Music

The Ready Set performs on April 5 at The Rave in Milwaukee and on April 8 at The New Loft in Madison.

The Ready Set

Thanks to Owl City (a.k.a. Adam Young), one-person musical units operating under a pseudonym are on the rise. In fact, you can hear the influence of Young on “I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming” (Sire/Decaydance) by The Ready Set (née Jordan Witzigreuter). The Ready Set’s songs suffer from the same lack of variety and innovation as Owl City’s, providing further proof that the home computer and recording studio could turn out to be the downfall of popular culture and creativity. There’s something so insular about these basement-tape creations (see Lights’ disc “The Listening”) that it almost becomes a kind of exclusive club for electro nerds. It’s not a complete washout, however, with songs such as “Stays Four The Same,” “There Are Days” and “Spinnin’” offering a slight promise for the future.

Sarah McLachlan performs on March 11 at The Riverside in Milwaukee. – Photo: Courtesy

Sarah McLachlan

Divorce and ending a once loving relationship are ugly and painful processes. As if we needed to be reminded of that, “Laws of Illusion” (Arista), the most difficult album of Sarah McLachlan’s career, drives the point home over the course of a dozen tracks. A long way from “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy,” “Laws of Illusion” opens with “Awakenings,” on which McLachlan sings about how “cracks began to show as soon as things got hard,” and it’s more or less downhill from there. The disc’s saving grace is McLachlan. Her vocal style elevates the subject above the potential dirge-like affair that could have been.

Lucinda Williams

The first time I saw Lucinda Williams was in 2000. She walked tentatively on stage, hiding beneath what looked like a 50-gallon cowboy hat, surrounded by a band of men and the unwanted glare of a hot white spotlight.

Photo: Courtesy

If there is such a thing as an archeology of music, its primary researcher must be Chicago cabaret musician Justin Hayford. The out singer/pianist will unearth his latest findings over Mother’s Day weekend during twin concerts at the Capitol Theater inside Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts.

Patty Larkin

Outside of zydeco and polka circles, there are probably few musicians who have fond memories of spending time on stage with an accordion. Singer/songwriter Patty Larkin is one of the exceptions.

Robyn

Robyn

Let’s be honest, the song “Dancing On My Own” from Swedish dance goddess Robyn’s eight-song EP “Body Talk Pt. 1” is probably a once-in-a-lifetime slice of pure dance perfection. That’s not to imply that she won’t get your body talking about “Body Talk Pt. 2” (Konichiwa/Cherry Tree/Interscope), her eight-song EP.

A more original and instantly gratifying performer than Lady Gaga, Robyn deserves to get her due with this second installment. “In My Eyes” is a visionary track – funky fresh dance-pop at its most persuasive. “Hang With Me” comes closest to capturing the mastery of “Dancing On My Own” and is a showstopper in its own right. “Love Kills” is reminiscent of Robyn’s work with Röyksopp and a Snoop Dogg guest spot on “U Should Know Better” isn’t as questionable as it might have been.

Jennifer Warnes

For the under-valued diva lover

For years, it seemed you couldn’t watch a major Hollywood movie without hearing Jennifer Warnes’ gorgeous voice singing the theme song. Beginning with the Oscar-winning “It Goes Like It Goes” from “Norma Rae” and continuing with Randy Newman’s Oscar-nominated “One More Hour” from “Ragtime,” the Oscar-winning “Up Where We Belong” from “An Officer and A Gentleman,” the Oscar-winning “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing,” and so on.

Warnes’ recording career, which began in the late 1960s, yielded hit singles such as “Right Time of the Night” from 1977 and produced a handful of albums, most notably the acclaimed 1986 “Famous Blue Raincoat,” on which she performed her own interpretations of songs by friend, collaborator and occasional boss Leonard Cohen (for whom Warnes was a back-up singer).

Sharon Van Etten performs on April 7 at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee and on April 8 at UW-Madison. – Photo: Courtesy

Sharon Van Etten

Super popular with the hipster kids, Sharon Van Etten calls her second album “Epic” (Ba Da Bing). That might seem like a strange name for a seven-song disc, but with a full band behind her on most of the songs, the title makes some sense. Although it plays less than three minutes, the folk-rocker “Peace Signs” feels substantial. Like Adele, Van Etten ventures into country territory on the heartstring plucker “Save Yourself.” “Dsharpg” is the longest and most experimental track and might not be ever one’s cup of G, but “Don’t Do It” is more accessible.

Mavis Staples

Mavis Staples

As a member of the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers, Mavis Staples has been singing for many years. But it wasn’t until the early 1970s, when the group turned its attention to more R&B-oriented material, that it crossed over and achieved mass appeal. Hit singles such as “Respect Yourself,” “I’ll Take You There,” “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” and “Touch A Hand (Make A Friend),” are The Staples’ pop legacy.

As a solo artist, Mavis had a somewhat less successful career, despite working with Prince during the 1980s. But all that changed in recent years when she signed to the hipster Anti- label. Now she’s being discovered by a whole new generation of listeners.

Abe Vigoda

Juan Velazquez plays guitar in Abe Vigoda – the band, not the actor. Velazquez is one of a growing number of out musicians playing in cool indie bands, including Grizzly Bear, The Soft Pack and These Arms Are Snakes.

Ben Folds performs on Jan. 27 at the Overture Center in Madison and on Jan. 28 at the Riverside in Milwaukee. – Photo: Courtesy

Ben Folds

Collaborations are a tricky business, but Ben Folds teaming up with prose writer Nick Hornby as lyricist on “Lonely Avenue” (Nonesuch) pays off in spades. Maintaining Folds’ trademark balance of humorous and somber songs, the disc kicks off with the blogger-putdown “A Working Day” before getting serious on the gorgeous “Picture Window.” “Practical Amanda” and “Belinda” are in a similar vein and equally effective. The classic-pop homage “Doc Pomus” is a wonder to behold, as is “Claire’s Ninth” (about a child of divorce) and the bizarre “Password.”