Gang Gang Dance’s primum mobile finally struck out on his own and the result is good-very good, even.

Punchy and direct, “Make It Up” starts off The Blow‘s self-titled album brightly, with the kind of gusto that made 2006’s Paper Television gobs and gobs of fun. Glitchy samples, a chorus full of joyful harmonies, and an uptempo beat make for an infectious pop masterpiece.

At the very least, the brothers Ron and Russell Mael, otherwise known as Sparks, deserve a trophy for perseverance. Over the course of more than four decades, Sparks’ artistic evolution has been intriguing, even if that meant denting the Billboard charts only occasionally.

Electricity by Candlelight captures the sort of impromptu performance that nearly always exists only in the memories of its delighted audience.

After Cleveland’s Gap Dream brought together elements of Spiritualized and ‘60s rock/pop on last year’s debut album, these latest recordings find linchpin Gabe Fulvimar heading straight for your synth-humming heart.

As you might expect from an act whose members met in an anger management course, then twisted the name of pretty-voiced girl-with-a-harp Joanna Newsom into something that sounds like a cruel high school nickname, Welsh band Joanna Gruesome play loud, noisy, bratty punk rock, with the playful defiance of ‘90s riot grrrl and song titles such as “Anti-Parent Cowboy Killers” and “Lemonade Grrrl.”

Fellow Travelers is perhaps more interesting as a concept than as a record. Its premise is pretty damn neat: Shearwater recorded covers of songs by bands they’d toured with in the past, while collaborating in the studio with members of some of those bands.

Once a bold troubadour of power pop, Brendan Benson has slowly been veering towards the middle of the road for some time now.

Dan Bejar shows a little love for an influence and takes a break from English with a handful of covers, deeming the English language “spent, despicable, not easily singable” and “good for business transactions, but that’s about it.”