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Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft are young Londoners who lead an extremely spare band called The xx. They touch on Kraftwerk and The Cure, but never equal their volume.

The 48-year-old Scotswoman became an overnight star after her April 2009 performance on Britain's Got Talent, singing a chestnut of a ballad from Les Miserables. With five million copies of her first album sold since Nov. 23, critic Ken Tucker says, it's clear she's delivered what her fans wanted.

Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

Patrick Watson and his band The Wooden Arms defy easy categorization. The group from Montreal takes inspiration from contemporary indie rock, cartoon music from the 1940s and impressionist composers. Depending on the song, you'll hear pots and pans or bottles and barrels.

Rachel Flotard is the frontwoman for the Seattle-based band Visqueen. The band has a new album out called Message to Garcia. Flotard talks to Ari Shapiro about the new recording. She wrote many of the songs while caring for her father, who died earlier this year from prostate cancer.

For decades, singer songwriter Geoff Muldaur has been reinterpreting blues and jazz of the '20s and '30s. Today, we'll play some of the tracks from Muldaur's new album, Texas Sheiks, and he'll perform some songs live. Muldaur's band, also called Texas Sheiks, is currently on tour.

Loudon Wainwright's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931. The singer-songwriter explains the motivations behind the project — and why Poole was such an influential country pioneer.

Infected Mushroom resides at the forefront of an emerging musical genre called psy-trance — complex electronic music with the sophistication of rock or jazz. The group expanded from a voice-and-keyboard duo to a quintet in an effort to make electronic dance music more interesting.

Brooks officially retired in 2001 to raise his three daughters. That retirement ends Friday night in Las Vegas, courtesy of a new business deal with Steve Wynn's Encore Hotel. Brooks' extended run is the first of any kind for a country musician in Las Vegas.

On Nellie McKay's fourth album, she's still surprising fans — this time with a Doris Day tribute, Normal As Blueberry Pie.