Chris Smither
Live as I'll Ever Be(Hightone)
A megawatt solo performer, Chris Smither is captured here in full shoe-stomping glory. The pure folk songwriting of originals like "No Love Today," the intricate guitar blues of his Robert Johnson cover, "Dust My Broom," and the masterful combination of the two on "The Devil's Real" are tangible signs of the singer-songwriter's vigorous genius.
The Twilight Singers
Twilight(Columbia)
Whispered about in the bootleg underworld since 1997, this labor of love by Afghan Whigs soulslinger Greg Dulli is finally seeing the light of day. Penned by Dulli, and with support from the likes of Harold Chichester of Howlin' Maggie and Satchel's Shawn Smith, Twilight is a tragic soundtrack of noir nights rich with passion, betrayal, and hints of light in the fog of loneliness. Crooning above piano, strings, acoustic guitars, and ambient beats, Dulli wrings his heart out like so many spirit-soaked cocktail napkins. Twilight's eerie melancholy is refined by the studio wizardry of end-stage collaborators Fila Brazillia.
De La Soul
Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump(TOMMYBOY)
Hip hop granddaddies De La Soul have long specialized in the genre's soft points - oddity, honesty, and irony. Art Official Intelligence keeps the tradition alive while reaching out to a more mainstream audience. Dave (formerly Trugoy) delivers the disc's operative boast: "While you fools claim corners, we gonna claim theories / Y'all some stickball niggas, we the World Series." Fortunately, they don't need ninth-inning heroics; even after a decade-plus, their craft is tight, especially teamed with MIA chanteuse Chaka Khan and ticklish bassist Pino Palladino on the stellar soul collage "All Good?"
John Cage
The Seasons(ECM)
Cage is arguably more famous for his musical ideas than for his music. The Seasons, however, collects some of the towering experimentalist's most accessible and visionary compositions. "Suite for Toy Piano" is easy on the ears with its simple bell-like tones. "Concerto for Prepared Piano," on the other hand, is ravishingly astringent - bolts, screws, and pieces of rubber are inserted among the piano's strings, converting the instrument into a solo percussion ensemble.
Thievery Corporation
The Mirror Conspiracy(ESL Music)
Known for their chill remixes of everyone from Stereolab to David Byrne, this DC-based duo favor the organic, emotive spaciousness of bossa nova and jazz over the icy, mechanized beats of typical electronic music. On The Mirror Conspiracy they build a template of warm global rhythms that jet-set among Brazil, Jamaica, India, and North Africa, forwarding an armchair appreciation of therapeutic beats.
Greg Brown
Covenant(Red House)
After 30-some years of wedding his swampy growl of a voice to his bone-dry turn of phrase, Greg Brown is one of the best singer-songwriters in the country. Following his brilliant (and Grammy-nominated) 1997 release, Slant 6 Mind, Brown's 14th album serves up another sterling, if less menacing, acoustic blues-contemporary folk set. Full of the tenderness and humor of middle-aged love ("Marriage is impossible, marriage is dull ... it's something no sensible person would do ... I wish I was married to you"), and the struggle against loneliness and heartache, Covenant is a gifted storyteller's droll musical commentary on modern life.
Killing Heidi
Reflector(Wah Wah Music)
Teenage Ella Hooper sings with the effortless ease of a 70-year-old Vegas lounge veteran, hitting swollen wails and powder-puff whispers with graceful exactness. Behind her sassy vocals, the Aussie band blends funky ska, melodious pop, and raucous punk. On "Mascara," they mix giggly Moog samples with bouncy guitar-chord repetitions. And on "Weir," Hooper borrows a little of Sinéad's yodeling skills for an utterly infectious chorus sure to find a space in the can't-get-it-outta-my-head part of the brain. Though parts of the record dabble on the cutesy side, Hooper & Co. manage to convey the freshness of youth without the overuse of words like baby.
Swayzak
Himawari (the Medicine Label)
The Swayzak twosome don't like to be called DJs, and their latest album proves they're much more than your average skratchmasters. Using old-school equipment like turntables, drum machines, and a Casio keyboard, Swayzak creates a sound that - shuffling between dub-reggae, deep-minimal house, and trip hop - lets their message of musical and dance freedom come shining through.
STREET CRED
The Me Index
Gildergasm
Anglo Galactico
Witch Hunt
Anti-G Shock
Pharm Trek
It's a Wrap
ReadMe
Music
Comicopia
On Your Mark, Get Set, Row!
Interface-Off
Just Outta Beta
The Burrows of New York
Work Study
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