Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The New Pornographers’ family tree leads directly to Shane Nelken, a talented odd-bod who works as an actor, film score composer and cremationist, of all things. Nelken, who’s recorded with the Pornos’ AC Newman, performs quirky, adventurous songs of his own like the dreamy “Sad Girl Radio” and the choral “T-Rexia Nervosa” with his band The Awkward Stage. There’s nothing awkward about the group’s debut, which is produced by Porno drummer Kurt Dahle. In fact, this is highly poised and polished pop.

Are you ready to be saved? Jon-Rae Fletcher and his country-soul-gospel group have their sights set on your miserable, god-forsaken soul. Singing spirited songs about sex, booze, apparitions and hitting the road, the Toronto band takes a distinctly non-Christian approach to their missionary work. With honky-tonk pianos, Stax-style horns and Fletcher’s ecstatic vocals with his girlfriend, Anne Rust D’eye, it’s like an old-fashioned revival from the boisterous opening “Roll” to the hymn closing “Fire.” Amen. 

Monica (born with the unglamorous surname, Arnold) tries on a tougher, more mature sound on her fourth album. The Atlanta homegirl tackles an ex-boyfriend’s cheating on the plain-talking “Sideline Ho” and teams up with local heroes Dem Franchize Boyz on the finger-snapping “Everytime Tha Beat Drop.” She even braves a lightning-fast rap with Twista on “Hell No.” But the album suffers from too many boring ballads like the breathy “Get Away” and the highly irritating, designer-name-dropping “A Dozen Roses.”