Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The brainchild of Howie Gelb, Arizona’s Giant Sand has released roughly 20 albums in as many years. The desert-rock indie collective, which spawned both Calexico and the Friends of Dean Martinez, marches to Gelb’s sun-baked beat. The latest from the Tuscon-based band features contributions from Neko Case, M. Ward and various Danish musicians, including Gelb’s wife Sophie. Among the album’s highlights is a dreamy rendition of “The Desperate Kingdom of Love” by onetime Giant Sand guest PJ Harvey.

He’s a man of many personas, including Gerald Eaton, vocalist for r&b favorites the Philosopher Kings, and half of Track & Field, the production team behind Nelly Furtado and K’naan. As Jarvis Church, the Jamaican-born singer gets to explore his Caribbean roots. His sophomore release has a stronger reggae vibe than his 2002 solo debut, Shake It Off, from the pop-flavored “Whole Day Long” and the romantic “Lover’s Kiss” to more rugged dancehall tracks like “Wine It,” “Rock Your Body” and “Just Like That.” Sept. 9        

He is Canada’s most unassuming indie-rock hero. A painter and animator, Calgary’s VanGaalen was surprised when he was signed to the legendary Sub Pop label and his second album, Skelliconnection, earned a Polaris Prize nomination. VanGaalen’s latest offers more fragile ballads about death (the banjo-laced, accordion-drenched “Willow Tree”) and rocking daytime reveries (the driving “Bare Feet on Wet Griptape”). Meanwhile, his “Phantom Anthills” is a brave excursion into electronic psychedelia. Sept. 9    

The last album by Franti and his band, Yell Fire, was deliciously subversive—politically charged reggae sweetened by melodic hooks and bubbly rhythms. Here, the musician-activist offers a similar manifesto. Recorded in Jamaica with Sly & Robbie, the album features dub gems like “Rude Boys Back in Town” and the Clash-inspired “Soundsystem.” Two versions of the centerpiece “Hey World” offer such simple but inspiring messages as “let go of remote control,” “put up a fight” and “don’t give up.” Sept. 9    

Transcending his 1995 breakthrough Maxinquaye, which helped to define trip-hop, has been, an, um, tricky proposition. But the man born Adrian Thaws comes close with his eighth album, a portrait of his upbringing in a tough Bristol neighborhood. There’s rugged dancehall (“Bacative,” “Baligaga”) and urgent rock (“C’mon Baby,” “Council Estate”). Tricky even covers Kylie Minogue’s “Slow.” But the album’s best track is “Past Mistake,” a convincingly mournful breakup song sung with his ex-girlfriend Lubna. Sept. 9

There’s nothing more annoying than a band, bereft of originality, that’s in love with its own sound. Mother Mother fancies itself indie-rock innovators, shaping its fey baroque-pop arrangements around the cloying voices of Molly Guldemond and Debra-Jean Creelman. But the Vancouver quintet is a magpie outfit. The group’s sophomore album changes styles endlessly and borrows shamelessly from a host of bands, including Broken Social Scene on the slow building “Burning Pile.” Eccentric, yes, but in the worst way. Sept. 16

Not a porn act, but five British art students run amok. XX Teens brings a refreshing irreverence and political savvy to the table—check out the band’s wacky videos for “Darlin’” and “How to Reduce the Chances of Being a Terror Victim” on YouTube. Although its oddball debut excludes the latter, a satire on fear-mongering, it does include “Brian Haw,” a tribute to the British peace activist, and “Only You,” a short, snappy rock nugget with the memorable line: “I’ve got a hole in my head in the shape of your name.” Sept. 30

Holland has made some haunting solo albums, including 2004’s Escondida, which set her gothic teardrop songs to Appalachian blues and old-time jazz. Holland’s latest is no less spooky, employing a ghostly whistle on the traditional murder ballad “Love Henry” and a chilling animal tale on “Fox in Its Hole.” But she and former bandmate Samantha Parton of Be Good Tanyas giggle through the classic feel-good anthem “Enjoy Yourself” and Holland channels her inner rock chick on “Your Big Hands,” her rowdiest song to date. Oct. 6            

Toronto’s Fembots have come a long way from the duo’s tool-shed and junkyard origins. Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier launched the post-industrial folk group with songs performed on power tools and instruments created from garbage. Their fourth CD, created with drummer Nathan Lawr and experimental instrument maker Iner Souster, is a sprawling roots-rock opus. From the moody opener “Good Days” to the wistful “Ship Breaking,” which closes the album, the evocative music lingers like a vivid dream. Sept. 16

Legendary Jamaican producer Coxsone Dodd calls her “the true voice of the street.” Her view of life in Kingston’s Waterhouse ghetto where she grew up is unvarnished. Avoiding the island’s dancehall riddims, Lynn, like a Caribbean M.I.A., sets her stark message about drugs, poverty, gang violence and the International Monetary Fund to a thrilling electroclash beat. But she’s also a voice of hope from the underground, decrying the wicked forces on “The Most High” and the Rasta hymn “Rivers of Babylon.” Sept. 23