Fans of Vampire Weekend’s debut will find a lot to like in their sophomore effort — the same clipped and catchy melodies, WASP-Life subject matter and African influences (though here they sometimes sound more Lion King than straight-from-the-source). But Contra also shows the foursome expanding their sound, with producer/keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij given freer range in weaving strings, new wave synths and Sigur Rós-esque guitar glimmer around Ezra Koenig’s plucky tenor. The music’s confidence highlights a fact both fans and detractors can agree on: Vampire Weekend don’t do it because they have to, they do it because they can. And with tunes like these, who would want to stop them? (Abby)

Don’t be confused — what was until very recently Owen Pallett’s solo project Final Fantasy is now and forevermore just ... Owen Pallett. What hasn’t changed is the Toronto indie-star’s commitment to clever, forward-thinking pop arrangements, as demonstrated by the technicolor charms of Heartland, his debut for Domino. Pallett’s palette (ahem) has grown only more sophisticated on this typically labyrinthine album, which is either about nothingness or a “young, ultra-violent farmer named Lewis.” Before you locate the story within Heartland, though, you’ll fall under the spell of Pallett’s unfaltering devotion to pop melody, as he utilizes his home instrument, violin, as well as a number of friends (members of Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire among them) in executing these 12 delicate, pretty tunes. FF fans will love the entirety, but a trio of songs toward the beginning — “Keep the Dog Quiet,” “Mount Alpentine” and “Red Sun No. 5” — represent the vanguard of Pallett’s creativity. (M.L. Thrope)

The latest blog-rock band to be served up to you, the soon-to-be-adoring indie-public, is deserving of the attention: Astro Coast, the debut full-length from South Floridians Surfer Blood, packs an ocean’s worth of trendless guitar-pop hooks into its 10 songs. Perhaps strangely, the band that Surfer Blood calls to mind most is Vampire Weekend — without the Afro-Caucasian connection (and the No. 1 Billboard debut). Frontman John Paul Pitts seems to have born with a bit of reverb on his clear-glass voice, and even though he hits more or less the same high-water mark song after song, Astro Coast is over before you can get sick of it. Effortlessly crisp guitar figures and spare arrangements make the album both airy and substantial; songs like “Swim,” “Jabroni” (in both “Slow” and “Fast” versions, nicely) and album highlight “Take It Easy” will keep you bleeding till the summer migrates north from Florida. (M.L. Thrope)

The long-overdue reissue treatment finally comes to this drop-dead classic soundtrack, composed and performed by Irmin Schmidt and The Inner Space (which, less than a year later, would change their name to The Can). The German film Kamasutra explored the sexual tension and blooming romances between a set of young couples, bouncing between old India and present-day (well, late-60s) Germany, and the music had to follow suit. Schmidt & Co. were just the men for the job, as any Can fan would know: Kamasutra unveils a full spectrum of pop and psychedelic delights, streaked with exotic Easternisms (tabla or something similar, plenty of flute and harp) and constantly returning, as does the film to the present, to a chugging rock base. Even longtime Can fans will be reamazed by Holger Czukay’s bass work — he is very often the clandestine lead instrument here. Including more than a dozen multicolored scene-setting pieces plus two killer vocal tunes (“I’m Hiding My Nightingale,” sung by guest Margarete Juvan, has popped up on a few German-psych comps), this record is perfect for late-night lovin’ or just blissin’ out. (M.L. Thrope)

Don’t let the name fool you, Ancestors have as much of their collective foot in the psychedelic-hard-rock-stoner-metal past as they do in drone-heavy-sludge and monolithic-repetition of the cosmic now! A thick and meaty vibe runs throughout this album of lengthy heavy rock, and the vocals are surprisingly well sung (yes, actually sung, not screamed), which gives the LP a classic and melodic vibe. And the dense musical structures stretch out with spacey-organ and magical keyboard presence that gives it a clear Pink Floyd-ian appeal, though it’s clear these boys are just as inspired by contemporaries Neurosis and Isis as well. Recommended for those who dig their heavy music with a freshness and classic overtones! (Adam)

Before scoring the Mad Men theme, RJD2 rose to fame in Columbus, Ohio, in the late-’90s making beats for local hip-hop artists. Since then, through several albums on Definitive Jux and now, his own imprint, he’s kept expanding the notion of “hip-hop producer” to the point where now, an RJD2 joint is just as likely to feature sweet soul-pop vocalizing (sometimes his own) or Motown-gone-modern rhythms. Enter The Colossus, a full-fledged affair of almost symphonic proportions that ably shows off the producer’s many skills and interests. A handful of tracks feature farmed-out vocals (including one with Phonte of Little Brother, singing R&B smoothly), and a few others clearly scan as hip-hop instrumentals. But over the course of the whole record, a mix of pop-leaning funk and soul that sometimes resembles those old action-jazz records of the early-stereo era, RJ establishes himself as something of a modern-day David Axelrod, the can-do-anything producer best known for his technicolor jazz and psych studio experiments of the 60s and 70s. Dig deep into The Colossus — these grooves have flavor and purpose. (James)

Instrumental hip-hop record: Why does the notion seem tired and played-out? It’s probably a result of our (okay, my) laziness and the massive over-everythingedness of the music world that this would seem like a concept whose time had passed, especially when a producer like Blockhead can turn out a set as deep and thoughtful as The Music Scene. The Manhattanite is perhaps best known for his production work for Aesop Rock, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he has a certain way with nonverbal narrative. The Music Scene is a pretty apt title, too, cause Blockhead employs it all: slinky beats drizzled with piano keys, classical guitar lines, jazz modes recontextualized by Vocodered vox, and on and on. Each of the 12 songs here springs to life as a wordless novella — this is how you know it’s art. (M.L. Thrope)

Now’s the perfect time to catch up on some of those late-2009 releases that flew under our radar, and this one is at the top of the list, the latest from Circulasione Totale Orchestre. It’s three discs of some of the most exciting jazz-pysch-prog jams I’ve heard in ages. Led by Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad, CTO has been at it since the 1980s, but on this epic from the always-reliable Rune Grammofon everything comes together. Joined by a stellar cast of free-jazz musicians from all over the world but mostly Scandinavia (don’t be fooled by the Italian name), Gjerstad, CTO’s founding member, throws caution to the wind and delivers 2-plus hours of blissed-out free improv at its very finest. If you dig long, extended psych-jazz jams, recalling everything from Zappa to Beefheart to 70s Miles to the ICP Orchestra, you need this. Trust me. (James)