Some music that's reverberating around the editorial office ... or at least in my headphones.

The Slits -- Trapped Animal (Narnack)
Although I could do with the fake Jamaican accents that crop up now and again, the long-awaited return of The Slits -- in full-length form -- is a satisfying update of one of the best bands in the British punk movement. If the Sex Pistols were the wallet and The Clash the heart of punk, The Slits were its innocent soul; an unabashed celebration of reggae and self-expression that morphed into some of post-punk's most infectious avant-garde music. After decades of working with the On-U Sound collective, Ari Up reformed the group, which released an EP a few years ago and now this full-length, which mixes modern reggae, dance and other sounds with Ari Up's blend of sometimes dissonant vocals -- often more spoken than sung -- and direct lyrics. At times (notably, "Partner From Hell" and "Be It") the record sounds more like the New Age Steppers -- Ari's On-U band -- than The Slits and that's OK, too.

Fool's Gold (I Am Sound)
If it's true that Vampire Weekend made AfroPop cool again with the hipsters, those listeners oughta check out Fool's Gold, the self-titled debut by an L.A. collective that loves The Smiths as much as it loves reverb-laden, interwoven guitar lines of Congolese music and the frenetic rhythms of Ethiopian music. Members of the collective have also been in bands like The Fall, We Are Scientists and Foreign Born. "There is definitely an element to our songs that makes people want to dance, but there is also something deeper and more purposeful going on, maybe even akin to the early spirit of The Smiths -- kind of like as if Congotronics were fronted by Morrissey," says guitarist Lewis Pesacov. For once a musician successfully describes his own sound! The music is danceable, genre-blurring and most definitely infectious.

Orenda Fink -- Ask the Night (Saddle Creek)
One half of the band Azure Ray, and also a member of Art in Manila and O+S, Fink released her solo debut in 2005 and this is the follow-up to that critically acclaimed outing. "Ask the Night" -- with a handful of songwriting collaborations with Alabama poet and artist Chris Lawson -- is a sometimes stark slice of modern folk that weds Fink's love for Southern gothic lit with traditional American folk music. The arrangements are basic -- guitar, mandolin and accordion on "Sister," just guitar and voice on the dark "Why the Night Is Sad," a little banjo added for "Half-Light." Fink isn't breaking any ground here, but she's mining some earthy music with engaging results.