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Coming Tonight!

“As on 2006’s “Timeless,” the Brazilian bossa nova master teams with Will.i.am on a collection of summery updates of the classics, as well as some new tracks. Updating such well-known songs as Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Waters of March” (talk-sung here by Ledisi) is a great proposition for exposing the music to new audiences. Though it’s [...]

“While Cassandra Wilson emerged in the early ’90s as the foremost “new standards” pioneer for reimagining contemporary pop music in the jazz vein, her musical pulse was informed by vocal predecessors who swung and scatted within the tradition. After widely divergent collections in recent years, she re-enters the standards zone with “Loverly.” Unlike other vocalists [...]

“Janiva Magness has been feeling the love recently, thanks to back-to-back best contemporary female artist wins from the Blues Music Awards and a deal with Alligator, yielding this debut. Magness possesses a mighty voice, which she cuts loose with memorable effect on the slow blues “One Heartache Too Late.” That voice works just as well [...]

“The last thing Broadway needs is yet another revival of “Gypsy” or “Grease.” So how refreshing that “In the Heights,” nominated for 13 Tony Awards, has potential to make the Great White Way appealing to someone besides tourists. Unlike last hip staging “Rent,” “Heights” isn’t begging sympathy for slacker kids; instead, it is a vibrant [...]

“As frontman for Lonestar, Richie McDonald’s distinctive voice drove such country and AC hits as “Amazed” and “I’m Already There.” He exited the group last year to pursue a solo career and fulfills a longtime goal with the release of his first inspirational project. Most country artists who’ve tapped the Christian market have recorded familiar [...]

“As the “High School Musical” troupe troops to the big screen, Disney brings forth its next potential franchise concept—”Camp Rock,” a summer sojourn to a place where “you can feel the beat running through your feet,” as the cast tells us in the opening number, “We Rock.” This is ostensibly a vehicle for the fast-rising [...]

“Although Wolf Parade’s principal members have kept busy with various side projects (Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, Swan Lake), it’s been a few years since the Montreal band’s last output of new material. But the time between now and its 2005 Sub Pop debut, “Apologies to the Queen Mary,” allowed the group to more fully develop [...]

“It sounds weird to say about a band of brainiac 40-somethings well into their second decade of work, but the Offspring makes an argument for its evolution—and, indeed, relevance—on this ambitious eighth disc, which is utterly devoid of pranksters, fly white guys or summer-barbecue anthems. Sure, the snot-rocket punk band putting on its big-boy clothes [...]

“On Silver Jews’ “Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea” lead Jew David Berman channels his inner Shel Silverstein, serving up a set of shiny, country-fried children’s songs for adults. Berman’s back from the brink and instead of looking inward, he spends much of these 35 minutes proffering colorful moral fables that confront America’s obsession with the superficial. [...]

“Twenty-seven-year-old Brit James Blackshaw has lately emerged as a major force in the world of instrumental guitar, his epic, austere compositions and unpretentious 12-string technique perching him somewhere between John Fahey and Robbie Basho. But guitar isn’t the first thing you hear on “Litany of Echoes”; rather, it’s the tense piano plunking on opener “Gate [...]

“When G. Love & Special Sauce released their self-titled debut in 1994, the Philadelphia trio created a distinctive new recipe for beat-driven summer chill-out music. “Superhero Brother” demonstrates further seasoning, as frontman/songwriter Garrett “G. Love” Dutton adds reflections on politics and fatherhood to his unique and variable hip-hop/blues formula that otherwise pays tribute to funk [...]

“Those who believe it’s been far too long since Alison Krauss + Union Station’s Dan Tyminski released his 2003 solo debut will be thrilled that his sophomore effort is at hand. Marked by the fine picking, strong vocals and well-chosen songs that AKUS fan have come to expect, “Wheels” is a stunning second effort. In [...]

“When “Exile in Guyville” was released in 1993, its lo-fi sound and frank lyrics about female sexuality and desire were seen by many as revolutionary. Fifteen years later, the pendulum has swung so far the other way that ditties about oral sex and girls kissing girls top the pop chart and can be heard while [...]

“After gaining recognition for backing Jenny Lewis on her 2006 solo debut, “Rabbit Fur Coat,” the Watson Twins make a move to the forefront with their first Vanguard album. The set follows in the same folksy vein as the Louisville, Ky., natives’ work with Lewis, touching on elements of country, folk and pop, and highlights [...]