War may be hell, but Black 47 makes it rock. On Iraq, veteran Irish renegade Larry Kirwan and his band of pacifists attempt to conquer the current war with a song cycle of previously released and new material. The punchy melodies are Black 47’s best in years, as uilleann-pipe-fuelled rock, reggae, folk, jazz and traditional Irish music collide in a rewarding protest record.

In 1996, Nada Surf got lucky with “Popular,” although the song was practically designed to relegate the band to one-hit-wonder status. By the end of the ‘90s, they seemed bound for oblivion, but it turned out that they were just regrouping. 2003’s Let Go was a quietly stunning . . .

One of the sources of the psychedelic sound was the traditional music of the Near East. Iranian-American songwriter and singer Haale draws from her heritage as well as ’60s rock on her latest CD. The title of No Ceiling may refer to the roofless, heavenward vista of songs echoing the influence of Sufi trance and rock dance. One or two tracks veer close to shoegazer boredom, but most possess an urgent gravity reminiscent of Grace Slick’s early band, the Great Society, or some of the dreamier psychedelically tinged pop to emerge in the United Kingdom during the ’80s.

The classicist electric blues of Milwaukee’s Perry Weber and the Devilles rocks the house. And the quartet has enough greasiness about their guitar, organ, harmonica and (occasional) pedal steel interplay that it’s easy to imagine them at the corner stage of a holein-the-wall bar. Weber’s adeptness at his six strings brings the same touch of coolness as his vintage sport coat. And whether plumbing Hank Williams Sr.’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart” or originals hailing women of varying sizes and temperaments, Weber and his Devilles put a fresh sheen on blues catharsis, from emotional devastation to boastful joy.

The Counting Crows sure know how to create a fun and exciting weekend with their latest release, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. The six-piece band, which includes frontman and songwriter Adam Duritz, David Bryson, Jim Bogios, Charles Gillingham, Dan Vickery and David Immerglck, delivers nothing less than absolute perfection. Pick this record up on a Friday night and you’ll need to call in sick to work on Monday morning after listening to this immaculately arranged album all weekend long. These men not only play music, they listen carefully to the world around them. Duritz’s gift for writing lyrics shines brighter than ever in the moving, poetic and extremely beautiful “When I Dream of Michelangelo.”

Cuban music is usually considered to be West African and Spanish in origin, but its roots run deeper. In recent years, musicians have explored links between the elegant early- 20th-century music of Cuba and Algeria. Similarly, Canadian trumpeter David Buchbinder crosses Cuba and klezmer with his band Odessa/Havana. The organic historical link between the two apparently distant cultures can be discerned in the moody minor chords that passed from the Near . . .

A Russian rock band that emerged during the glasnost era, Auktyon has reinvented itself. For their first album in 12 years, they called on several well-respected American musicians to fill out their sound. Playing prominent roles on Girls Sing are John Medeski, guitarist Marc Ribot and Klezmatics’ trumpeter Frank London. Perhaps taking an unconscious page from Stravinsky, Auktyon’s music is intelligent yet relentlessly primitive, their rhythms a little sideways and with echoes of Russian folk music

Trapper Schoepp and his band mates look too young to have mid-’90s nostalgia, but the Milwaukee quintet’s A Change in the Weather makes it sound that way. Schoepp and his fellow musicians would have sounded right at home back when the earnest aesthetics of Hootie and the Blowfish, Sister Hazel and Blues Traveler wended their way into the Top 40.

Five years ago, Tony Bennett and k.d. lang had completed A Wonderful World, a tribute to Louis Armstrong, when an interviewer on a radio show asked Bennett about his duet partner. He said, “In my opinion, she’s the best singer since Judy Garland.” After a pause that brought surprise from the interviewer and surprised laughter from lang, he added, “Well, it’s true.” And so it is, but lang has shared with Garland, and with Bennett, an uneven artistic instinct, as though her ability to sing anything has left her helpless to make the smartest song choices. Was it necessary to turn away so completely from Patsy Cline country on 1992’s Ingnue?

Milwaukee quartet Longacre makes adult Americana that is perfect for coffee bars. Acoustic guitar, lap steel and keyboards maintain a balance between roiling and restraint. Singer Claire Chin’s sometimes-enigmatic, philosophical lyrics fit with a meticulous tautness over aural lulls and eruptions, like Sarah McLachlan or Natalie Merchant with a warmly approachable archness. With a dash of reggae here and a pinch of psychedelia there, Longacre has crafted a latte soundtrack that also appeals to those who listen with more focus. Either way, it’s professional and alluring.