Weekend Outburst 6

Crippled Black Phoenix: 200 Tons of Bad Luck (Invada)
The UK post-rock supergroup featuring the members of such psychedelic metal machines as Mogwai, Bad Wizard and Gonga return with a second album on Portishead's Geoff Barrow Invada imprint, experimenting with dub and synth-rock sounds that fit swimmingly into their cinematic sludge. Plus they have a song called "Burnt Reynolds," which actually makes for a much better band name than Crippled Black Phoenix. Just saying… (Ron Hart)

Chuck Mead: Journeyman's Wager (Thirty Tigers)
The BR5-49 guitarist-singer's solo debut is roots rock gold, prospected from somewhere near Earle's Copperhead Road - honky-tonkin' man music with a pro's touch. This was country before the Garths and Shanias conquered Nashville, and Mead can proudly hang his Stetson next to Waylon and Willie. (Dennis Cook)

Dennis Brown: The Best of Dennis Brown: The Niney Years (Heartbeat/Rounder)
Under the auspices of Jamaican production kingpin Niney The Observer, Brown released some of the greatest work of his all-too-short life, including such certified classics as Visions, Words of Wisdom and Wolves and Leopards. This new collection gathers up the best moments from the duo's 15-year collaborative run, including rare tracks and previously unreleased versions of the late singer's most cherished sides. (RH)

Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone: Thin Air (Thirsty Ear)
Spooked chamber music by a gifted guitar, violin and voice duo. Call it 'otherworldly classical' or 'high tone singer-songwriter' but maybe categories don't matter with music this chewy and perversely interesting. This NYC pair is walking their own path, a road that passes by Derek Bailey and This Mortal Coil. Weird! (DC)