Björk: “Tell me,
are you that
somebody?”

Au Revoir Simone The Bird of Music ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Synth and sensuality power Brooklyn group’s debut This all-female trio would like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony—though the world they inhabit is akin to that of a Phillip K. Dick novel, where the robots are more real than the humans. Opening with a beatific, otherworldly campfire sing-along (“The Lucky One”), they move on to a percolating mash note to Gary Numan (“I Couldn’t Sleep”) and a deliciously icy tribute to Brian Wilson (“Fallen Snow”). Powered by vintage keyboards, a lockstep beat box, and gorgeous, wide-eyed warbling, the Simones create make-out music for your inner android. SHANNON ZIMMERMAN

been a fan of kraut rock and Animal Collective—or, on the deep, martial drums of single “Atlas,” Marilyn Manson. For rock that’s both fist-pumping and forward-looking, this album suggests that Battles have few peers. MARC HOGAN

Ben + Vesper All This Could Kill You ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Beware the pitfalls of riding on indie-rock coattails

The Sufjan Seal of Approval ought to be indie hard currency, but Stevens can only nudge doors open—he can’t bestow the mellifluous subtlety of his own work on his friends. And with their flaccid, too-cool folk pop, husband-and-wife songwriters Ben and Vesper Stamper squander any love by association they might’ve earned from their guest banjo-ist/oboist. Ben’s flat, remote vocals suggest seriousness, but he mostly sounds bored, even when he ought to be pleased (the syrupy ode to a newborn “ 8 Mo.”) or excited (the murky ode to life “Live Free or Try”). When Vesper chimes in, things brighten up considerably—think Ida and early Low—but even those spikes aren’t really worth the wait. JOSH MODELL

Bone Thugs were always better off concentrating on harmony over thugging: Anybody can talk shit, but these guys are still alone when it comes to rapping a mile a minute— melodically. And now, with the assistance of producer Swizz Beatz, the veteran group’s dizzying flows remain flawless (though they do miss Bizzy Bone, their ODB, who left in 2005). “Flowmotion” and “Bump in the Trunk” are frenzied masterpieces. And while “Lil L.O.V.E.,” the chintzy collaboration with Mariah Carey and Bow Wow, is a clumsy reach, “Never Forget Me” is an epic, even triumphant closer that touchingly addresses the Thugs’ legacy. THOMAS GOLIANOPOULOS

Whatever She
Says, Goes
Despite esteemed guests, the auteur rules

Björk Volta ½ ITUNES MYSPACE

It takes a brave woman to second-guess Timbaland. Or a foolish one. Or Björk. Word that the Icelandic iconoclast had retwiddled the results of her in-studio tryst with Mr. Mosely dashed any hopes that she’d abandon herself to horny megapop escapism. And Volta’s amazing opener, “Earth Intruders,” dispels any doubts about the strength of her arty instincts. Over Tim’s stomping beat (weirdly redolent of the introductory jackboots of Never Mind the Bollocks), Björk layers percussive clatter from the Congolese ensemble Konono No. 1 for a funky stomp that’s equal parts pre- and postmodern.

She channels that avant-trad feeling into the brassy arrangements, suitable for both a medieval Viking fortress or contemporary concert hall. “Tribal” is

Björk’s word for this sound, and the free-form drum tattoos that Chris Corsano and Lightning Bolt’s Brian Chippendale pound out fit that description. But she also contains each drummer’s wilder experimental side, and similarly shapes the kora sound of Malian master Toumani Diabate into lovely but Björk-friendly harp

She dashes any
hope of horny
megapop escapism.

Balkan Beat Box Nu Med ITUNES MYSPACE A global peacekeeping mission that you can dance to

Ever the uniters, this New York–based Gypsy/Jewish troupe have extended their reach on these culture-meld-ing sessions. Highlights include a melody remembered from a Moroccan childhood, a first-time rap from a Syrian singer trained in Egyptian styles, and a duet by London Bulgarian Choir vocalists who participated via e-mail. Underneath all those worldly voices, traditional Middle Eastern instruments pair off with electronic beats, and the oompah-backed grooves are sultry enough to inspire a different kind of uniting—if you know what I mean. LINDSEY THOMAS

 

imitations. She integrates her guests on such solipsistic terms that “collaboration” is a misnomer—they’re simply extensions of her own self. “My Juvenile,” a duet with Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons), even casts the falsetto warbler in the role of her inner child. Fortunately, whether she’s orchestrating a B-movie death march (“Vertebrae by Vertebrae”) or a seaside fantasia (“Wanderlust”), her vision is worth the price of submission. KEITH HARRIS

Battles Mirrored ITUNES MYSPACE Songs guaranteed to start a mosh pit at band camp

Remember “shock and awe”? On their debut album, Battles bring that brutal, futuristic precision to the art-rock avant-garde. Featuring keyboardist/guitarist Ian Williams of math rockers Don Caballero and drummer John Stanier of post-hardcore virtuosos Helmet, this New York–based group layers sound manipulator Tyondai Braxton’s alien vocals over muscular, off-kilter grooves. Think Captain Beefheart, if he’d

Black Moth Super Rainbow Dandelion Gum ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Makes “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” sound sober

Imagine Air’s “Sexy Boy” played in a dingy shack for 45 minutes straight by fashion-unconscious ’shroom enthusiasts with a psych-rock fetish, and you’ve got a peek into Dandelion Gum. A loose, joyous groove defeats any hint of psychedelia’s dark underbelly on this Pennsylvania group’s fourth album, which rings with cheery flutes, analog synths, vocoder-soaked vocals, and very strange sentiments, as band members named Power Pill Fist and the Seven Fields of Aphelion deliver inscrutable songs with titles like “Jump Into My Mouth and Breathe the Stardust.” JOSH MODELL

Boris, With Michio Kurihara Rainbow ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Sludge-punk visionaries evoke a less noisy, nodded-out time

Further cementing their status as collaborators on the level of Ludacris and Vichy France, the Japanese power trio Boris throw down with psych-rock virtuoso Michio Kurihara, whom beardo-nerds know from bands such as White Heaven and Ghost. Everyone goes back to their ’70s roots on this surprisingly chill outing. Michio’s solos are the sound of bong hits to Dark Side of the Moon, and his guitar style blends brilliantly with that of Boris axwoman Wata, who matches him feint for nimble feint. Music for space gods returning to earth. JOE GROSS

 

Bone Thugs-N-
Harmony
Strength & Loyalty ½
ITUNES MYSPACE
Cleveland motormouths are
back from tha crossroads

Brakesbrakes-brakes The Beatific Visions ½ ITUNES MYSPACE Still-feisty Brits temper their outbursts with—love?

Having tripled their name to avoid confusion with the Philadelphia-based Brakes, this English band open their second album with a baptism-as-fight scene (“Hold Me in the River”). The pub stompers are as rowdy as ever, but they’re balanced here by laid-back ruminations on romance. Who knew Eamon Hamilton could calm his wildly cracking voice long enough to walk hand in hand through the park? Still, for party starters and danger seekers, the dancey “Spring

FROM LEF T: JASON JOYCE/CORBIS OUTLINE