Round Two.(sound recordings)(Sound recording review)

Here are some records released in the past year that deserve a second listen:

Nicole Atkins, "Neptune City" (Columbia)--Atkins's debut album pays tribute to her New Jersey home town with a sound that can only be described as high chamber pop: overstuffed and sometimes overbearing arrangements that succeed because Atkins's vocals keep the songs rooted in deeper traditions of girl group, soul, and even country. The rec-ord's highlights include the loping "War Torn" and the ecstatic, anthemic "Brooklyn's On Fire!"

Devendra Banhart, "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon" (XL)--Banhart, born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California, makes music that interprets so many styles that it belongs in a universe of its own. On this sprawling collection, Banhart sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and refracts Brazilian dance pop, doo-wop, and folk through a neo-hippie prism.

Bonde do Role, "With Lasers" (Domino)--The year's best funk record is in Portuguese, but that doesn't mean that it's hard to understand. This is down-and-dirty, free-your-ass-and-your-pants-will-follow baile funk from Brazil. Executive-produced by Diplo, who is best known for his work with M.I.A., the record leaps from style to style with restless and even relentless energy.

Bill Callahan, "Woke on a Whaleheart" (Drag City)--Under the band name Smog, Bill Callahan has been making brilliantly downbeat folk pop for nearly twenty years, fitting his low voice and keen observations to bewitchingly languid arrangements. "Woke on a Whaleheart" is the first record he has released under his own name, and it's both a continuation of Smog and a departure from it. The songs here are at once more rhythmic and more experimental, and, while a few meander, most lock into a steady groove; at least one, "Diamond Dancer," is a high point in Callahan's career.

Brandi Carlile, "The Story" (Sony)--The second album by Brandi Carlile, a pretty twenty-something singer, doesn't even have a picture of her on the cover. That's O.K., since Carlile has a powerful and fascinating voice that is reminiscent of k.d. lang. Her music has been featured on shows like "Grey's Anatomy," but Carlile's real habitat is her records, where she writes and performs mysterious songs like "Turpentine" and "Cannonball."

Jarvis Cocker, "Jarvis" (Rough Trade)--Cocker, the acerbic and witty front man for the defunct Brit-pop band Pulp, delivers a solo record that captures the bittersweet nature of life itself. Cocker's melodies are sharp and inventive, and his ballads come off as tender, until you realize that he is often talking about the dark ...