Bajofondo - Mar Dulce

“This Argentine-Uruguayan crew originally used the band name Bajofondo Tango Club. It recently reduced the name to Bajofondo, in recognition of the fact that the music the band is creating nowadays is reaching beyond simply tango. That’s evident with opener “Grand Guignol,” which blends a heavy drum’n'bass bottom end with the sweeping flourishes of tango. It’s an unexpected pairing of visceral beat and florid romanticism, but it works awfully well. Tango remains the constant for Bajofondo, but the 17 tracks offer quite a few variations on a theme. Elvis Costello delivers a guest vocal on the dreamy tune “Fairly Right,” and singer Veronica Loza is strong on the uptempo “Tuve Sol.” Shrewd electronics endow the tango theme of “Pa’ Bailar” with quite an extraordinary sting. —Philip Van Vleck”

John Mellencamp - Life Death Love and Freedrom

“Searching for a ray of lyrical light in John Mellencamp’s latest treatise on the state of the world proves consuming—but largely fruitless. That, however, makes the album all the more compelling. Its unrelentingly bleak landscape, populated by plain-spoken narrators and richly detailed characters and settings, leans more on the death part of the title equation, with pointed side trips into the political climate (”Young Without Lovers,” “Troubled Land,” “Without a Shot” and the particularly specific “Jena”) and philosophical essays like “John Cockers” and “For the Children,” in which Mellencamp seems to question his own capacity for the continuing struggle. T Bone Burnett’s austere and atmospheric production brings a fresh kind of texture to the performance aspects of Mellencamp’s songs, and his bonus DVD mix in the new HD CODE format lives up to its promise for richer and more articulated sound quality.—Gary Graff”

Randy Travis - Around the Bend

“Randy Travis’ 1986 emergence as the leader of a fresh crop of country music “youngsters” came with a deeply reverential nod to the makers of what was once long-considered authentic, unvarnished, old-school country. Now, after an early-millennium shift into no-doubt-about-it Christian country, Travis returns here with a somewhat more mainstream country release, in a career that long-ago rendered such delineations superfluous. “You Didn’t Have a Good Time” is a gut-wrenching “ballad of the bottle” that holds out hope for redemption, while “Every Head Bowed” is a riotously funny look at blessings that heat up as dinner cools down. The title song is a bluesy, country reflection on life and death, with a stinging Telecaster solo sealing its place in tradition and modernity. As if almost effortlessly, Travis proves track after track the difference between bravado and stone-cold brilliance. —Gordon Ely”

John Schlitt - The Grafting

“Looking at the smiling face on the cover of John Schlitt’s new solo project, it’s hard to believe he’s a Gospel Music Hall of Famer who has been around the music biz for years. The former Petra lead singer is engaging as ever on this set of pop/rock tunes. Opener “Stand” draws listeners immediately into the record with its solid message and memorable melody. The title track is a poignant song about adoption, while “Only Men” is a powerful ballad about the supremacy of God that demonstrates the softer side of Schlitt’s vocal prowess. There’s also a potent version of “Lord Have Mercy,” and “Face of God is another of the project’s many highlights. It’s good to hear Schlitt back in the game and adding to his already impressive legacy in Christian music. —Deborah Evans Price”

Kakande - Dununya

“Kakande revolves around the superb artistry of balafon virtuoso Famoro Dioubate. The balafon, essentially a West-African xylophone, is not an easy instrument to master, but, then, Dioubate, a native of Guinea, is descended from griots who were playing gigs in the Mandé Empire in the Middle Ages. Dioubate cut this fine album in Brooklyn, working with nine musicians to create 11 songs that strike a lively balance between West African traditional music and a wonderful improvisational sensibility. Such tunes as “So Si Sa” and “Nina Kaba” have a enthralling rhythmic circularity and a deep, expansive groove. “Mariama Traoré,” “Souaresi” and the title track, on the other hand, evince a more traditional feel, though even here Dioubate’s arrangements suggest that he’s very much at ease contemplating his tradition with a 21st-century musicality. —Philip Van Vleck”

Julie Doiron - Loneliest in the Morning

“This Canadian singer/ songwriter has for years doubled as a visual artist, and it shows in her music. Originally released via Sub Pop in 1997, this reissue (with three bonus tracks) is cinematically sparse, each track spinning a new tale and nuanced mood. Doiron’s longing and simple voice is placed front and center, paired with her raw acoustic riffs. Hints of mellotron, pedal steel and piano were contributed by Shouse (of the Grifters) and Howe Gelb, as Doiron holds down the fort with most of the rest of the arrangements. Opener “So Fast” pensively captures the ear while tracks like “Love to Annoy” have their own little tricks to keep the album running like one, long continuous thought. —Katie Hasty”