Argentine-born composer-pianist Fernando Otero performed at Joe's Pub in New York City last Wednesday, celebrating the recent release of his Nonesuch debut, Página de Buenos Aires, which the New York Times says "could be described as a heroically ambitious tango record, with a scope that reaches beyond the usual connotations of the style."

The Magnetic Fields kick off their US tour with two sold-out shows at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they'll unveil "unplugged" versions of songs off their feedback-heavy new album, Distortion. The Hartford Courant spoke with Stephin Merritt about creating the signature sound for the album, which he calls "a collection of 13 pop songs with catchy, quirky melodies swathed in velvety noise," and adapting it for the road. In a feature story and an accompanying podcast, the Courant explores the making of these "witty, droll and often hilarious" songs.

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."