Tegan and Sara: ‘Sainthood’
???
On “Sainthood,” their sixth album, twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin crank up ‘80s new wavy dance pop hooks and grooves, providing a fresh setting for another batch of their downbeat songs about relationships gone bad. That combination is a growth from the duo’s earlier folk-pop songs and works pretty well, giving the record an accessibility that could connect with an wider audience beyond their indie rock cult.
Importantly, it still rocks on tracks like the shaking “Hell,” which takes the synths into the garage and blasts away.  Now 29, the Quins wrote the record together and acknowledge their maturity, singing about “talking like a teen” along with detailing various romantic entanglements and dalliances. This one’s mainly about feelings, mostly sad, offset against peppy music, mostly happy. – L. Kent Wolgamott
Buy if you like: Cat Power, Feist

Los Cenzontles with David Hidalgo & Taj Mahal: ‘American Horizon’
????
“American Horizon” is much more than a benefit album for youth programming at Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center, operated by the  group Los Cenzontle (The Mockingbirds) in San Pablo, Calif. Like  Alejandro Escovedo’s “By the Hand of the Father,” it’s a poignant  chronicle of an experience shared by too many immigrants, regardless of where they came from. It’s about the beauty of dreams vs. the harsh  realities of poverty and oppression, and the will to go on anyway. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand all the lyrics; the music speaks a universal language — one every American who shares the blood of an immigrant (almost all of us, that is) needs to hear. And the mix of beautiful traditional songs and snaky blues, like “Suerios” (“Dreams”), “Overtime” and the down-and-dirty Taj Mahal lament, “One Hot Mama,” or David Hidalgo’s electric guitar wails on the sad “Best of Me” and the morphing tempos of “Solo Quiero Bailar” will grab you hard. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Los Lobos

Spencer Day: ‘Vagabond’
??? 1/2
Fans of the Great American Songbook singers will want to tune into Spencer Day. The twist here is that unlike many other new Sinatra singers, Day doesn’t mine the classic songs of the ‘40s and ‘50s. He writes his own material. And “Vagabond” suggests had he grown up in the Songbook era, Day might well have landed a few lasting songs in the catalog.
That’s not to suggest Day is lacking in vocal chops; quite the opposite, in fact, as his smooth and rangy vocals stand up to just about any of his peers. But the songs and their rich melodies are the stars here, as “Till You Come To Me” uses strings to help create a sultry late-night feel, the title songs oozes romance. And “Someday” is an elegant piece of pop balladry in which Day and producer Ben Yonas smartly avoid the temptation to overproduce, instead using mainly piano and light percussion to accompany Day’s nicely restrained vocal.  – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr.

The Mother Hips: “Pacific Dust”
??? 1/2
San Francisco-based the Mother Hips is one of those bands that inexplicably tends to fly under the radar long after it should have been noticed. Whether “Pacific Dust” will change that is debatable, but it’s certainly worthy. Full of supple, versatile vocals by Tim Bluhm, with spot-on harmonies by Greg Loiacono, who also supplies alternately grinding, stuttering and gorgeous lead guitar, the album captures both a sunny California vibe and the gritty underside of life in the music biz. It’s pop with rock attitude, and rock with pop prettiness.
“Cheer Up Champ” is Beach Boys sweet, without the cloying aspect, and “The Lion and the Bull” harks back to British invasion innocence. Bluhm’s falsetto is a blue-eyed soul joy, and Loiacono’s earthy guitars provide the perfect weight to anchor his melodies. They meld beautifully on the charming “One Way Out,” with its George Harrison-styled riffs. — Lynne Margolis
Buy if you like: Wilco, My Morning Jacket

Box Set
The Doors: “Live In New York”
????
The mining of what appears to be a deep vault of Doors concerts continues with this six-disc set, which documents four complete concerts in January 1970 at New York City’s Felt Forum. The shows, which occurred shortly before the release of the studio album, “Morrison Hotel,” represented the final time the band played in New York City. For the shows, the band debuted several songs from “Morrison Hotel,” included some earlier classics such as “Light My Fire,” “Soul Kitchen” and “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” and threw in a generous number of blues and early rock covers.
While the early shows are solid, the band sounds more energized in its second shows on Jan. 17 and 18 . Perhaps the Doors were just late-night people, as singer Jim Morrison seems more in tune and playful — note his performances on Jan. 18 of  “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)” and “Roadhouse Blues” — with the crowds and the music in those shows.  The Jan. 18 late show also benefits greatly from a taut performance of  “Celebration of the Lizard,” which brings a whole spooky element to that night’s show. The concerts were recorded originally for the “Absolutely Live” CD, which accounts for the excellent sound quality. And while this means some of the tracks have already been released, it’s nice to have a complete document of these late-era Doors shows. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: X, Cream

Reissue
Nirvana: ‘Bleach’
??? 1/2
When Nirvana took the rock world by storm with its second CD, “Nevermind,” it seemed like the band arrived like a bolt from the blue. Of course, the group’s arrival wasn’t so sudden, and soon after hearing “Nevermind,” many fans quickly sought out Nirvana’s debut, “Bleach,” the 1989 CD recorded before drummer Dave Grohl joined the band and added an explosive dimension to Nirvana’s sound.
This deluxe re-issue of “Bleach,” of course, features the original album, a more raw effort that lacked the melodic songcraft of later albums, but certainly hinted at the special talents of frontman Kurt Cobain. What makes this edition of “Bleach” worth owning is the 11 live tracks that capture early Nirvana in combustible form. The live versions frequently surpass the studio versions and provide a document of Nirvana just before Cobain came into his own as a songwriter, and the band as a whole redefined rock and roll for the ‘90s and beyond. – Alan Sculley
Buy if you like: Soundgarden, the Stooges