Nobody thought that combining orthadox Judaism and reggae would result in such an exciting sound. With the release of Youth, MATISYAHU and his band have produced the first big story in music for 2006.

KT Tunstall is a sparkling new songwriter with Chinese blood, a Scottish heart, great legwarmers and a cool name who celebrates classic singer-songwriting with an articulate, accessible, immediate brew of rootsy sass, wistful quandary and after-hours atmosphere. more...

Long time WXPN favorite RHETT MILLER is back with his second solo album, The Believer and - like his first solo album The Instigator - it's a tasty piece of pop music. Miller is actually the thinking-man's (and woman's) pop songwriter. This new album takes on some very challenging subjects (suicide, for one) without being heavy-handed, and it's always presented in a smart and catchy manner.

Bridging all kinds of musical syles effortlessly with her highly emotive, smoky voice, NEKO CASE has created a masterpiece with Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. This Virginian-born, Tacoma-raised alt-diva got her career started in a big way when she moved to Vancouver and joined THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS (with whom she still records and tours). Case brings an inherent understanding of country music an all of its' possible range of feelings to the table on this new disc, but it's in no way a country album (or even an alt-country album, for that matter...). Case is country like DUSTY SPRINGFIELD or TOWNES VAN ZANT was... she's actually more of a country-noir artist than anything else. It's an emotive starting point, but the music in no way stops or ends there.

From the archives of the nationally-acclaimed WORLD CAFE® radio show, comes this series of limited edition CDs. This collection of rare, live performances from the most significant musical artists has created over the past 15 years and today is an absolute must-have for music fans nationwide.

On her latest release The Comfort of Strangers, Beth Orton has managed to present listeners with the most intimate, soulful album of her career. Always able to sonically channel enigmatic '70's songwriters like NICK DRAKE and SANDY DENNY, this new album harkens the ghosts of those artists like never before. Deftly produced by JIM O'ROURKE (who's lately been a part of SONIC YOUTH), Orton composed all thirteen of these new tracks, including a songwriting collaboration with O'Rourke and M. WARD on the title cut.

The former GUIDED BY VOICES frontman didn't wait long after disbanding his long-standing group to unleash his first post-GBV solo album. Pollard is an extremely complex and extremely prolific songwriter who has always managed to delight his fans with a heady combination of intelligent wordplay and pop hooks.

It's easy to get caught up in the splendid idea that surrounds the packaging of this new album... there are two discs in the set: one (the actual finished album) is labeled "Mine", and the other "Yours". The "Yours" disc is a DVD-ROM that allows you to re-mix the entire album using software available online. Pretty cool, and user friendly, too.

In the space of two years (2003-2005), ROSANNE CASH lost her mother, stepmother (JUNE CARTER CASH), and - of course - her father JOHNNY CASH. The result for her musically is the most intense and personal of all of her many releases over a 25-year-plus career.

One of the most promising groups in the Philly Local scene, SLO-MO is led by steel guitarist MIKE BRENNER, a veteran of many bands (including MARAH). Out front is MIC WRECKA, a bona fide hip-hop poet. The groove-oriented tunes are punctuated with sublime female vocals and an absolutely solid rhythm section.