Mention the phrases “Afropop” or “Middle Eastern-tinge” to describe an indie rock group and the immediate association is Vampire Weekend. Fool’s Gold threatened to seize that monopoly with their bold self-titled debut in 2009, the influences ringing more authentic with frontman Luke Top’s Hebrew vocals dominating.

With the recent proliferation of falsetto crooners (James Blake, Bon Iver, How to Dress Well, etc.), Active Child’s Pat Grossi certainly runs the risk of getting lost in the shuffle, but his voice remains defiantly distinct and haunting: an icy, alien falsetto that somehow always registers as masculine and transmits enough emotion to buckle your knees.

Ancient Romans, Sun Araw’s sprawling fifth album, meanders where it should propel.

Yellow Ostrich’s The Mistress is the playful debut LP from Wisconsin-to-NYC transplant Alex Schaaf. Recorded primarily in his bedroom with Schaaf playing most instruments (with some help throughout from a few other musicians), it’s an enormously positive-feeling album that explores plenty of creative ideas in its short running time.

We’re over 20 years into Stephen Malkmus’ musical career and he’s still consistently delivering relevant and entertaining sonic statements packed with erudite lyrics, slippery guitars, and unexpected structural twists.Mirror Traffic, his fifth full-length in the post-Pavement era, smartly summarizes much of his recent work with a series of concise rockers, jammy experiments, and occasional moments of raw emotion.

English writer David Nicholls’ screen adaptation of his bestselling romantic novel, One Day, is the source for director Lone Scherfig’s follow-up to her 2009 breakout success, An Education.

This week’s episode picks up where last week left off, with Gwen Cooper ready to deliver Captain Jack into the hands of an unknown group to save her husband, mother, and daughter. (Clearly hell hath no fury like a family woman scorned.)

Palmist’s new split 12” features selections from two forthcoming full-lengths from other labels. On the A-side, you’ll find “Remember Our Days” and “Out of Touch,” two demos from a planned Kranky release, the sophomore album from Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt’s Lotus Plaza project.

From her beginnings in Azure Ray, as one fragile half of a whole, Maria Taylor’s musical output has always seemed guarded. Her voice always felt, on some fundamental level, whispered. Yet, her talent for emotive, sticking melodies kept most of her previous work from feeling tired.