Perennial guest vocalist Miho Hatori finds her most natural fit yet, resurrecting ’60s Brazilian samba and bossa nova with all-star session man Smokey Hormel (Beck, Tom Waits).
Sixtoo
Halifax’s art-hop pioneer evolves his doomsday mic checks into full-blown audio armageddon (see “Storm Clouds & Silver Lining”) for his Ninja Tune debut.
Heiruspecs
Not rap, not jazz, not spoken word — at least not as you know it. Refreshingly tight live sessions that manage to reference Run-DMC and Mother Goose in the same verse with only a slight smirk.
Despistado
Elastic, eccentric punk-wave with some really rewindable lyrics. Plus they’re from Regina, which makes me giggle.
Dave Douglas
Douglas has played with some crazy kids (John Zorn, Cibo Matto, and Sean Lennon) and covered Rufus Wainwright. These remixes have a splash of electronic vermouth with a foundation of gin jazz and a little speed.
The Owls
Maria May and Allison LaBonne’s angelic duets herald heartbreak with exquisite simplicity (“there is only air/where I used to care”).
David Axelrod
Beats ‘n’ grooves originator. It’s to the point where he’s sampling himself.
Byrne
Slow down and smooth-out The Apples in Stereo and you’re getting close to Byrne, right down to the song’s title. Summer’s here, kids.
Roosevelt Franklin
Mr. Len (Company Flow) and Kimani Rogers (Masterminds) straight clownin’ with mad flavor.
The Sugarplastic
Yes, they’re still around, releasing songs one 7-inch at a time. Less XTC, less silly, but still plenty mischievous.