Robert Wyatt, an avant-pop Englishman, and the transgender singer-songwriter Antony Hegarty are, in their way, folk composers, drawing from the same territory as Britain's greatest public-domain songs: class, struggle and identity. On this wonderful live album, the acclaimed British group led by Rachel and Becky Unthanks interprets Wyatt's forlorn "Sea Song" and the fragile pledge of Antony's "You Are My Sister" with spare grit and a silvery deceptive spine running through the sisters' Earth-angel voices. The subtitle, Diversions Vol. 1, suggests further provocative explorations are in store.

Listen to "Sea Song":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“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.”