The Black Keys' latest Nonesuch release, Attack & Release, doesn't hit stores till April 1, but The Guardian has already named it one of the "ten essential albums for spring." The paper's Killian Fox writes that, with the new record, its producer, Danger Mouse, is "putting both feet in the rock camp."

Stars of HBO’s The Wire recently visited the HBO Store in Manhattan to meet fans of the show and sign copies of the series’s DVDs and soundtracks, … and all the pieces matter and Beyond Hamsterdam. Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow), and Clarke Peters (Det. Lester Freamon) were on hand, as was TV Guide, which asked the actors to reveal some of their favorite cuts on the soundtracks.

Watershed, k.d. lang's first-ever self-produced album and her first collection of new, self-penned tunes since 2000's Invincible Summer, is now available in the Nonesuch Store. Another new addition: Kronos Quartet's recording of composer Terry Riley's The Cusp of Magic, with pipa virtuoso Wu Man; the Los Angeles Times says the piece "brims with joy."

In an effort to expand the musical palate of Vampire Weekend fans newly taken to the sounds of Afro-pop, which the band references in its work, the Los Angeles Times offers some "relatively recent gems" from Africa's diverse musical offerings. Included is Amadou & Mariam's Manu Chao-produced album Dimanche à Bamako, which the Times' Ann Powers says "ranks as one of the sunniest musical outings released this century." She writes: "Some tracks boogie like classic rock, others roll along on those gloriously languorous Malian rhythms, some flirt with hip-hop. Every one will make you jump up and dance."

Jonny Greenwood picked up an Evening Standard British Film Award last night for Best Film Score for his contribution to There Will Be Blood. The film's star, Daniel Day-Lewis was named Best Actor. Helena Bonham Carter was recognized as Best Actress for her work both in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and in the small, independent film Conversations with Other Women.