"Distortion" by The Magnetic Fields

Stephin Merritt, the creative force behind Magnetic Fields and various other groups and projects, is one of alternative pop's most gifted songwriters and genuine eccentrics. (Once, while interviewing him in a diner, this reporter watched him feed an omelet to a Chihuahua.)

On the Fields' latest effort, Merritt channels the melodic savvy and wit that have earned him comparisons to pop bards dating to Cole Porter into a chocolate box of power-pop confections, coated in layers of feedback. Some are dark and bitter, such as "Mr. Mistletoe," on which Merritt's gruff bass becomes an eerie groan.

Other tracks feature guest singer Shirley Simms, who on "The Nun's Litany" croons, "I want to be a cobra dancer, I want to be a porno starlet" with the yearning of a girl-group diva.

Merritt has served up heartier fare, but "Distortion" is a tasty diversion.

Download: previously mentioned tracks, "Xavier Says," "Please Stop Dancing"

Skip: "Till the Bitter End"

— Elysa Gardner

"Liverpool 8" by Ringo Starr

The title, a reference to his childhood neighborhood, is a dead giveaway that we're in for another sentimental journey with the one Beatle who's still struggling for visibility and viability. Starr earns both here, despite his tendency to marinate in cliches and nostalgia.

"L8" is hardly Starr's finest solo turn, but his familiar cheer and relaxed melodies make for a charming collection of pop powered by romance and '60s idealism.

Download: "R U Ready," "Pasodobles," "Gone Are the Days"

Consider: "Harry's Song" (a nod to Harry Nilsson)

Skip: "Give It a Try," "Tuff Love"

— Edna Gundersen