring The Dont’s, Love is Chemicals, The Old-Fashioned Way and The Lonelyhearts!