Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Raw, dirty, fiery and visceral, The Black Keys sound just like what you might expect from two grown-up kids from Akron, Ohio whose basement experiments mix classic rock with Mississippi blues. Here, singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney lean more to fuzzed-out Led Zeppelin influences than the gutbucket strains of bluesmen like Junior Kimbrough that characterized 2004’s Rubber Factory. It’s still a thrilling, minimalist and sometimes scary sound, heavy on hypnotic riffs and thunderous beats. Sept. 5

They’ve rapped with Nelly Furtado and been the subject of Shania Twain’s risqué joke at the Juno Awards. But Vancouver’s Swollen Members really don’t need attention from Canadian songbirds: the hip-hop crew has attracted a formidable following on its own. The fifth album from Prevail and Mad Child is a return to the talented duo’s patented dark, aggressive style. Tracks like “Blackout,” “Deadly” and the piano-laced “Prisoner of Doom” are full of dread, foreboding and enough wicked beats to please diehard fans. Sept. 5   

Hailing from Brisbane, this Aussie power-pop trio (singer Patience Hodgson, guitarist John Patterson and drummer Alana Skyring) boasts a childlike charm. From the cartoon giraffe on the album cover to the bubblegum romp of “19-20-20” and the bouncy frivolity of “Trampoline,” it’s clear the band doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even more serious numbers, like the banjo-driven “Sukkafish” and the angst-ridden “Feels Like Pain,” sound like moonshine-fuelled mountain music or wicked Nirvana send ups. Giddy stuff. Aug. 29