We’re only halfway through March, but we’ve already witnessed a serious boost in live music at the local and national levels. While this month has been dominated by a seemingly endless string of great live shows, April is clearly the month of the release, with every weekend featuring an official Shanghai launch party. Here’s a quick preview.

On April 4, local girlie-pop trio Hard Queen release their highly-anticipated EP, Holiday. The five-track, 12:40-minute disc, produced by Tonerider effects pedal guru Brad Ferguson, is the result of nearly a year in the studio, and features keys, bass and drums combos at its best and catchy vocal arrangements with minimal bells and whistles.

Then on Saturday, April 11, Beijing favorites Hedgehog return to Shanghai to launch Blue Daydreaming, a 12-track gem that improves on their 2007 Modern Sky debut. The self-produced album demonstrates the band’s growth in the studio and as songwriters. The arrangements are slick (keys and 8-bit samples are added to the palate) and the group’s return to mostly Chinese-lyrics has greatly improved the overall craft of the title track and the eerily-haunting “Psuedomorph.”

April 18 marks the official Shanghai release of post-punk icons Re-TROS’ WATCH OUT! CLIMATE HAS CHANGED, FAT MUM RISES. The 11-track disc is the first LP for this Beijing trio, rumored to have expanded to a five-piece for live shows, and is their first offering since 2005’s critically-acclaimed Cut Off! Produced by Damon McMahon, the album shows Re-TROS moving away from their formulaic structures, pushing the boundaries with songs ranging from 1:17 to 8:35 minutes, including saxophones, keys, auxiliary percussion elements and delving into psychedelic realms.

Finally, on April 25, Maybe Mars’ The Gar comes to town to release their self-titled debut, a collection of pure indie-rock anthems. Sung entirely in Mandarin, s/t is best exemplified by the lead single “Circle,” a five-minute slow dive sing-a-long, with mid-tempo drums, rolling bass lines and singer Zhan Pan’s dominating tenor.

Pick up these CDs at the release show–Hard Queen, Hedgehog and Re-TROS play at Yuyintang while The Gar play the Zhijiang Dream Factory. Or, head to 0093 Studio (93 Lingling Lu 零陵93号) to find your favorite Chinese rock releases.