Here are three albums I've introduced into the rotation in recent months.
• The Civil Wars, "Barton Hollow." Their new self-titled album is worth picking up, but this debut is the purest form of the duo's musical chemistry. Their delicate harmonies swell, soar, dance and fade with perfection in a dozen emotional folk-country ballads. The voices ache and make love, often at once, and are best enjoyed in candlelight. The voices of John Paul White and Joy Williams twist like double-helix DNA. White's muscular guitar is the horsepower behind these fragile slices of Americana.
• Norah Jones, "Little Broken Hearts." Most know Norah Jones by her mega-selling debut with jazz-lounge flair. The follow-up was "Feels Like Home," where the tight songs roadtripped through the country. "Little Broken Hearts" is the mid-1990s alt retro album she's been dying to make. Nothing on this new album sounds like "Don't Know Why." The lyrics reflect a distraught view of past relationships. Danger Mouse's production techniques add a classic sitcom sheen to the songs' hooks, which complement Norah's ethereal delivery.
• Queens of the Stone Age, "Rated R." For some reason, when I want something stronger, I light up the speakers with these guys. Their stew of screw-you guitar thrashings refuse to take themselves too seriously — and occasionally surprise with moments of warm clarity. This particular album from 2000 is trippier than their successful follow-up, "Songs for the Deaf." There is more art for art's sake, like the trumpet oddities that close the album in "I Think I Lost My Headache."
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