We covered pop rock duo Sharpless in this blog in 2014, during the CMJ Music Marathon, after the release of the band's debut album 'The One I Wanted to Be.' Comprised of Jack Greenleaf and Montana Levy, the band at the time was based in Chicago. Two years later, we find them back in Jack's native NYC, involved in the community of artists called The Epoch. Even though they have no new releases under their belt, they have been gigging regularly in 2016. Their electronic power pop's epic sound is intentionally derailed by Greenleaf's entertainingly zany inclinations, found both in the vocal and production department. Single 'Greater Than (>)' (streaming below) finds the perfect balance between anthemic power, eccentric production and vocal incisivity. You can catch them live at Shea Stadium on September 30 and at Baby's All Right on October 10.

My Friday night was spent primarily at The Silent Barn (pictured) for the Miscreant and Father/Daughter Records showcase. I'll add that I spent all of the next day there as well; having spent the most time there than any venue, Silent Barn had my favorite bills of CMJ by far, and none of them were official. Although I was particularly exhausted that day/night and ended up leaving earlier than I would've liked, I did catch some great acts that I had been meaning to see for a while. I will say that this was a stacked bill, I'm only going to talk about a few of the bands that really stand out to me. - Keep reading Jake Saunders report of Day 4 of the CMJ Music Marathon 2014.

Sharpless (aka Jack Greenleaf) released their latest album, The One I Wanted To Be, digitally just over a month ago. The album featured previous singles "The Hardest Questions" and "Summer 2012" and several amazing vocal contributions from Montana Levy. Since the release Sharpless has been singed to Father/Daughter Records who will be reissuing the new album later this year.

Sharpless plays anthemic and aggressive pop with undertones of Japanese culture. Now that Greenleaf is done with school he will be based in Brooklyn, but his impact on the local scene was substantial and began way back in 2011 when he released his debut (+<).