What can a set of remixers do with the pastoral, acoustic splendor of Balmorhea? Well, they can stretch it out, for one: Eluvium takes the six-minute track “Settler,” and pushes it out to a full 17 to kick the record off. And somehow they don’t wear out their welcome. They envelop. If you find your way through that experience—including its beyond-subtle, five-minute fade out—you’re in the right mood (a trance) for the record.

As the band’s name might suggest, there’s a dark stain to U.K.-by-way-of-Australia rockers, Howling Bells. Even lead singer Juanita Stein has the youthful timbre of Eisley’s Stacey DuPree, with an added touch of confidence and maturity.

After his tragic death at the age of 32 from lupus, James Dewitt Yancey has gained the kind of notoriety and popularity he never quite achieved in life. There’s a certain nakedness to the title and contents of Jay Stay Paid; the album clearly hopes to pay off some of Dilla’s debts and support his children. It’s difficult to take offense to this plain shilling, especially when the music (the album was produced by Pete Rock) is so great.

A report from day three of Comic-Con 2009, including panels on the TV shows V, Fringe, The Simpsons, and True Blood. Plus: We attend an actual comic book panel, the DC Universe Editorial Presentation.

Two-thirds of Miike Snow (a band not a solo artist) have already proven themselves valuable assets to the world of pop. Having co-written and produced Britney Spears’ hit “Toxic” in 2004, Pontus Winnberg and Kristian Carlsson joined forces with Andrew Wyatt to bring you the new self-titled Miike Snow album.

Austinites The Octopus Project, make sleepy music that slowly creeps into your brain. Where I had initially written them off as another heavy-lidded, instrumental group, the quartet proved me wrong with the shimmering single “Wet Gold” and its enchanting music video. The sea change to more vocal-centric music is proclaimed within the first few seconds of Golden Beds EP.

The Drive-By Truckers live act is not exactly undocumented: Alabama Ass Whuppin’ showcased the band in Athens from 2000, and they returned there in 2004 for a concert DVD, Live At the 40 Watt. Live From Austin TX features both CD and DVD, and finds the Truckers farther west and slightly more laid back—whether because of the setting or the mileage, can’t say. The Austin City Limits stage set has a distressing, de-glamorizing effect on anyone who graces it; DBT is no exception.

Boris Skalsky continues to try to go solo, having already once departed from a band (Phaser) to embark on a solo project, only to have that project become another band (Dead Heart Bloom). First Songs is emphatically his own work, written, recorded, and performed by Skalsky, in a fairly unadorned, not to say sleepy, style. Even those with a taste for sad bastard music might think about sending Skalsky some espresso after hearing this one.

Really? It seems impossible that in more than seven decades of fighting crime, Superman and Batman haven’t fought vampires and werewolves. Nobody’s written this story yet? Surely this has already been done by now, right?