The folk pop of Swedish-Argentine singer José González is seductive, especially his covers: See his gorgeous take on the Knife's "Heartbeats." But the music he makes with his old band is doubly so. Mostly dormant since 1999, Junip are hypnotists. González's classical guitar and weightless tenor float over soul jazz, Afrobeat, Ethiopian funk and krautrock, and the lyrics touch on spirituality and self-realization. "Intuitive stories aren't easy to unlearn," González instructs on "Off Point." But the grooves are all about losing yourself.

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”