In 2008 Buraka Som Sistema blitzed the dance clubs with their musical mantra-cum-breakout single “Sound of Kuduro.” The single, which features M.I.A., utilizes Calypso and Soca pulses but jumbles local zest with pan-global junkyard electronics

On his seventh album since 2006, Will Oldham is preoccupied with the same things, such as love left to rot, his own stomach, and sex. Also intact is his soft-spoken and sometimes angelic voice, which belies the devilish humor contained within his lyrics.

Austin, Texas, trio White Denim has a minor identity complex. Caterwauling, slash and dash swing one moment (“IEIEI”); flailing funk rock grabs at MC5 the next (“All You Really Have to Do”).

Songwriter Morgan Nagler is the real deal. She has earned the praise of her friend Jenny Lewis, among others, for the bittersweet lyrics that are on full display in Swim’s eleven tales of alternating hope and heartbreak.

These days being championed by Oasis doesn’t do anything for your musical career. But in the mid-’90s, when Travis first came on the scene, Noel Gallagher’s endorsement brought much public awareness to the young Scottish group.

The West, a companion piece to the film The Legend of God’s Gun, sees Spindrift striking out on their own, and from under the protected wings of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

If U2 taught us anything, it’s that one doesn’t become the biggest rock band in the world by running in place. Even U2 had to evolve—they’ve managed to do it successfully over the years, as have their successors, Coldplay, as heard on their latest, Viva la Vida. Snow Patrol hasn’t received this memo, and if they keep releasing albums like A Hundred Million Suns, which is the equivalent of listening to someone tread water for 60 minutes, people will lose interest because there is nothing new in Snow Patrol’s tired repertoire to keep them coming back.

Painting the New York trio School of Seven Bells into a dream-pop corner would be a mistake as the band includes more than its fair share of electronics bells and whistles on debut Alpinisms.

Lou Reed’s 1973 studio album, Berlin, a follow-up to the widely acclaimed Transformer, failed to capture the same praise and accolades as that gender-and-music-bending endeavor. But 25 years on, Berlin is now recognized as one of Reed’s finest, most ambitious, and under-appreciated efforts.