Jim Farber gives shout-out to Langhorne Slim & Shawn Colvin
1 Langhorne Slim “The Way We Move” Matched to his gorgeous, rootsy American music, Slim’s roughness gives his sound soul.
2 Curumin “Arrocha” The heat of Afro-brazilian rhythms gets a shot of electro cool in Sao Paulo’s Curumin.
3 Shawn Colvin “All Fall Down” Breakups become Shawn Colvin. Her new CD chronicles a doozy. The measured tone of her response only makes the rage lying below more crushing.
4 Emeli Sandé “Our Version of Events” Another fierce U.K. diva who knows her way around American soul. The song “Heaven” lives up to its name.
5 Tedeschi Trucks Band “Live” The first couple of jambands thrives on-stage. So it’s no wonder their concert album ranks as their best so far.
6 Rebecca Ferguson “Heaven” Ferguson may be the first graduate of a TV sing-off show (“The X Factor”) to perform with genuine drama.
7 Anders Osborne “Black Eye Galaxy” Swedish guitarist makes one of the year’s hardest rocking Delta albums.
8 PIL “This Is PIL” The first album from John Lydon's PIL in 20 years (no original members save Lydon) proves that the dementia of his vocals remains undiminished.
9 Melody Gardot “The Absence” The undulations of the samba get a dramatic twist from the florid phrasings of this jazz chanteuse, who was born in Jersey and is now based in Philadelphia.
10 Diamond Rugs “Diamond Rugs” This supergroup made up of cult stars applies sarcastic vocals to sharpelbowed rock.