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Four years after reviving and releasing his abandoned masterpiece, Smile, Wilson is back with a new album, That Lucky Old Sun. Between performances of songs from the new disc, the former Beach Boys singer shares what it was like to return to his old recording home at Capitol Records.

Ra Ra Riot features swooning violin and cello lines, pop hooks and sinuous rock rhythms that bring to mind Spoon with strings. After the tragic loss of the band's drummer and songwriter, The Rhumb Line is the product of a cathartic recording process that takes a positive outlook on the darker side of life.

Ra Ra Riot's first two years of existence have been difficult, but the band just put out a beautifully polished and inspired debut, The Rhumb Line. Hear the group showcase the album in a full concert, webcast live from the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.

On her new album, Rebel Woman, Chiwoniso shows off an assertive style that no other female singer in Zimbabwe can match. In her songs, she stands up for her country's children and poor. One of the most compelling voices in African music today, she confidently borrows from other genres — especially American ones.

I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This, the latest album from Berlin-based Michael Knight, is a jumble of unexpected twists. For starters, Michael Knight is not a person but rather a large collective of musicians fronted by lead singer Richard Murphy. Then there's the fact that I'm Not Entirely Clear How I Ended Up Like This is a two-disc release, with its second disc featuring instrumental-only versions of all the songs on the first.

On her latest album, Little Wild One, Osborne reunites with the all-star writer-producer team that shaped her Grammy-winning debut, Relish. Well-versed in many genres, she easily navigates between roots-rock, gospel and country on a collection that pays tribute to her New York City home.

While some of the first 43 presidents have become larger-than-life figures, others are all but forgotten. In a new collection called Of Great and Mortal Men, songwriters Christian Kiefer, Jefferson Pitcher and Matthew Gerken have composed original songs that span three CDs and more than 220 years of American history.

The La's only recorded one album, but the self-titled disc from 1990 features one infectious guitar-pop gem after another, including the classic, oft-covered hit "There She Goes." The group's main songwriter, Lee Mavers, notoriously fired multiple band members and producers because, according to Mavers, none of them got it.

Romanian singer Sanda Weigl learned traditional songs from the gypsies living around her home when she was a child. Today, she sings these songs across the U.S. as part of a Romanian cultural outreach campaign, but the singer's life remains larger than the Gypsy lore reflected in her songs.

Censored Colors, the latest from experimental rock foursome Portugal. The Man, is certainly a lot to digest in a single listen. Thankfully, the music on the Portland-based group's third full-length album in as many years is fascinating enough to warrant those repeated spins.