A native Texan singer-songwriter who got his start in Houston, TX, Tody Castillo soon found himself honing his skills and refining his brand of country, rock, and folk in the more competitive and fickle scene in New York City. Drawing comparisons to such names as Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams, Castillo released his first album, Tody Castillo, in 2005. The album was a local -- in Houston -- critical success, earning the artist a handful of awards from The Houston Chronicle and The Houston Press.-Chris True

10 Backstreets

09 Tennison Hotel

08 Don't Leave The Country

07 Waiving Through The Window

06 Politics

05 This Is Love

04 Brainwashed

03 God Only Knows

02 I'm Gonna Change

01 Independence Day

Tody Castillo has been a performing songwriter for almost two decades. The material from two previous albums, his solid eponymous 2005 release and the superb Windhorse from 2008, covered traditional songwriter’s ground - love, loss, and struggle. With a storyteller’s nuance and a designer’s eye for detail, each song revealed depths of feeling and meaning.

With this year’s new album (Title TBD), Tody Castillo has sharpened his best weapon. Adding a decade of married fatherhood to his growing list of accomplishments, there’s undeniable weight to his vocals, new grit that before was only hinted at. The observations within Nightfall Seattle and Old Rodriguez - two of the new album's best cuts - have Castillo opening in a whispering tone that quickly changes as his voice rises, higher and stronger on the chorus, only to return grounded and confessional. Castillo is blessed with pipes that make the conversational sound anthemic, and this new album is awash with this wonderful counterbalance.