DAVID VANDERVELDE - Waiting For The Sunrise

Trading Bolan for Buckingham after the glammy clamour of his 2007 Moonstation House Band debut, David Vandervelde's process not only loosens up to let in backing band The Lickety Splitz (D. Banhart & The Spiritual Boner, beware!) as opposed to Moonstation and follow-up EP Nothin' No's one-man affairs, but also allows the inspirational odometer to cruise to the later end of the '70s, with some of that aforementioned Mac magic exhumed for "Dreams" dead-ringer "I Will Be Fine". Sunrise's sepia-shaded direction lifts Vandervelde in league with heavy hitters like Iron And Wine, Vetiver and Gary Louris.

VAN MORRISON - Veedon Fleece

Soft but rugged like the Irish wolfhounds flanking Van the Man on its cover, Veedon Fleece is a must-own for any lovers of Astral Weeks who haven't yet delved into this later, but equally worthy period. Flowing over with mystic jazziness, Irish country soul and turns of phrase like no other, from the whiskey-soaked grunts ad-libbed on "Cul De Sac" to the loneliest of falsettos chiding Linden Arden's paranoid 'living with a gun' on "Who Was That Masked Man", it's not too late to give a listen to this firm fan favourite, one held near and dear by the likes of fellow firebrands Sinead O'Connor and Elvis Costello.

NICO MUHLY - Mothertongue

Nico Muhly's day job as assistant to Philip Glass is a particularly pertinent backstory when confronted with the Einstein-ian barrage of rich low-end and flutttering operatic chatter (with mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer instructed to incorporate as many past street addresses lived at into said overdubs) on Mothertongue's first, eponymous piece. Harpischord, celeste and trombones back Helgi Hrafn Jonsson's recitations riffing on various early-1600s texts for the duration of "Wonders", but nu-folk wunderkind Sam Amidon threatens to steal the show with "The Only Tune"'s cheery telling of a murder ballad involving two sisters, slowly drawn out additively.

ELODIE LAUTEN - The Death Of Don Juan

An artifact of early digital recording and composition (the year: 1985; the main tool: the Fairlight CMI polyphonic sampling synthesizer), Don Juan transcends both the era of its making and the many styles it encompasses, from speedy-grid minimalism to pensive lyre passages (played on an electro-acoustic model of Lauten's own invention, the Trine) and drawn-out, haunting choral singing (as on the mid-opera "Death Of A Woman", where Don Juan himself is voiced by Arthur Russell--his chief accomplice Peter Zummo also features prominently throughout). This reissue continues Unseen Worlds' mandate, giving deserving cult avant-garde classical works a new audience.

JORGE BEN - Jorge Ben (1969)

Though Jorge Ben had previously recorded many great albums, this is his first undeniable masterpiece, finally reissued via Dusty Groove. Originally a prime influence on the Tropicalia movement, Ben returned the favour, taking Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso's psychedelic experiments and joining forces with A Banda Tropicalista arranger Rogerio Duprat to churn out this collection, including stone classics like "Pais Tropical" and "Take It Easy My Brother Charles". With this album (his first of many to feature backing from Trio Mocoto), Ben had arrived at his signature, much-imitated Samba Soul sound.

ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS - Forest Of Tears

$100's Simone Schmidt sings tough tales through grit teeth, slipping serious stories into these songs as earthy experience is couched in country music's common concerns.  Sequenced such that the form fully falls away by the time of "Tirade Of A Shitty Mom"'s Moon Pix-ish domestic dirge, Rick White's pristine off-the-floor engineering gives the group a sharper sound that lets Stew Crookes' pedal parts cry out overtop all the clearer. Rapt, packed houses whenever Schmidt and guitarist/co-writer Ian Russell have played cozier haunts like the Tranzac suggest that this six-piece incarnation will win over whatever taverns, roadhouses, and house parties they're bound to play.

