Soundcheck

CD Picks of the Week

Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.

What Made Milwaukee Famous, "What Doesn’t Kill Us" (Barsuk)

This band is not, in fact, from a certain Wisconsin city made famous by breweries. The Austin, Texas-based group is named after a Jerry Lee Lewis song about an inebriated loser. But these guys are winning opening spots for the Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire. Their second album rocks in all the right places, especially if you like Death Cab for Cutie or fellow Austinites, Spoon.--picked by Joel Meyer

Gilberto Gil, "Duetos" (Warner Musica Latina)

Gilberto Gil has been a star in Brazilian music since he helped create Tropicalia, in the 60s. But it was politics that almost killed his musical career. For the past five years, Gil has been the country’s minister of culture and he almost lost his voice after delivering many speeches. The voice problems are evident in some tracks of his latest album, "Duetos." The good thing is that the record spans over 30 years of his career, in duets with people as diverse as singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and rocker Cassia Eller. Also here: late singer and composer Chico Science – one of the founders of the Mangue Beat cultural movement -- and rapper Marcelo D2 (De Dois).--picked by Gisele Regatao

Prism Quartet: Pitch Black, Music for Saxophones by Jacob TV (Innova)

The Dutch new music scene has been one of Europe’s wildest since the '70s, and the composer Jacob TV – real name Jacob ter Velduis – is one of its wildest stars. TV grew up a fan of rock music and American media – television and movies especially. In the '90s he began writing composed works built around sampled sounds from those sources, developing an in-your-face style that says as much about the media as it does about Jacob’s music. Philadelphia’s Prism sax quartet has just released an album of some of these insistent, often fiery pieces – the ones that feature saxes, obviously. --picked by John Schaefer

Bartok: String Quartets 1-6, Belcea Quartet (EMI)

Bartók's six string quartets are arguably the most important and revolutionary cycle of string quartets after Beethoven’s. Intricate, clever, and incredibly physical, these works are tinged with the folk rhythms of Bartok’s native Hungary. Britain’s Belcea Quartet has just recorded the complete cycle and prove here why they are one of the best of the younger quartets on the scene. They’re currently on a US tour that will take them to Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in April. --picked by Brian Wise

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