Wouldn't you know it, Destiny's Child have a kid sister, and she's a Solo Star. Solange Knowles' project finally sees the light of day this week after about a year of build-up. The disc does not include any DC cameos -- Solange instead opts for B2K and the St. Lunatics.
On the other end of the new-releases spectrum are two albums from hipster bands, Rainer Maria (Long Knives Drawn) and Pretty Girls Make Graves (the EP). True to form, the industry darlings deliver their special brand of indie, punky, emo-y pop.
Groove Armada's eclectic DJ set Love Box features rock, funk, soul, hip-hop, raga, down-tempo tracks and even "Buffalo Stance" honey Neneh Cherry on a couple of songs, while the Sea and Cake deliver an equally diverse listening experience on their new album, One Bedroom.
Finally, Cody Chesnutt, the You Hear It First alum, Strokes cameo man, Roots compadre and lo-fi rock and soul star finally gets The Headphone Masterpiece distributed in actual music stores this week rather than exclusively on his temperamental Web site. The two-CD set features such testosterone-infused favorites as "The Seed," "Bitch, I'm Broke," and "War Between the Sexes," plus the ubiquitous hitz for da ladiez, "Can We Teach" and "Smoke and Love."
4 Way Street - 4 Way Street (Sliced Bread) Rikk Agnew - All by Myself (Frontier) Ape Breaks - Volume 3 (Ubiquity) Arrivals - Exsenator Orange (Thick) Axe - Offering (Wounded Bird) Benumb - By Means of Upheaval (Relapse) Bitter Bitter Weeks - Bitter Bitter Weeks (My Pal God) Bob Log III - Log Bomb (Fat Possum) Bombshell Rocks - From Here and On (Burning Heart) Brokeback - Looks at the Bird (Thrill Jockey) Burnside Project - The Networks, the Circuits, the Streams, the Harmonies (Bar/None) Steve Caballero - Bandology 1 (Sessions) Calla - Televise (Arena Rock) Cargo Cult - Strange Men Bearing Gifts (Touch & Go) Cody Chesnutt - The Headphone Masterpiece (2 CDs, Ready Set Go) Read: [article id="1453083"]Cody Chesnutt: 60s Rock And Soul, Dirty South Hip-Hop, British New Wave And Talent"[/article]
Buy Now: The Headphone Masterpiece (Ready Set Go)
Cinch - Cinch (EP, Dirtnap) Colossal - Brave the Elements (EP, Asian Man) Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn (Merge) Cuica - City to City (Ubiquity) The Delgados - Hate (Mantra) Whit Dickey and Trio Ahxoloxha - Prophet Moon (Aum Fidelity) DJ Kid - Hitz 4 Kidz (DM) Endless Struggle - Till the End (A-F) The Eurythmics - In the Garden (RCA) Future Bible Heroes - The Lonely Robot (EP, Instinct) Gang of Four - Hard/Solid Gold (Wounded Bird) Graves - Love Love Love (Film Guerrero) Green on Red - Gravity Talks (Wounded Bird) Groove Armada - Lovebox (Jive-Electro) Jeff Hanson - Son (Kill Rock Stars) Happy Apple - Youth Oriented (Sunny Side) Holopaw - Holopaw (Sub Pop) The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Bigger Cages, Longer Chains and Up for Sale (EPs, Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Buy Now: Bigger Cages, Longer Chains (Sympathy for the Record Industry) John & Spencer Booze Explosion - John & Spencer Booze Explosion (Tiger Style) Jonny Z - Barrio Knights (One Lil' Vato) King Missile III - The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (Instinct) Kinski - Airs Above Your Station (Sub Pop) Kizzy Rock - The Realist (Kela/In the Paint) Laika - Lost in Space (Beggars Too Pure) Last Days of May - Inner System Blues (Squealer) Last Hombres - Redemption (Koch) Ledisi - Soulsinger (Tommy Boy) Richard Lloyd - Alchemy (Collector's Choice) Main - Transiency (Tigerbeat6) Mary Lorson & Billy Coté - Piano Creeps (The First Time) Mannheim Steamroller - Romantic Melodies (American Gramaphone) Microphones - Mount Eerie (K) Chieili Minucci - Night Grooves (Shanachie) Mission U.K. - Even After ... Live (Sanctuary/Castle) Negative Approach - Tied Down (Touch and Go) Bob Neuwirth - Bob Neuwirth (Water) David Newman - Gift (High Note) No Trend - Tritonian Nash-Vegas Polyester Complex (Touch & Go) Mike Nock - Changing Seasons (Diw) The Out Crowd - Go On, Give a Damn (Orange Sky) Paper Garden - Paper Garden (Gear Fab) William Parker, Joe Morris and Hamid Drake - Eloping With the Sun (Aum Fidelity) Jeremy Pelt - Insight (Criss Cross) Jimmy Ponder - Alone (High Note) Pretty Girls Make Graves - Pretty Girls Make Graves (EP, Dim Mak) Rainer Maria - Long Knives Drawn (Polyvinyl) Rasputina - Lost & Found 2nd Edition (EP, Instinct) Redneck Girlfriend - Blood Sweat & Beers (Infect) Reversal Penetrations - Generation Mindwar (Cop International) Sea and Cake - One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey) Matthew Shipp - Equilibrium (Thirsty Ear) Solange - Solo Star (Columbia) Read: [article id="1458534"]"Solange 'Feeling' It With Beyonce, N.O.R.E., Others"[/article]
Buy Now: Solo Star (Columbia)
Sole - Selling Live Water (Anticon) Sonna - Smile and the World Smiles With You (Temporary Residence Limited) SoulSkin - SoulSkin (Askew) Sport Murphy - Uncle (Kill Rock Stars) Tiffany Nicole - Tiffany Nicole (Dreamscape) Unwritten Law - From Music in High Places (Lava) Read: [article id="1457437"]"Unwritten Law Frolic Naked, Trash House"[/article]
Buy Now: From Music in High Places (Lava)
Sarah Vaughn - Nature Boy (Golden Stars) Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine (Collector's Choice) Virginia Coalition - Rock and Roll Party (DCN) The Volta Sound - This Is the Yin and the Yang (Orange Sky) Written in the Sand - 47 Ursae Majoris (Johann's Face) Zero 7 - Simple Things: Remixes (Palm Pictures) Various artists - Adults Only Vols. 1. & 2 (Sanctuary) Various artists - Almost You: The Songs of Elvis Costello (Glurp/Bar/None) Various artists - At Least You Can Die With a Smile on Your Face (Bella Union) Various artists - Cheap Date (Columbia) Various artists – "Girl Most Likely" soundtrack (DRG) Various artists - History of Rock (Box Set, Collectables) Various artists - Indiana Jones Trilogy (Silva America) Various artists - Mob Action Against the State (Alternative Tentacle) Various artists - Mollie's Mix (Kill Rock Stars) Various artists - The Now Sound of Brazil (Six Degrees Travel Series) Various artists - Pulse from Mid-America (Anatomy) Various artists - Pure Punk Rock (Punkcore) Various artists - Respond II (Signature) Various artists - Tiger Style Sampler (Tiger Style) Various artists – "Who's Your Daddy" soundtrack (Koch) Erasure - Other People's Songs (Mute) Jars of Clay - Furthermore: From the Studio to the Stage (BMG) Pet Shop Boys - Disco 3 (EP, Sanctuary) Various artists - "Daredevil" soundtrack (Wind-Up) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nocturama (Epitaph) Massive Attack - 100th Window (Virgin) John Mayer - Any Given Thursday (Sony) Various artists - We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones (Sony) R. Kelly - Chocolate Factory (Jive) Third Eye Blind - Crystal Baller (Elektra) 