SANTOGOLD - Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub

Right about now...you are about to be possessed...by the sounds of...MC Santi White...and DJ Wesley Pentz. These sounds...may include...high levels of...electro crunk...booty/B-more bass...dutty dancehall...southern slanging...autotuned chorus hooks...and other...contemporary...and timely...party versions. No baile funk...this time...but enough...new-wavey slight lefts...to walk on the moon with...or at least...to Mesopotamia. Only the finest...and most fashionable...shall gain entry...but don't let that...put you off. Just wait until...Mark Ronson...puts his...signature trumpets in. Exclusive!

DR. DOG - Fate

Long the flagship band (or at least the best-known) of the Park The Van roster, Dr. Dog may be wild-eyed, bearded and keyboard-centred like fellow Philadelphians Man Man, but with a gruffness much more subdued, popping up more in the Let It Be-like howls of co-lead singer Toby Leaman than any sort of Waits-y circus barks. Confident from the potentially hubristic title on down, co-founder Scott McMicken even goes so far as to call Fate "the first true Dr. Dog record"; his chirpier vocal turns, perfected on mid-album ballad "From", offset Leaman's brazen wails, best heard on "Army Of Ancients".

THE WAR ON DRUGS - Wagonwheel Blues

Those yips following ends of phrases, the indignant tone in the singer's delivery, the driving, no-frills, almost rock'n'roll structures--many things about these Philly newcomers bring to mind The Walkmen, not least among them the charismatic vocals of leader Adam Granduciel. Being passed around and enthusiastically discussed in these parts as well as at Other Music and elsewhere, Wagonwheel's straightforward songwriting, slightly submerged in electronics (check the liners' washed-out shots of pedals and synths) makes this band one to watch as word spreads about this impressive debut.  

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE presents BRENDAN CANNING - Something For All Of Us...

Flipping on the fuzz for some incidental album-opening effects checks, Canning and co. reliably fall into Dino-inspired step on Something...'s title track, continuing to write songs tuned to their collective '90s indie roots while mining the malleability of '00s production potential. As artsy as Brendan and Broken's micing/mixing techniques, quieter confessionals or instrumental interludes may get (even experimenting with full-blown disco on "Love Is New"), BSS still know how to temper those obtuse inclinations with big-hearted modern-rock moments that almost anyone can enjoy.

QUEST FOR FIRE - S/T

With a note-perfect name and pedigree to match (two ex-Deadly Snakes, the drummer from recently-disbanded hardcore heroes Cursed, and a member of prickly punks No No Zero on bass), Quest For Fire has already amassed a fair amount of infamy in the past year, impressing much of this town's psych-savvy with a loud, extended and immersory live sound. On record, though, a broody sense of nuance balances out the rock-outs, suggesting a kinship with fellow vets The Unintended as much as with such stoned-age contemporaries as Comets On Fire, Dead Meadow, Black Mountain and Wooden Shjips.

THE HOLD STEADY - Stay Positive

The new Hold Steady record starts off with a bang--"Constructive Summer" is a raucous summer anthem in what is now typical Hold Steady style, meaning alcohol-infused storytelling, crunching guitars and sing-along catchiness. The album continues in this fashion with much success, even when the volume is turned down for "Lord, I'm Discouraged" and "Both Crosses", but it's the energy of "Yeah Sapphire" and the title track, among others, that will make the fans of this straight-up rock & roll record have it on repeat all summer long.

WOMEN - S/T

Opening a capella with 15 seconds of the sort of reverb-daubed harmony atmosphere popularized by Bears Panda and Grizzly, the stubborn racket that soon ensues ensures that no mistake can be made--Women stockpile their sound in their own inward way, fleeting comparisons be faintly damned. Although these Albertans' vocal sunshine is sturdy enough to hold up to other retroriginal Can-pop like Caribou and The New Pornographers, the mention of This Heat in the band's press kit holds truer than you'd expect, dipping into gritty fidelity, ambient creep and spidery guitar angularity at their whim.

