Morphine
Bootleg Detroit (Rykodisc)
Frontman Mark Sandman is no longer with us, but the vitality of Morphine's dense brand of low rock lives on. Recorded by a fan at a Motor City gig in '94, this is the only official document of the band's righteous stage presence. Saxophonist Dana Colley swings on "Come Along," while Sandman delivers a cunning litany on "Cure for Pain."
Emmylou Harris
Red Dirt Girl (Nonesuch)
With help from producer Malcolm Burn, whose credits range from Aaron Neville to Iggy Pop, Emmylou continues to turn her back on country music, swaddling her reedy wails in gauzy electronic washes, hums, rattles, and throbbing tom-toms. Nothing here approaches the forlorn grandeur of Emmylou's great late-'70s work, but "My Antonia" (a duet with Dave Matthews) and "Bang the Drum Slowly" (Emmylou's remembrance of her soldier father) are deeply affecting settings for a classic voice. Having penned few songs in her career, Emmylou wrote or cowrote all but one on Red Dirt Girl, showing that at 53 she remains a work in progress.
Medeski Martin and Wood
The Dropper (Blue Note)
Medeski Martin and Wood defy categorization. Even after nine years, the threesome's symphonic diversity is matched only by their collective imagination. American keyboard hero John Medeski's playing encompasses everything from the gutbucket soul of Jimmy Smith to the progressive indulgences of Keith Emerson. With drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood stretching time, the band is positively elastic on outrageous jams like "We Are Rolling." Cameos by guitarist Marc Ribot and Sun Ra saxman Marshall Allen make The Dropper a mind-bending party collection that expands the definition of modern jazz.
Roni Size/Reprazent
In the Mode (Island)
When Roni Size and his crew of DJs and musicians rolled out New Forms in 1997, their organic dance-floor rhythms were mainly instrumental. This latest offering highlights vocals and rhymes that are as dynamic as the beats. Guest MCs Method Man, Rahzel, and Zack de la Rocha expertly remind us why drum and bass is firmly rooted in hip hop.
Nada Surf
The Proximity Effect (MarDev)
Ever since Nada Surf's "Popular" ruled the MTV Buzz Bin in 1996, its follow-up release has been locked in record-label purgatory. On the market at last, The Proximity Effect fleshes out the pop promises hinted at on Nada's debut, High/Low. The band's college-radio jangle, coupled with an innate sense of harmony worthy of the Beach Boys (perfected on "Bacardi"), has never sounded sweeter.
PJ Harvey
Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island)
From the driving, ominous beat of "Big Exit" to the full-frontal noise of "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore," the sixth album from provocateur Polly Jean Harvey bursts with her trademark edgy energy. This time, though, the sound is more straightforward and less experimentally techno-textured than 1998's Is This Desire? As an artist known for her often dark and fearful sexual bravado, Harvey surprises here with semihappy love songs. On "One Line" she sings with the intensity of a prayer: "I draw a line from your heart to mine today."
The Sea and Cake
Oui (Thrill Jockey)
The Chicago postrock supergroup has honed its sound to a sprightly hush. With a bouncing marimba line and speedy snare splashes, "Afternoon Speaker" evokes a funky lounge; "Seemingly" rests on a bed of anticipatory strings. Singer-songwriter Sam Prekop delivers lyrics dipped in a koanlike obscurity; on "The Leaf," he intones, "All my last thoughts frame these winter smiles / Too brilliantly / Oh, but I doubt it / I'm afraid that there's no reason I waited." Mirroring Prekop's soul search, the song becomes a lonesome-desert-road ballad, its guitar and bass disappearing down the interstate.
Erin McKeown
Distillation (TVP)
Erin McKeown may sound like Rickie Lee Jones or k.d. lang, but when the 22-year-old Virginian picks up an instrument (say, the banjo, mandolin, or bass), she is boundlessly original. From '40s swing and cowboy jazz to electric folk and perfect pop ("Love in 2 Parts"), McKeown balances lean song shapes with smart lyrical twists. In the Britney era, it's refreshing to discover a young artist who bares her soul rather than her skin.
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