SoundTreks: Mali, Japan, the Balkans and a North-Sound Journey through Latin America

CeU: Vagarosa
Brazilians not only craft beautiful music, they also have a penchant for expansive, yet luxurious, experimentation. CeU's second album builds on her bestselling debut by bringing even more reggae, indie rock and trip-hop elements into her organic bossa nova and Brazilian folk sound. The dream-pop, guitar-driven "Rosa Menina Rosa" (the only cover on the set) is a highlight, but the strength of this set is in how well CeU and her crew put together an entire album experience, particularly in an age when single-song downloads dominate. -- Nick Dedina


Amadou & Mariam: The Magic Couple
One of the pure musical joys of the 2000s has been the global breakout success of this Malian husband-and-wife duo. This greatest-hits collection shows that the couple continue to experiment with elements of Western music -- as opposed to West African music -- yet nothing distills the no-nonsense, simpatico nature that the twosome has perfected over thirty years of playing together (they met in a school for the blind). This is a fine introduction to their music, and fans of the blues or any kind of guitar music need to hear Amadou's relentless rhythmic guitar playing. -- Nick Dedina


Let's move now to a completely different part of the world, but a sound that is just as thrillingly steeped in both experimentation and tradition. The Yoshida Brothers are masters of the shamisen, the three-string lute that's long been a part of Japanese folk and classical traditions. They excel at the Tsugaru-shamisen genre, an often-percussive style of playing that has lent itself well to crossovers into blues, bluegrass and, especially, rock. The brothers (yes, they really are brothers) have embraced this experimental potential, honing their own aggressive aesthetic and often delving into popular, commercial forms. In fact, while you might not recognize their name, you've probably heard their music: a remix of one of their songs (featured on this album) is the soundtrack for those omnipresent Nintendo Wii commercials (the ones where the two guys in a Smart car show up somewhere and announce "Wii would like to play").

Yoshida Brothers: Best of the Yoshida Brothers -- Tsugaru Shamisen
The shamisen has always been a rock-star instrument, and nobody rocks the three-string Japanese lute like the Yoshida Brothers. Best of showcases the percussive, aggressive style they helped pioneer, as well as their interest in placing the traditional instrument in very nontraditional settings: it works in tango ("Passion"), doesn't do so well in piano-driven global elevator ("A Hill with No Name") and traces a whole new history (and future!) of country blues in "Overland Blues." The most dynamic tracks are the experimental classical "Blooming" and "Kodo," which you may recognize from Wii commercials. -- Rachel Devitt

Zipping back across the world again, we'll close with the latest from Los Super Reyes, the cumbia-driven boy band formed (or, more accurately, renamed) in the wake of the breakup of Los Kumbia Kings. When Kings founders Cruz Martinez and A.B. Quintanilla III (that'd be Selena's brother, yo) parted ways over creative differences, Martinez kept the band but changed its name to Los Super Reyes. And boy, are they super! (Sorry. But really, check it out -- delectable Latin/Mexican regional pop at its finest and flashiest.)

Cruz Martinez Presenta Los Super Reyes: Cumbia Con Soul
Los Super Reyes' second album sounds like the often-tumultuous history of this cumbia boy band that was born of the breakup of Los Kumbia Kings' founders, A.B. Quintanilla and Cruz Martinez. Though the shuffling chugga-chug of the cumbia flows throughout, Cumbia Con Soul almost alternates between flashy, mainstream pop (for instance, "Sin Tu Amor") and more accordion-driven Mexican regional pop (e.g., "Eres"). Los Super Reyes are at their best when their two aesthetics are more seamlessly blended ("Preso") or when things get as dramatic and unpredictable as the group's story (the dubby "Baby"). -- Rachel Devitt

Finally, we have Alkohol from Goran Bregovic, who is perhaps the Balkans' most illustrious musician. This is his first U.S. release, a raucous, edge-of-your-seat affair that was totally worth the wait.

Goran Bregovic: Alkohol
This may be his first U.S. release, but Goran Bregovic is one of the Balkans' most famous artists, with a storied career as both a folk-inspired film composer and a rock musician. Alkohol bridges those legacies, homing in on the fruitful intersections between the rollicking brass of Roma bands and rock, pop and hip-hop. Bregovic's take on this hybrid sound feels organic rather than gimmicky, whether he's screaming his guts out on the punkish "Truckers' Song," crooning like a Gypsy Stevie Wonder on the soulful "Ruzica (Rose)" or wrangling the wild meters of wedding-band jams like "Paradehtika." -- Rachel Devitt