New springtime CDs offer bouquet of tunes as fresh as the weather

The weather is warming, which means it’s time to take the MP3 player — or even those retro things called CDs — down to the BBQ pit or crank up while unearthing the pool from its long winter’s nap.

Here are some new tunes to perk up your ears as spring completes its transition from the dreadful cold of so many months:

The August Empire — Before the Hereafter (IPMG)

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Quietly introspective and by turns mournful and reflective, the Los Angeles-based duo (and real-life couple) of Liz Constantine and Dante Marchi bring fresh life to the LA sound that is far less angst-filled and more vibrant than has come out of Southern California in some time. Standout tracks are the angelic duet “The Only One,” the bluegrass-influenced “Back to the Start” and a haunting rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb,” with Miss Constantine on vocals. Keep your ears open for the bonus track “The Harder They Come” online.

Olly Murs — Never Been Better (Columbia)

Somewhere between One Direction and Sam Smith is this English singer-songwriter whose new disc vacillates between upbeat-yet-melancholy love songs like “Hope You Got What You Came For” and danceable pop/synth cuts like “Did You Miss Me?” “Never Been Better” is solid, if unremarkable, but a highlight is “Up,” featuring a catchy duet with Demi Lovato. A talent to watch.

Miles Away — Tide (Six Feet Under Records)

Sometimes, as Henry Rollins so eloquently observed, you just want to “put on a record and wreck everything in sight.” The perfect background music for such an endeavor is this new chapter in the storied history of Perth, Australia’s Miles Away, a hard-core punk band that proves that not everything from Oz is as cuddly as a koala.

Teenage Bottlerocket — Tales From Wyoming (Rise Records)

With so much dour prognostication in music, it’s refreshing to come upon an album that goes for the fun without apology. The lads from Wyoming — of course, right? — provide catchy, punktastic tunes on their sixth album. “In My Head,” “I Found the One” and “They Call Me Steve” are upbeat pop that balance some of the more one-note tracks deeper in the album. The disc caps with the quiet “First Time,” an unexpectedly chill love song.

Secrets — Renditions EP (Rise Records)

If you want to know what a “post-hardcore” band might sound like if it unplugged the amps and toned it down to meditation level, look no further than “Renditions,” an EP from San Diego’s Secrets. Three tracks are acoustic versions of songs from the band’s album “Fragile Figures,” as well as a brand-new tune called “What’s Left of Us” — a pained ditty about lost love. If punk were always this contemplative, we suspect the audiences might not be so destructive. (We could be wrong.)

Kelakos — Uncorked (Rare Tracks From a Vintage ‘70s Band) (Kelakos)

Remember coming of age in the ‘70s and rocking out to Kelakos? Neither do we, but for those who missed those halcyon days, the upstate New York band’s all-too-brief best-of gets a digital face-lift on this self-produced album. Best of all, you can relive the latter part of that decade without bell bottoms.

Seth Kibel — No Words (Azalea City)

If watching “Boardwalk Empire” made you nostalgic for the Jazz Age, we have good news: Washington’s own Seth Kibel has come out with an album of original instrumentals that show off the jazzman’s virtuosity with clarinet, klezmer, saxophone and flute. A D.C. staple, Mr. Kibel has won numerous Washington Area Music Awards (Wammies), and he lectures on Jewish music and jazz history in his spare time. A homegrown talent we’re proud of.

Sunny Sweeney — Provoked (Aunt Daddy Records)

The pride of East Texas returns with an album about learning from mistakes and coming into one’s own. Miss Sweeney — now married happily to an Austin police officer — sings about the cads among the keepers on “You Don’t Know Your Husband,” “Second Guessing” and “My Bed” before closing the album with the smile-inducing “Backhanded Compliment” and an unapologetic need to party with “Everybody Else Can Kiss My Ass.”

Fractal Cat — Lovingkind (Fractal Cat)

Everyone wants to be the next Beatles — or at least try to imagine what they might sound like in the 21st century. An impossible feat, but Baltimore’s Fractal Cat gives it the ol’ college try on its second album, offering mellow reveries like the psychedelic “Yellow Sun” and “Morning Song Too” or just grooving along on “Blue Sky” and the up-tempo jam “Climb That Hill.” With killer guitar work from songwriter Keith Jones, he and fellow scribe Miles Gannett show the clear influence of the British Invasion sound, still relevant more than a half-century later.

Willy Porter — Human Kindness (Weasel Records)

The Wisconsin songster unveils more country-folk tunes on “Human Kindness,” an album that pays homage to his home state with “Chippewa Boots.” The troubadour goes optimistic in the title track before funking out on “Walking Like a Man” and the bluegrass-influenced “Roses in the Rain.”

Caitlin Crosby — Save That Pillow EP (Deep Well Records)

This up-and-coming Southern California songstress is definitely one to keep an eye on, thanks to the poppy “Just Another Day” and “Gasoline,” the contemplative title track, and the elegiac “Contemplation Prize,” a harsh meditation on the complications of love if ever there were one. Miss Crosby is still at the beginning of her musical career, and judging by this EP, it will be a trajectory to behold.

Jeffrey Bernstein — Clear Mind Calm Water (Corduroy Fifths)

Admit it, you don’t mediate enough; frankly, neither do we. Amid the sound and furor — to say nothing of those pesky communicator devices that never leave us alone — finding a few moments to simply sit and contemplate is tough. But we think we’ve found the perfect background music: Los Angeles composer Jeffrey Bernstein’s minor key-melodious album that lives up to its name as a serenity inducer. Tracks like “Well of Mindfulness,” “The Sea-Bell” and “The Dharma Like Snow” all but lull the listener into nirvana. Perfect for yoga music or just to calm your nerves, “Clear Mind Calm Water” lives up to its poetic aspirations.