Sound Check

There's charm to spare on the first full-length from urban cowboys Cassavettes. The Boston band, led by Glenn Yoder, a former Globe co-op, hangs fragile melodies, gloomy strings, and casually chiming guitar figures over a series of lived-in acoustic shuffles, swampy open-road stompers, and broken-down breakdowns. If the abundant harmonies waver at times, and the tossed-off tunes lose focus in a few spots, it's a testament to the likability of the record that minor missteps like that detract little. "Lightning in a Bottle" breaks the hang dog pace of the record's first half with a triumphant and ambitious up-tempo rocker that clocks in at 9 1/2 minutes. Sure, there are bits of Tom Petty and Neils Young and Diamond here, but that's par for the alt-country territory the band is mining. And besides, these 11 world-weary songs belie the band members' youth. They're probably still working their way through their first few broken hearts and bottles of whiskey upon which musical careers like this are built. [Luke O'Neil]

Cassavettes plays a CD-release show at the Middle East Upstairs on Saturday.

FUNK

Spanky Wilson & the Quantic Soul Orchestra

I'm Thankful (Ubiquity) If this qualifies as yet another recent comeback in the soul-music world, it's one of the more unusual and unlikely. Spanky Wilson's career, which began in the late 1960s, has been that of a working musician; she has performed steadily and recorded periodically, primarily as a jazz singer, working with an impressive list of jazz luminaries and big bands along the way. Will Holland , the 24-year-old British wunderkind producer and DJ who makes funk-electronica with his Quantic Soul Orchestra, became infatuated with Wilson's work, but it took him several years to locate her for this collaboration. "I'm Thankful," the result of his search, brings out the raw, funkier side of Wilson's singing. Holland and the QSO wrap a fresh-sounding, relentlessly grooving reprise of vintage funk and soul-jazz, occasionally augmented by more contemporary sounds, around a voice that is fiercely emotive, sharp as a talon, rasping in all the right places, and utterly vital. [Stuart Munro]

ESSENTIAL "A Woman Like Me"

INDIE POP

The Blow

Paper Television (K Records) "Paper Television" is an exhilarating pop album that explores hearts and minds with witty electronic spurts indebted to pop trends. The Blow is Portland's Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt , with Maricich providing the sweet, girlish vocals and bright lyrics to Bechtolt's brilliant laptop creations. "Pile of Gold" is a Beyonce song on a budget (Beyonce, Timbaland , call these kids!), and over the stutters and "My Sharona" riff, Maricich coos about the boys who "want it, they want it, it's economics!" Meanwhile, "Parentheses" has all the trappings of a memorable girl-group ditty with a touching chorus: "When you're holding me/ We make a pair of parentheses." On "Fists Up," Maricich declares, "My love is a fortress/ My love is the Louvre," and the duo twist the last track, "True Affection," into a meditation on being alone. Underneath the laptop pop, Paper Television smartly reveals universal truths about daring to love, heart first. And best of all, you can dance to them. [Elisabeth Donnelly]

ESSENTIAL "Fists Up"

SOUNDTRACK

Kronos Quartet and Mogwai

The Fountain (Nonesuch) Sometimes a soundtrack is just a soundtrack, even when it unites two accomplished, thrilling musical outfits like San Franciscan experimental string combo Kronos Quartet and Scottish post-rockers Mogwai. Even when it accompanies the quixotic sci-fi film "The Fountain," director Darren Aronofsky's follow-up to 2000's "Requiem for a Dream." And even when it's as beautiful and brooding as this Clint Mansell -composed instrumental score in 10 movements. Mogwai's involvement might imply it's heavy on post-rock, but the guitars are kept very low in the mix and form a shadowy, trilling undertow that adds a foreboding texture. Kronos's more classical, often melancholic strings dominate, but Mogwai pianist Barry Burns leads two of the score's most haunting tracks: the gorgeously poignant " Last Man" and "Together We Will Live Forever," which open and close the album, respectively. In between, there's much evocative music, reminiscent of God Speed You Black Emperor . In this case, sometimes a soundtrack is just a great piece of mood music all on its own. [Linda Laban]

