Maybe the most sensitive work we've ever heard from this Italian duo – a group who can sometimes be clubby, but who here lay back a bit more in the pacing of their rhythms, which allows for more introspection and careful consideration in the music! There's a range of different singers on the album – Chiara Castello, Egeeno, and labelmate Toco on different cuts – plus two different spoken word tracks too – all set amidst warm keyboards, guitar, and nice use of samples and beats. Titles include "Genova Nervi", "La Verita", "Common Questions", "A Song To Make Love To", "Just A Child", "Melancolia", "No Fun", and "Nun Tengo Chiu A Te". CD

Maybe the most sensitive work we've ever heard from this Italian duo – a group who can sometimes be clubby, but who here lay back a bit more in the pacing of their rhythms, which allows for more introspection and careful consideration in the music! There's a range of different singers on the album – Chiara Castello, Egeeno, and labelmate Toco on different cuts – plus two different spoken word tracks too – all set amidst warm keyboards, guitar, and nice use of samples and beats. Titles include "Genova Nervi", "La Verita", "Common Questions", "A Song To Make Love To", "Just A Child", "Melancolia", "No Fun", and "Nun Tengo Chiu A Te". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool live set from Nitin Sawhney – definitely working here "unplugged", as you might guess from the image on the cover! Yet Nitin's also not solo – as there's a cool combo here that features work tablas, bansuri, and cello – plus just a bit of electricity on keyboards from Nitin in a few spots! There's very strong use of duo female vocals on the set – sung by Eva Stone and Nicki Wells – who harmonize, then break apart, in a way that really brings a lot of richness to the material – on titles that include "Breathing Light", "Nadia", "Riverpulse", "Sunset", "Dark Day", "Homelands", and "Redshift". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool live set from Nitin Sawhney – definitely working here "unplugged", as you might guess from the image on the cover! Yet Nitin's also not solo – as there's a cool combo here that features work tablas, bansuri, and cello – plus just a bit of electricity on keyboards from Nitin in a few spots! There's very strong use of duo female vocals on the set – sung by Eva Stone and Nicki Wells – who harmonize, then break apart, in a way that really brings a lot of richness to the material – on titles that include "Breathing Light", "Nadia", "Riverpulse", "Sunset", "Dark Day", "Homelands", and "Redshift". CD

A decade since their previous effort, and 14 years since their previous masterpiece, Portishead returns with Third – and, oh, what a mindblowing third act. The first thing you'll realize about Third is that it's not Dummy Part 3 – a welcome and surprising trait – but it does take their earlier way with a spooky, brooding and ominous framework to new dimensions. Secondly, there's no obvious single – it's to be taken as a whole. Beth Gibbons's vocals are as soul wrenching as ever, and an overall stark, melancholic beauty connects Portishead '08 to the old stuff, but they go deeper. Some bits are quite minimalist, wringing emotion from a low strum, a distant chime, or a haunting bit of dissonance – other parts are more richly layered and even a bit jarring. Pulp cinematic aura, feedback textured psychedelia, haunting European pop, and traces of field recorded folk flavor the sound – they've dabbled in all of these elements before – but never with this particular feel. The sound of epiphany. How many acts in the pop realm create a whole new style with a classic album, and then pull off something nearly as great almost 15 years later, without ripping themselves off? Add Portishead to that small list. We'll call '08 early, this is the best pop album of the year. Titles include "Silence", "Hunter", "Nylon Smile", "The Rip", "We Carry On", "Deep Water", "Machine Gun", "Small", "Magic Doors", "Threads". CD

A continuing step forward on the long and fantastic journey of keyboardist Mark De Clive-Lowe – and a set that definitely resonates with his growing commitment to spiritual jazz, but which also has some of the more cosmic elements that first made us fall in love with his music! The set's a collaboration with producer/DJ Shigeto, and singer/flautist Melanie Charles – both of whom wonderfully balance out the work on keyboards – especially Charles, whose well-crafted vocals are maybe even more amazing here than on her own records – soaring out with a soulful vibe that really transforms the music! Shigeto's clearly adding in some great touches on rhythms and the overall sound – as the whole thing soars to the skies on references from Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, and others – but handled in a completely new way. Titles include "MFT", "Bushido", "Strings", "Kanazawa", "Love Is Everywhere", and "The Creator Has A Master Plan". CD