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The latest Apple commercial features an ultra-thin laptop and a fresh hit song, "New Soul," by Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naim. Her just-released self-titled album features songs written in three languages. The added exposure for "New Soul" has helped Naim become the first Israeli solo artist to crack Billboard's Top 10.

Country singer-songwriter Tift Merritt has just returned from Paris where — while taking a break from a grueling tour schedule — she wrote the songs for her latest album, Another Country. Merritt and her longtime band play songs and take questions about the new album.

The Balustrade Ensemble makes music from another time, but one that never really existed. It's an imaginary world of creaky floors, dusty furniture and sepia-toned landscapes illuminated by distant strings and tinkling music boxes. The music is largely instrumental with the angelic voice of Wendy Allen, drenched in reverb, occasionally drifting in. It's a sometimes spooky world but curious and entirely enchanting.

Carbon/Silicon is a collaboration between The Clash's Mick Jones and Tony James of the Billy Idol-fronted Generation X, but its sound veers more toward danceable rock. See and hear the band play "The News" at the corner of 7th and Red River in Austin, Tex., for SXSW.

Merritt's voice is an incredible instrument in itself, but she also has the guitar skills and songwriting chops of a seasoned professional. In support of her third release, Another Country, Merritt speaks with host David Dye about its primary inspiration: France.

When The Helio Sequence set up in KEXP's studio with just one guitar, one drum kit, and two microphones, few expected such a full sound to emerge. Many challenges faced the band as it made Keep Your Eyes Ahead, yet its end result on CD and in the studio reveal focus and power.

Bibb grew up amid the New York City folk scene in the 1950s and '60s, a scene he calls "a magical world that I was born into and never left." But Bibb has since become a blues guitarist and songwriter in his own right. His latest album, Get On Board, pays tribute to his heroes.

Since the 1970s, Australian songwriter Paul Kelly has explored a rustic approach to pop-rock and country music, sometimes recording under pseudonyms for his various projects. His 25th album, Stolen Apples, features striking biblical imagery, especially in "God Told Me To."

Half of the mostly defunct band The Moldy Peaches, Green has put out his fifth solo full-length CD. The album's genre-jumping and stream-of-consciousness lyrics make the title, a term for disarray, seem apt. But the songs are melodic and imaginative.

House writes roots-based pop songs in the tradition of Jeff Buckley and Bruce Springsteen. The Ohio-born singer realized that he enjoyed entertaining others in high-school drama class and began to write music. His latest CD is titled Flying Upside Down.