Robert Wyatt Comicopera (Domino) Best known for his work with Britain's art-rock pioneers Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt has done little aside from create brilliant, truly different pop music since the '60s. Though his career is long, prolific and full of intriguing stories and tragedy, we've most recently been enamored with 2003's Cuckooland, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. This year's Comicopera is a sort of hysterical (in the laughing and the sad way)... more ›

Nas Hip Hop Is Dead (Def Jam) Nas' 8th studio album (and first with Def Jam) marks the end of the Jay-Z feud and the beginning of post-hip hop recording, should we believe his figurative burial scene. As one of rap's more prominent figures, the imagery begs the question: What exactly is Nas doing with this album if hip hop is dead? Are we listening to the birth of something new, or the funeral... more ›

New albums by Guillemots, Hot Snakes, and the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack more ›

Yesterday the 2005 Nationwide Mercury Prize nominees were announced in London. The award - voted on by industry experts, writers, and artists - recognizes the best in British and Irish music. Why is this relevant halfway around the globe? Of the twelve bands in the running, over half of them appeared at this year's SXSW festival: Bloc Party, The Go! Team, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, The Magic Numbers, M.I.A., and Maxïmo Park are among the lucky few now plotting to pull a Tonya Harding on the clear favorite, Coldplay. more ›