[ ambient ]
Few musical genres can legitimately claim a single inventor, but ambient comes close. Lux (Warp) — 75 reverberant minutes of discrete (and discreet) notes that arrive and linger, swell and recede in pleasingly unpremeditated-seeming fashion — is a strong reminder that Brian Eno’s contributions to the field go well beyond mere conceptualization, to the point of mastery. “Lux” means light, of course, and very aptly so, but here it also seems to connote luxury: Despite its modest means, this music manages to feel gossamer, almost insubstantial, and yet somehow sumptuous. —K. Ross Hoffman
[ pop ]
Poor Christina Aguilera just can’t catch a break. In the beginning, critics panned her for being “too Britney.” When she tried the edgier electro thing it was “too Gaga.” And now her latest album’s out and they’re calling it “too shitty.” Don’t listen to that, though. There are some fine moments on Lotus (RCA) — namely the fact that she can still sing circles around those other bitches. Xtina for life! —Josh Middleton
[ blues/folk ]
Wanamaker Lewis is best known as the banjo-playing leader of local bluegrassers the Lewis Brothers, but there’s not a banjo in earshot on the new self-titled/self-released album by the Wanamaker Lewis Band. His electric guitar takes the lead on most cuts, backed by a tight blues quartet that radiates good times with the accent on the uptempo. Slow dancers may want to run the Little Walter classic “Sad Hours” on repeat, stretched to over seven minutes of Seth Holzman’s extraordinary blues harmonica and Lewis’ pensive picking. This is dreamy stuff. —Mary Armstrong
[ indie/pop ]
Much like her pal and countrywoman Victoria Bergsman of Taken By Trees, El Perro Del Mar’s Sarah Assbring has taken to cushioning her frail melancholy with warmly gauzy synthetics and surprisingly forward, clubby grooves. Which isn’t to say that you can necessarily dance to all (or even most) of Pale Fire (Control Group). But its swaying soft-touch house, trip-hop and Swedish reggae grooves definitely help coax an unprecedented fullness and sensuality from the waifish singer. It’s a great look, best embodied on “Walk on By,” the album’s luscious, Massive Attack-cribbing high point. —K. Ross Hoffman
