We’ve always found the music of Little Dragon to be funky fresh, but the Swedish four piece hits new highs on the band’s recently released Machine Dreams, one of the albums of the year. Little Dragon have always had a soulful element thanks to the distinctively elastic vocals of singer Yukimi Nagano, but true to its title, Machine Dreams creatively plays with the intersection of pop and technology, whimsically splitting the difference between retro and futurist.

The magically appealing duo Air is geared up for their latest album release, Love 2, out October 6. They just set sail with the first single off the album, Sing Sang Sung, the video matches the song a dreamy, psychedelic, mellow manner.

I’m making an early call by introducing you to the rising talent of Elan Tamara. Her debut Gold Fishes EP only hit stores this Monday and has already sold out! Elan’s music is a wonderous start to the autumn seaon with her experimententation of world music instruments matching her endearing pop British sound.

It’s been a little while since Amanda Blank first hit the underground scene, stealing shows for fellow Philly artists like Spank Rock with her razor-sharp sex rhymes, streetwise style and captivating stage presence. But it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, so it’s taken longer than anyone imagined for Blank to drop her debut CD, “I Love You,” which finally hit the streets this week.

As Miike Snow the three have crafted a cool collection of ornate pop melodrama with a penchant for classic rock. “Sivia” is a perfect jumping-off point to explore the dazzling sonic dexterity of Miike Snow, which is poised to be among the finest debut albums of 2009.