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Carrie Rodriguez is a classically trained violinist who studied at the Berklee School of Music and made a name for herself as an earthy, passionate songwriter in the musician-friendly Austin, Texas. “Infinite Night” is a track from her second album, She Ain’t Me and it’s a murky bit of countrified, roots-y soul music with Rodriguez shining succinctly as a vocalist.

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“Go On, Say It” is an exemplary bit of minimalist melancholy from the Portland duo known as Blind Pilot. Acoustic guitars, brushed drums, strings, and chiming percussion combine to create a sweet bit of pleading heartbreak. The song comes from the album 3 Rounds and a Sound, and the album is a new favorite around here – working in the same areas as the Shins or Death Cab for Cutie, but with a more homespun, folk feel.

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The Body Snatchers is the name taken by the underground dance producers 30Hz and Baobinga and Feeling Good, Looking Nice, Smelling Right is the first full-length to come from these beat-possessed, freak-obsessed minds. “Call Me” is an intergalactic dose of crunked-up, electro-infused dirty breaks with Sporty-O (recently signed to Lil Jon’s label) adding in gold-chain-wearing rhymes and Yolanda (as heard with Bugz in the Attic) arriving to anchor the track to the earth with her swooning vocal hook.

A star of screens both small and large, Ximena Sariñana has also flirted with music throughout various periods in her young career. But the music contained on her official full-length debut, Mediocre is her most complete statement yet. Her individual songwriting style has a wounded jazzy style that is somewhere between Norah Jones and Fiona Apple, but she has a more evocative way of enunciating – and the instrumentation has a luscious, rock-edged feel.

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Hercules and Love Affair is basically one Andy Butler, who has invited a variety of people aboard to vocalize his electro-pop experiments. “Blind” is an extraordinary record thanks to the inclusion of Antony (he of the Johnsons), who plays the role of melancholy, amazingly-voiced, electro ingenue like Jimmy Somerville and Alison Moyet before him. The group is signed to James Murphy’s DFA imprint, so you shouldn’t be too surprised when Hercules and Love Affair go global sometime this year.

Click here to visit Antony’s myspace page.

Argentinean singer Valeria Gastaldi branches out on her own with this new song from her solo album Cuando No Estas. The former reality TV show winner and member of the pop group Bandana creates her own brand of light and hook-filled contemporary rock with a sugary edge. “Despertar” has a dreamy, sing-along quality that makes it one of the stand-out tracks on her new release.

You can visit Valeria’s MySpace page here.

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“Worrisome Heart” is the title track to the debut from the young vocalist Melody Gardot.  Gardot’s debut is out on Verve Records and the sound she conjures here is a good fit with that label’s classic recordings.  This is smoky vocal jazz with Gardot providing plenty of mystery and guile in the composition and vocal style.  She unfolds the song like a blues tune, focusing on repitition, but tells more with each line of the song.

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NG2 are a pop-salsa duo from Puerto Rico who honed their considerable chops as part of romantic salero Victor Manuelle’s group. “Ella Menea” is an unstoppable groove with some great, funky trombone work and the duo’s own interchanging vocal leads. “Ella Menea” is stylish, hip and yet completely classic in its approach.

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Chana is Rosanna Tavarez, a vocalist and songwriter of Dominican heritage who grew up in New York and Miami.  Along the way, she’s built up a voracious passion for music, from dance pop to UK alternative bands to underground American indie rock.  She flourishes on this cut from her new EP, Manos Arriba.  “La Duda” starts out as a booming dance party cut and gradually morphs into an electronic-tinged alt-pop tune with searing guitars and disco bass-lines.

You can get the album here or check out Chana’s MySpace page.

Mexico City’s Karyme Lozano is one of the most well-known actresses in the world of telenovelas. The young actress has been going strong since she first debuted on Tres Mujeres in 1999. This track from her debut Prohibido takes a pared-down reggaeton beat and spikes up the norteno influence while Lazano adds in her own lucious voice.

Click here for the album. Click here to visit Karyme’s MySpace page.