Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
(XL Recordings)

The sophomore release by New Jersey-based Titus Andronicus takes its title from the first ironclad warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. It's a Civil War-themed album that seeks to be punk's answer to Springsteen's Born to Run. Titus Andronicus may lack the name recognition of a group like the E Street Band, but this baby gallops along just fine. With 65 total minutes, there's room for a little bit of everything. There are spoken word interludes lifted from old cassette tapes, drums that charge forward like a marching army, and enough piano and saxophone to make Little Steven look twice to see if he picked the wrong door at the studio. Lyrically, singer Patrick Stickles proves himself a worthy gutter poet. He picks his subject matter from the streets, and if you aren't singing along by the time he rattles into the off-key nostalgia of the "Theme From 'Cheers,'" then you're in the wrong bar.  —Michael Cimaomo

Various Artists
Psych-Funk 101: 1968-1975, A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum
(World Psychedelic Classics)

In recent years, small labels have scoured the far reaches of the world and discovered gold where indigenous music adopted psychedelic textures. Psych-Funk 101 serves as a superb sampler of this phenomenon. You may be familiar with Ethiopian soul jazz and Nigerian Afro-rock, but do you know Turkish breakbeat folk, Korean psychedelic pop, and Iranian raga-funk? The compilers have expertly selected these 14 globe-spanning tracks for their freaky appeal, including a Russian electro-synth instrumental, Egyptian psychedelic surf fantasia and Greek fuzz-rock anthem. Rare doesn't half begin to describe these cultural anomalies. That's why the lavish booklet, filled with thoughtful essays about the artists and reproductions of the outrageous original album covers, is such a bonus. The entire package is perfectly calibrated to make adventurous music fans reel with delight and make them see the world as a slightly stranger place. —Jeff Jackson

Black Francis
Nonstoperotik
(Cooking Vinyl)

Frank Black is a distinctly American being, equal parts Bruce Springsteen and Iggy Pop. His core sensibilities are steeped in folk, surf rock and Tex-Mex/SoCal Chupacabrabilly. Being such a sponge for music of all kinds, Black has also incorporated some Brit influences; you can hear some Bowie in there, some Zombies and some Stones—though many would argue that the latter are practically an American band. On this latest album (one of 20-plus, including his five with the Pixies), he returns to his original nom de plume Black Francis, and there are some moments that recall early tracks on Doolittle or Surfer Rosa. There are also almost-amusing moments where it sounds like Black has just discovered the synthesizer on a rare trip to town from his gasoline-soaked bunker somewhere in the California desert that he time-shares with Mike Watt—of course, this is all in my imagination.  —Tom Sturm