1. Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators, Keep Reachin' Up. Amy Winehouse got the tabloid headlines and the Grammy nomination - deservedly so, on both counts. Sharon Jones is finally getting her props. But in the retro-soul sweepstakes, that leaves Nicole Willis out in the cold - in, of all places, Finland. The Brooklyn-born vet found her groove with a 12-piece Helsinki backup band on Keep Reachin' Up, a Euro-American '60s R&B revamping that oozes with ardent affection for classic soul and doesn't settle for mere nostalgia.
2. Plastiscines, LP1. Not to be confused with Plastic Little, the dirty-minded Philadelphia rap crew who are equally worthy in a very different way, Plastiscines are the fetching French femmes who seem to be unaware that people from their Jerry Lewis- and Serge Gainsbourg-loving country aren't supposed to know how to rock. The Plastiscines specialize in propulsive three-minute rock songs that wouldn't exist if Blondie and the Strokes didn't. Watch them show the boys who's boss on their "Loser" video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkexlb0UtIU.
3. Los Straitjackets, Rock en Español, Vol. 1. This record is as much fun as any released in 2007. The Mexican wrestling-mask-wearing Straitjackets are a surf-rock instrumental band who usually keep their mouths shut. Here, they hand the microphones to East L.A. legend Little Willie G., pompadoured dance-band leader Big Sandy, and Los Lobos guitarist Cesar Rosas, who produced. And the concept is brilliant, if you can keep it straight. The album is full of cuts like "El Microscopico Bikini," a cover of Larry Williams' "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" - the delirious riff-rocker made famous by the Beatles - that was recorded in 1964 with new lyrics by Mexican rockers Los Apson. Got that? Now get this.
