Ida have been making fine records since 1994, largely in an acoustic, harmony-driven space. They’re not a band to take for granted, though: when you take your eyes away from them, you might miss a left-field Prince cover, a P-Funk guest appearance, or a tangible foray into a more ambient style. On Lovers Prayers, that change-up occurs on “The Love Below”, in which cut-up vocal arcs rise above the sound of strings strummed briskly. The rest of the album stays the course set by many an Ida album before it: Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Littleton and Karla Schickele singing alone or in some combination over restrained, piano- or guitar-led songs. The mood here is languorous and contemplative: seemingly any of the last five songs could serve as a fine conclusion to the work appearing here. (Toby)

Never spending too much time on a single idea, Xiu Xiu lashes out and recoils repeatedly to a blown-out, dizzying and theatrical effect on the band’s latest, Women As Lovers. Dark acoustic folk dirges and found-sound gamelan samples alike serve as haunted backdrops for Jamie Stewart’s distinctive vocals and always intense, often sexual lyrical portraits. No band can make freaking out sound so fragile quite in the same way as Xiu Xiu, and never has that sound been as realized as it is here. Even without all that, the bizarre cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure” (with Swan’s Michael Gira playing the original’s David Bowie role) alone is worth the price of admission. CD comes with bonus DVD of videos, tour footage and hundreds of photos. (Fred)

While Chris Walla may be Death Cab for Cutie’s guitarist, not its frontman, his solo debut reveals the extent to which he is responsible for creating and shaping the band’s sound. For the most part, Field Manual plays like a follow-up to Plans, delivering track after track of gloriously catchy, sensitive pop with vocals that are surprisingly similar to those of Ben Gibbard, although not quite as precious. The mid-tempo “Sing Again” and upbeat “Geometry &c.” and “Everyone Needs A Home” are all irresistible thanks to their toe-tapping rhythms and instantly memorable vocal melodies. On the more mellow side, “A Bird Is a Song” builds to a gorgeous climax with the refrain “keep your feathers clean and dry,” and “Everybody On” features a strong guitar riff that lends it a darker vibe. Walla does occasionally go in new directions; “The Score” is a rocking power pop gem that would fit in well on a Jimmy Eat World record, while “It’s Unsustainable” recalls the stripped-down poetic treatises of The Weakerthans. Somewhere, Gibbard is listening to Field Manual and kicking himself for not stealing all of these songs for the next Death Cab album. (Kiri)

A genius lyricist, anti-folk musician and comic-book artist, Jeffrey Lewis delivers (not quite sings) his words in a rambling, almost nervous, drawl that’s backed by racing but delicate melodies. In 12 Crass Songs, his remarkable fourth album, Lewis covers anarchist punk band Crass’s songs to preach against everything that’s wrong with the world: conformity, the church, superficiality, consumerism, Sarah Jessica Parker. Standing on Crass’s soapbox, Lewis transforms their songs, making them entirely his own. His album still slams down a hard-hitting message, but his punk sounds like it’s made in a blanket factory. Helen Schreiner’s sweet while removed vocals complement Lewis perfectly. In “Systematic Death” the pathetically familiar love story of a couple that’s “the victims of the system and its cruel jokes” unravels as Lewis and Schreiner trade off every other line. And in “End Result” it’s hard not to smile when Lewis sings, “I am a leper that nobody wants to touch … much.” (Margi)

Reissuing a relatively obscure 1977 album originally released by Sun Ra on his Saturn label, this collection of mostly jazz standards is not the place to start learning about Sun Ra, but will be fascinating to fans for several reasons. A bassless septet is used (expanded to an octet with the addition of bass on the title track), leaving plenty of solo space for tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, who even achieves an original take on “My Favorite Things.” A few of the arrangements are charming but lack spark, but the sparks certainly fly on most of them. The bonus tracks, worth the price of the disc all by themselves, are an untitled Ra original from the ‘77 session and two 1973 rehearsals of “I’ll Get By,” trios with Ra’s pianism and great bassist Ronnie Boykins the constants, one take featuring Gilmore and the other a tender reading with his place taken by trumpeter Ahk Tal Ebah. (Steve)

You might write off Sons and Daughters as just another twee pop Scottish outfit, with their guy-girl harmonies and Glaswegian hometown. But you would be making a grave mistake. The title track, “This Gift,” kicks off the foursome’s greatly anticipated third release with alternating male-female vocals amid punchy drums and a bassline that steadies swirling, uproarious guitars – we are worlds away from Belle & Sebastian. And singer Adele Bethel’s vocals, brash and rebel-rousing, is a rude awakening if you’re used to Isobel Campbell’s wispy coo. Still, this is a charming record, with Bethel’s disarming brogue and hints of folk laced into the guitar fury (such as in the catchy “Split Lips”). Sons and Daughters have often been compared to their label-mates and fellow Glaswegians Franz Ferdinand, but This Gift should solidify the band as an entity completely unique, individual, and awesome from all other Scottish acts, past or present. (Carrie)

The prolific compilers at Numero deliver another gem. As usual for Numero, the picks avoid the obvious: no John Fahey, no Sandy Bull, no Robbie Basho, etc. among these 1966-81 tracks. The best-known of the 14 artists here is Richard Crandell. Styles vary from pretty acoustic finger-picking to shadowed arpeggiations to the is-that-really-a-guitar? “Raga in D” by Ted Lucas and jangling slide on “The Delta Freeze” by Jim Ohlschmidt and “Quidate Quierda” by Tom Smith. All fans of acoustic guitar will want this disc. (Steve)