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Like another new East Coaster, Jenn Grant, Higgs crafts warm, willowy sounds over dreamy, confessional lyrics. But what sets Higgs apart is her predilection for mixing acoustic balladry with synthesized flourishes—call it folktronica. The fiddle-fueled opener “Parables” features cascading vocal loops, while the buzzing “Apples” may owe something to Higgs’ role in the trip-hop project Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. Compelling lyrics + experimental arrangements = another adventurous Canadian artist. Oct. 16

The White Stripes’ Jack and Meg White once pretended to be brother and sister, until a wily reporter exposed the Detroit couple as formerly husband and wife. The Fiery Furnaces Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger really are a sibling act—and a wildly oddball one at that. The Chicago duo’s latest album features such weird numbers as the offbeat “Duplexes of the Dead” and “The Old Hag is Sleeping.” But there are also some moments of eccentric beauty, including the mellifluous “My Egyptian Grammar.”

Black is a survivor—and one gutsy diva. Born in Toronto’s tough Jane and Finch ’hood, the r&b singer got her start lending her gritty, soulful vocals to tracks by various T-dot hip-hop artists before making her debut with the big, bold This is Me. Black’s second album proves she has the songwriting chops to match her powerful alto. Along with “Seven Day Fool,” a ballsy remake of the Etta James classic, it features Black singing her ass off on a collection of first-rate original ballads and rugged dancefloor scorchers alike.