Doug Taylor

Erin CosteloThe Trouble and the TruthIndependentThere is a maturity in Costelo’s voice and approach that is disarming in a debut. When she extends the “I” in “Pale Moon” into three and four notes, it has the heartiness of someone delighting in finally getting her song out there. Costelo is an alto who can reach higher […]

Four TetEverything Ecstatic(Domino)Initial reaction to Four Tet will ride on how you feel about machines. UK laptop maestro Kieran Hebden cleverly fuses mechanical and seemingly random elements to snare even the ear that associates beeps and buzzes with the call to drudgery. His achievement is showing how far it can go. The frenzied machine beats […]

Joni MitchellThe Beginning of Survival(Geffen)Inside a handsome package featuring 10 of Mitchell’s paint- ings lies a selection of ’80s and ’90s tracks deserving a fresh listen. Few people would call this her peak period, but loss of upper register did nothing to erode her wit and inventiveness. “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” (1991) is an apocalyptic entrancer […]

KelisKelis Was Here (Jive/Sony)There must have been a line around the corner to produce this volatile talent now that she’s split with the Neptunes. will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Raphael Saadiq (TonyToniToné) and Cee-lo each help make this one of the more multi-textured R&B albums in memory. Kelis is a force, with a desire to leave […]

MikaLife in Cartoon Motion(Island)Mercury on the single “Grace Kelly” has made strong first impressions for this flamboyant native of Lebanon, now based in Europe. An elastic falsetto and variety of characters could register initially as Teletubbies for adults. Further attention reveals sophistication. The cellos of “Any Other Day” inject substance into a twee ballad, with […]

Johnny AdamsThe Great Johnny Adams Blues Album (Rounder)Sessions from a dozen albums the New Orleans belter made in the ’80s and ’90s were cherry-picked to emphasize his bluesy side. Adams died in 1998, known more as an interpreter than a writer. His strengths are emotion and phrasing, and the pedigree of his backup. “Imitation of […]

The Real Tuesday WeldI, Lucifer(Six Degrees)Once you get past the lengthy handle, the Real Tuesday Weld conveys languid London cabaret cool, finding fertile ground in the breakup. A Glen Duncan novel serves as inspiration for Stephen Coates’ breezy tunes. In his world, honesty trumps romance through titles like “(Still) Terminally Ambivalent Over You.” With its […]

Watermelon Slim & the WorkersWatermelon Slim & the Workers(Northern Blues)Watermelon Slim is Bill Homans, 56, a Vietnam vet who spent years growing melons and driving a truck before he got his blues in gear. He’s more reminiscent of Muddy Waters than anyone else alive. He plays a searing slide guitar and his harmonica wails like […]

Lady SovereignPublic Warning(Island/Def Jam)Young, small and ferocious Lady Sovereign justifies the hype as much with her ease among the beats as with what rolls out of her mouth. Fashion trash-talk lights up “Tango,” where a fake tan makes you a pumpkin and black hair dye risks comparison to “the Vicar of Dibley, what, on crack.” […]

Elizabeth ShepherdBesides(Do Right Music)In the wake of a breathtaking debut, Shepherd delivers a set of surplus for those who can’t get enough, and remixes for hipsters who found the first album’s jazz too old-school. The four new songs show no dip in quality. The only choice is to be amazed at how well her bluesy […]

Various Six Feet Under: Everything Ends EMI About to finish its fifth, final season, the genuinely groundbreaking series offers up a collection of incidental music with little in common but a sense of how valued life becomes when death is in the room. Caesars’ cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” feels less […]