Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti are capitalizing on their failed and renewed romance. The Boston couple broke up but made a pact to stay together musically. Heading to Los Angeles, they got married anyway and landed a record deal as The Submarines. Their debut details their whole bittersweet tale, from the opening “Peace and Hate” and the mixed emotions of “Brighter Discontent” to the hopeful “Darkest Things.” Best is the driving “Modern Inventions,” but the entire album will appeal to fans of lush indie-pop.

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.