The Bulgarian Women’s Choir introduced many Westerners to the haunting chorales of their Eastern European nation. Several other ensembles have followed in their path. The London-based Perunika group, a trio of women of Macedonian descent (the region’s borders are porous), are resolutely traditional despite their . . .

The three Palestinian brothers of Le Trio Joubran are heirs to a family history of music associated with the oud, the ancient instrument at the root of the lute and the guitar. Their latest album is brooding and meditative, yet propulsive and rhythmic, as three sets of hands work the strings in harmony. Most of the melodies . . .

Once purveyors of traditional Jimmy Smith-esque, Verve!-era, dusty Hammond B-3 grooves, Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) started down the avant-garde road of experimentation with 2000's The Dropper, dropped X for 2002's Uninvisible and had seemingly forgotten their organ-trio roots completely by 2004's End of the World Party. Which is maybe why a complete digression back to their musical womb—in the form of a children's album—shouldn't be that surprising. Instrumental interludes—gentle, curious, perfect segues between sleepy time and playtime—break up humorous tales ("Pirates Don't Take Baths") . . .

Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree rank among the most common reference points for progressive metal in the early 21st century. Serious and technical, yet still melodic, both veteran bands have proven that complex music can find an audience—if not always mainstream acceptance. Now along comes Bushwhack, an all-instrumental quartet of college students from New Haven, Conn., that picks and chooses influences from Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree and other modern progressive

Neenah, Wis., native Tim Schweiger has already amassed a lengthy résumé in northeastern Wisconsin punk and power-pop. That history no doubt contributes to Schwim Tiger's rounded, fresh-out-of-the-garage rocking. His overall vibe . . .

The six sparse and spacey songs on Secrets of the New Explorers by Glen Phillips (the former frontman for ’90s alternative-popsters Toad the Wet Sprocket) could land this sonic astronaut some new fans. With low-fi guitars, minimal percussion and dreamy vocals, Phillips explores space travel and the mysteries of the solar system. The strongest cut here, “Solar Flare,” even invokes

Recently an anthology was released in the United States of chicha, the mildly psychedelic music of 1960s Peru. Perhaps it’s no surprise that one of the world’s leading contemporary chicha groups is working out of multicultural Brooklyn, N.Y. Chicha Libre draws from old songs in the genre and original material, pulling the vocal and instrumental repertoire together into a playfully rhythmic yet often melodically

Ladysmith Black Mambazo unites native South African musical traditions with Christian sentiment and political context. It makes sense that the country’s premier vocal group would record an album honoring the iconic warrior Shaka Zulu. But instead of glorifying violence—Zulu imbued South Africans with an indomitable fighting spirit in the early 1800s—Ilembe (“The Greatest Warrior”) celebrates perseverance and commitment. By incorporating its signature a cappella harmonies and tongue clicks into a collection of songs that reference Zulu’s beliefs and practices . . .

It could be argued that the BoDeans have reached their greatest recording potential on the albums produced by T-Bone Burnett. That greatness continues with Burnett's third time in the studio deck with the nearly 25-year-old band from Waukesha.

Inspired by Eugene Chadbourne's experiments with thrift shop guitars, Milwaukee visual artist and composer/improviser Thomas Gaudynski took his own warped, secondhand acoustic ax through some unconventional maneuvers on Kay.