Offbeat alt-rock quartet Soul Coughing dissolved, fittingly, just as the 90’s faded into the 00’s, but poetic frontman Mike Doughty managed to flip their implosion into a viable solo career within about six months. His last couple albums have moved toward thicker radio-friendly pop production than the sparseness his fans grew used to, but the just-released Sad Man Happy Man tones it back down again and zeroes in on the acoustic skeletons and the programmed beats slated to move into the foreground with his upcoming electronic album Dubious Luxury.

New York singer-songwriter Porter Block opens with tunes co-written by several of his Brooklyn neighborhood’s finest musicians.

Porter Block - Youth’s Magic Horn
Porter Block - Got To Get Back