ESSENTIAL "The Last Man"

HIP-HOP

Ying Yang Twins

Chemically Imbalanced (TVT) Few hip-hop fans would have thought the crunked-up Ying Yang Twins would have staying power, but here they are with their fifth record. Of course, you know what you're getting with the Twins -- their albums should be played only on stereo systems equipped with a stripper pole. Here, the duo bring more roof-raising beats and ribald rhymes, making for thumping nonsense that grows wearisome over an hour. The Twins are best in small doses, and there are some highs. They are again ably assisted by producer Mr. Collipark , who was behind their off-beat "Wait (The Whisper Song)." They've also brought in Wyclef Jean to help on some tracks, and he adds more flavor to their saucy silliness. The guitar-driven "Dangerous" brings together a hook from Hall & Oates and the chestnut "Black Betty," and it smokes. Jean brings a melodic touch to Collipark's bass-ic instincts. The rhymes, though, are primitive. When not pondering pot, the MCs aim below the belt on "1st Booty on Duty" and "Jigglin." On a few tracks, such as "Family," the Twins attempt introspection, but these chemical brothers are deeper inhalers than thinkers. [Ken Capobianco]

ESSENTIAL "Dangerous"

PROG-ROCK

. . . And You Will Know Us

by the Trail of Dead

So Divided (Interscope) On its fifth album, . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead seems to have decided that if it can't be the best prog band in the world, it might as well be all of them. With songs that are grand and epic in scope (if thematically unconnected), "So Divided" dabbles in space-rock keyboards reminiscent of Rush and Pink Floyd (the otherwise shuffly and rootsy "Naked Sun" ), imaginary national anthems (the rubbery, aggressive "Stand In Silence" ), and the low-key rumble of "Hail to the Thief"-era Radiohead crossed with the poetry of the Moody Blues ("Sunken Dreams" ). Like a gifted child whose rabid intelligence gets him in trouble, Trail of Dead is occasionally too smart for its own good. But its reputation as chaos merchants is ultimately trumped by a depth of field and a boldness of vision that make a line such as "You think you're free, you've been deceived / I'll put you out of your misery" sound more like mercy than a threat. [Marc Hirsh]

ESSENTIAL "So Divided"

Edited by James Reed (jreed@globe.com)

Freeloading

The Cinematics "Break"I'm surprised bands are still blowing up behind this monotone vocal/syncopated guitar style that Interpol repopularized, but Glasgow's the Cinematics prove there's still some water left in these indie-dance rocks. Can you imagine how great Joy Division would've been if it wrote any passable tunes? Stream it at

thecinematics.net.

[Luke O'Neil]

Essentials

Live classic soul

Proving themselves to packed crowds night after night, the soul pioneers generated a ferocious live energy that studio albums could seldom reproduce. Here are a few of their shining moments:

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Live (1958-'59)

With a big band behind him, Charles slow-cooks blues, jazz, and R&B tunes to devastating perfection on this album that chronicled live shows in Newport, R.I., and Atlanta.

James Brown

Live at the Apollo (1962)

A pre-funk Mr. Dynamite croons

and rocks Harlem to its knees

with a legendary performance of

his early hits.

Sam Cooke

Live at the Harlem

Square Club, 1963 (1963)

Sam roughs up Mississippi gospel and sweet-talks Chicago soul through dance numbers and ballads alike. And the crowd goes wild.

Aretha Franklin

Live at Fillmore West (1971)

The first lady sends a rock 'n' roll crowd into a soul-clapping frenzy and that's before Ray Charles joins her onstage. This year's Rhino/Atlantic remastered reissue added a second disc of outtakes and alternate versions.

[David Kieley]