"Shade of Melancholy" is one of the best songs I've heard this year, by artists large or small. It's the track Ben Harper has waited his whole career to make, and by the end of its smoggy-jazz exaltations that "everything's gonna be all right," you're guaranteed to believe it regardless of your mood. If anything, "Just Ain't Enough" and "Peach" pale in comparison, but they're both good tracks, with a sweet sax movement in the former and an insistently swaying head-bob in the latter. These guys are well worth watching -- especially if there's ever another H.O.R.D.E. tour.

Get ready to turn back the clock to a time when the all-mighty, all-natural groove dominated the airwaves. Coming out of Brooklyn, NY, SHAGG brings together a mellow acoustic vibe with enough soul to keep the lights low. Think ... warm music. Music that puts a smile on your face. That's what it did for me the first time I listened to "Just Ain't Enough," one of five tracks found on their debut PEACH EP; a deep murmuring of guitar, bass and hand-drumming lures you into this melody that rises to a joyous peak of sweet voice and saxophone. Musically, SHAGG's all-acoustic lineup is tender on the ears. Free from the clicks and whirs of overproduction, they have kept their sound pure and simple. It should be a breath of fresh air for anyone sick of the manufactured pop acts constantly emerging on the scene. Lyrically, the group can keep you guessing. The lyrics of "Just Ain't Enough" look at the heart and mind from a P-funk-gone-gospel perspective. Aaron Mitchell's smooth, soaring vocals belie the tweaked nature of his words. In "Peach," the title track from SHAGG's album, Mitchell busts out in alliteration overdrive and keeps up the pace with mischievous rhymes. When he slips into the story of James and the Giant Peach, I can almost hear George Clinton laughing in the background. Then, on "Sheila," a seemingly standard tale of a fine lady culminates in ... a brain massage. Interesting lyrics aside, this band follows a groove that is straight from the heart. The soothing sounds of SHAGG will massage your brain, heal your pain, and make you wonder why you haven't heard of them already.