Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Best known in South America as a comedic TV actress, Argentinean-born Molina is also a singer who’s been compared to Björk and “Lisa Germano fronting a muted Stereolab.” The latter description isn’t far off, since Molina mixes delicate folk with percolating electronica to create infectious, dream-like music. Although the songs on her fourth album, including “Río Seco,” “Yo No” and “La Verdad,” are all sung in Spanish, they’re highly hypnotic, with animal noises and other wondrous sounds, and need no translation.

She’s the latest thrush to join Sarah Harmer and Kathleen Edwards in the ranks of top Canadian songbirds. Although McClelland gets helps from Sarah McLachlan, Greg Keelor and Justin Rutledge on her second label album, it’s her rich, colorful vocals and quirky music—dubbed “pop noire”—that really steal the show. Standout tracks like the funky “Passenger 24,” the swampy gospel “Go Down Matthew” and the country-tinged “Come Home Suzi” are off-kilter story songs, full of eccentric, memorable characters. 

The electronic glam-pop duo of Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp are shamelessly retro: he plays cheesy, ’80s-style synthesizers that sound one step up from Casios, while she favors Marlene Dietrich curls, skintight catsuits and mile-high platform shoes. Musically, they channel everyone from T.Rex and Roxy Music to Gary Numan and Donna Summer. But, somehow, Goldfrapp manages to sound thoroughly modern, particularly on the decadent disco of “Ooh La La” and “Ride a White Horse.” Feb. 21