Q-Tip
The Renaissance
(Universal Motown)
It's been almost a decade since Q-Tip's last release, but fans know it's not for lack of trying. The former Tribe Called Quest frontman completed numerous albums over the years, only to have them shelved by various labels. The Renaissance serves as a summation of those lost projects, combining live instruments, jazzy soundscapes, coolly spare beats, and Q-Tip's typically wry and nimble rhymes. Highlights include the dizzying rhythms of the Can-sampling "Manwomanboogie" and the liquid basslines and snapping J-Dilla beats of "Gettin' Up." After so many frustrations and variations on this material, it's miraculous how The Renaissance sounds so fresh, unforced and timely. — Jeff Jackson
Deerhunter
Microcastle
(Universal Motown)
Deerhunter established their reputation by mixing swoony shoegaze textures and pulsating post-punk clatter. Microcastle doesn't so much refine their sonic palette as reshape it, bringing vocal melodies to the fore and adding folk-rock flourishes. It's their most successful effort, anchored by two of the year's best singles. "Never Stops" and "Nothing Ever Happens" blend propulsive jangle and textured noise into emotionally complex and ecstatically catchy tunes. The rest of the album is more eccentric, exploring doo-wop inflections, echo-laden ambience, and haunting shape-shifting ballads. Early copies come with Weird Era Cont, a bonus album that would've made an excellent release in its own right. — Jeff Jackson
Bio Ritmo
Bionico
(Locutor Records)
Bionico would make a great action movie soundtrack. Mixing salsa with '70s-era clavicords and some synth sounds, the nine-piece band are dead-on with their smooth rhythms and tight breaks, and are well-versed in Latin jazz and tricky horn arrangements. The CD is a dance party in a box—you can almost picture Cliff and Claire Huxtable tangoing to the Quincy Jones-style, jerk-and-flow phrasings. Though there is one track ("Bionic Boogaloo") that's a very cool vamp on the original Six Million Dollar Man TV theme (with real, vintage bionic sounds!), it's an anomaly in a roster of basically traditional salsa, and it seems like the "bionic" thing is mostly just a gimmick to sell the band. —Tom Sturm
Pavement
Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition
(Matador)
The fourth biennial installment of the Pavement reissue bonanza highlights one of the '90s' best bands at their sharpest (and goofiest). Loose radio versions of Brighten the Corners classics, B-side nuggets, four never-before-heard BTC out-takes and reverential covers of Echo & the Bunnymen, the Fall, and Faust are consolidated on the two-disc set, containing 44 tracks total. Highlights of the reissue, like the upbeat "Cataracts" and the self-referential "Harness Your Hopes," open a welcome window into the Pavement practice space, revealing a confident crew jamming while playfully poking fun at each other and the staid world outside their cocoon. —Matthew Dube