JAYME STONE & MANSA SISSOKO - Africa To Appalachia

In the midst of being supported by a three-month festival circuit tour that's already set world-music circles abuzz, this collaboration between the Boulder (via Toronto) banjo wiz and Malian kora griot sees the two men meeting halfway, splitting writing credits between Stone's adaptations of traditional West African melodies and Sissoko's own songs. Light and breezy but expertly played (with calabash and kit accompaniment from the always-attuned Nick Fraser of T.O.'s own Drumheller and Deep Dark United), fans of the likes of Toumani Diabate should enjoy this session of vibrant, pander-free fusion.

PATTI SMITH & KEVIN SHIELDS - The Coral Sea

One to follow his muse in a supporting role no matter how much his popping up in the wings may frustrate those longing for him to retake the spotlight, it's no surprise to hear Kevin Shields' glide guitar relegated here to volume-pedal swells and accents. This is Patti Smith's show, after all, an hour-long spoken-word prose poem written to honour the late-'80s passing of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, evocative fantasies (that "sea of possibilities" so famously sungspoken on Horses) spilling out from death's sad, final truth, recorded on stage at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2005, then 2006.

BECK - Modern Guilt

Giving the rapping a rest, four-chord boppers "Gamma Ray" and "Youthless" stick out as the most single-friendly on a CD short and snappy enough to rarely slog. Chan Marshall sings on the unison choruses of "Orphans" and "Walls", seemingly more for camaraderie's sake than to assert herself into the mix, much more buried than, say, Will Oldham's Sun Kil Moon backups earlier this year. Danger Mouse throws small spanners into the works, such as the latter song's tinny two-bar snare loop; key contribution "Replica" has a dizzy hiccup of a drum sample as imbalanced as The Odd Couple's best beat or two.

RATATAT - LP3

For this third album for XL, Ratatat widen their scope so that all kinds of keyboards (even chopped-up autoharp, as on "Falcon Jab" and "Black Heroes") elbow for room among the video-game guitars that have thus far been their signature. Middle-eastern percussion (an Iranian drum, the zarb) in "Mi Viejo", "Mumtaz Khan" and "Gipsy Threat" avoids sounding tacked-on, and overall, LP3's expanse (attributable in part to their decamping upstate to the Catskills for its recording, perhaps?) could allow the New York duo to now appeal as much to fans of Air and Studio as Crystal Castles and Ed Banger hangers-on.  

CASTLEMUSIC - You Can't Take Anyone

Setting off what seems to be a full summer schedule for Blue Fog (with new discs from $100 and Andre Ethier to come), Jennifer Castle follows 2006's self-released Live At The Music Gallery with more sparse, beguiling beauty. Castle's guitar playing is as wonkily gentle as in her celebrated live shows, punctuating pauses with bluesy pull-offs. Folk-fiddling fellows Ryan Driver and Doug Tielli cameo, as You Can't Take Anyone ably introduces parts beyond our city limits to the range and power of one of this town's true balladeers, singing a secret language about to be made not-so-secret.

SNAILHOUSE - Lies On The Prize

Respected among his peers enough to be the recent subject of his own tribute compilation, and an especially huge influence on Ottawans from The Acorn on down, Mike Feuerstack's newest set is as classily incisive as usual, with producer and longtime collaborator Jeremy Gara (formerly of Kepler, now much more famously known as the drummer in Arcade Fire) careful to keep any slight chances taken on arrangements from overshadowing the songs themselves, particularly with "They Won't Believe You"'s tympani-type toms, horse-hoof clacks, french-horn harmonies and reverb-iced solo guitar.   

RON SEXSMITH - Exit Strategy For The Soul

Bookended by wordless piano-led pieces, any other changes to that ever-consistent Sexsmith songcraft on Exit Strategy are subtle, such as the Cuban horns betraying the sessions' Havana locale and helping to lighten the mood on his response to Feist's Reminder recording of co-write "Brandy Alexander", taking a more carefree view of the trouble he's in (don't know about the late-Cohenesque female backup vocal, though!). "Poor Helpless Dreams" casts Sexsmith in the same fine-fitting near-R&B cloak once worn on Retriever's "Whatever It Takes", this time picking the pace up to disco-lite tempo.