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An indigenous Australian singer-songwriter blind from birth, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has become an unlikely breakout star across the world since releasing this hour-long debut album at home and in Europe. He's duetted with Sting on French TV, opened by personal request for Elton John at the Sydney Opera House, and seen the album go double platinum and win several awards in Australia. Rightly so: Singing primarily in regional dialects of Australia's Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve, Yunupingu's voice is transfixing and somehow universal. He uses his left hand to play a guitar strung for a right-handed player, taking the familiar low-key DNA of folk music into unexplored places. Often embellished with nothing more than double bass and vocal harmonies, Yunupingu reveals a serene, soulful resonance.

- Doug Wallen

Body Talk Pt. 1
(Konichiwa/Cherrytree/

Interscope ****)

The problem with Swedish-born Robyn's 2005 emancipation plea wasn't that it was overrated by hipsters for its underdog story ('90s one-hit wonder gets kicked around at a major label, goes it alone, and reveals unsuspected talent). It's that our homegrown stars had too much overblown personality for a quirky-haired studio robot to compete. Now that our biggest pop star is Lady Gaga, whose entire premise is trying to convince us she's a robot, Robyn's due for a public reprogramming. For one thing, she knows she's a robot. The blissfully overprocessed "Fembot" could be Fergie in 2030, rapping about "initiating slut mode" before an unexpectedly gorgeous refrain. With scarcer competition than five years ago, her smartest (and best) song is also one of the best singles of the year. Why Body Talk Pt. 1 triumphs as an album (well, mini-album; parts 2 and 3 are expected before year's end) is that most of the other songs are just about as good. With its rote backbeat, the early-Madonna-evoking greatness of first single "Dancing on My Own" might not sink in at first, but the addictive "whoa-oa" hook changes that fast. The nagging synths underscoring "Cry When You Get Older" keep the melody from oversweetening.