[ tex/mex ]

Texas Towns & Tex-Mex Sounds (Smithsonian Folkways) evokes outdoor dances where cowboy and conjunto mix fluently, places like Poteet or Seguin. The Texmaniacs have been doing that for years. Max Baca is a hero of conjunto bajo sexto, but he never misses an opportunity to point out he has recorded with everybody from the Stones on down. David Farías, the accordion man, has stuck closer to conjunto, and he sure can sell a sweet song. —Mary Armstrong

[ instrumental/neo-classical ]

Jason “Chilly ‘Gonzo’ Gonzales” Beck has led a showbiz career that more than lives up to his nickname’s nickname — Feist, Peaches, gag-rap, Guinness records … oh, just Google him — but you’ll hear precisely none of that on Solo Piano II (Gentle Threat). Per its title and its 2004 predecessor, there’s nothing here but some thoroughly pleasant ivory-tinkling — gentle yet playful, more meditative than virtuosic. It’s romantic but not overly effusive, not unlike a slightly jazzier Satie. —K. Ross Hoffman

[ rock/pop ]

I Know What Love Isn’t (Secretly Canadian) is as witty and devastating as its title — everything you could hope for from a Jens Lekman (post-)breakup album. There may be more perfectly formed moments — the previously-aired “… Cowboy Boots” and “Every Little Hair …” remain sparsely immaculate — but none shines brighter than its centerpiece/microcosm, “The World Moves On,” a breathless dash from infatuation to heartache to resignation. Lesson learned: “You don’t get over a broken heart, you just learn to carry it gracefully.” —K. Ross Hoffman

[ jazz ]

Classical musicians often have a hard time transitioning to jazz improv, but François Houle moves between the two with compelling flexibility. The Canadian clarinetist surrounds himself with some of modern jazz’s most gifted players on Genera (Songlines), including cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Harris Eisenstadt and French pianist Benoît Delbecq, a frequent duo partner. The band also includes the remarkable Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser, who recently moved in the opposite direction, exploring early music in evocative jazz renditions. —Shaun Brady