Back in the day, when the Graffiti Rock Challenge was actually at Graffiti, Ray McLaughlin made a big impression as the suave frontman for Six Gun Jury.

He's not much for stages or bands these days, but McLaughlin is a steady presence in the form of self-contained studio artist Chancellorpink. It started in 2006 with a self-titled debut album reminiscent of Bowie and a promise to "record an album a year until I die or become boring."

"I made that statement three years ago to set a goal for myself, without ever really intending to adhere to it," he says. "But the songs just keep coming to me, more now than ever before in my life. I think real-life experiences have helped create more real songs."

He's stayed true to the promise with the 19-track "Darkrazor" in the spring of 2007 and then "Valentine Parade" on Valentine's Day 2008.

The fourth album, released last month, is the 13-song "Life Like Sad Music" that once again draws on his love for Bowie and '80s synth-rock. The Chancellor handles everything from the guitars, keyboards and drum programming to the engineering and then tops it with his rich poetry and haunting croon.

The standout on "Life Like Sad Music" is a sturdy guitar-rocker "Third Time, No Charm" that deserves some spins on the radio.

"I know how to engineer better," he says. "And I wanted the whole album louder, fuller. And I wanted the songs to be simpler, with more defined choruses, ones people could sing along to more easily."

About this notion that all his influences are from the past, The Chancellor says, "Actually, all I have listened to in the past six years, since I bought my first computer, is Internet radio. I read Pitchfork, Magnet, Popmatters and CMJ, listen to bands like The National, Joseph Arthur, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Jens Leckman. I don't listen to any of the bands I keep getting compared to anymore."

For a sample, go to myspace.com/chancellorpink.

Marnie Stern, a New Yorker with blazing fingertapping technique, garnered a mention from Venus Magazine as one of the greatest female guitarists of all time. She also turned up at No. 44 on Pitchfork's list of the Top Albums of 2008 list with the bizarrely titled avant-indie record "This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That."

If her originals are too far out for you, you might like her cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," which manages to be strident and sweet at the same time. It can be heard at myspace.com/marniestern1. Stern is at Modern Formations Gallery, 4919 Penn Ave., in Garfield, Sunday with Ed fROMOHIO (of SST punk legends Firehose) and Evil Twin. Tickets are $8-$10. 412-362-0274.

Ryan Unks (formerly of metalcore band Creation is Crucifixion) brings The Human Quena Orchestra to the 31st Street Pub Saturday at 10 p.m. for the release of "The Politics of the Irredeemable" on Crucial Blast. It's accurately described as "a series of apocalyptic visions and epiphanies of endtime realization, prophetic screeds that look to a future rendered pustulent and war-stricken by the failed machinations of the human race..." In other words, it's the darkest music you'll ever hear.