Superheroes are consistently more awesome when they team up. When super-villians team up, there is a guarantee of bigger explosions and mass hysteria. When Brooklyn’s Ryan-O’Neil and 100dBs join forces, DJs’ fingers start to twitch in anticipation, MCs tighten their headphones, and fans invest in sound systems with greater bass response. In the four years that these cats have been working together, they have remained consistently dope. Ryan’s flow is effortless and insightful, and 100dBs’ production infuses the booms and baps with a soul reminiscent of DJ Premier. Together they strike a careful balance between fidelity to hip hop’s roots and an investment in the evolution of the art form. This is the type of album people ask the bartender about when it’s playing; the type of album friends won’t leave your apartment until you burn it for them. Don’t sleep on this one. – BrokeMC

Total Slacker is a name we stumbled upon many times but for some reason never covered. This is actually a super-fun Brooklyn band which seems very committed to doing thing the DIY way, but unlike too many other similar groups from that NYC borough, these guys have crafted a very personal lo-fi style that blends garage influences with psych-pop melodies – definitely a good match for Night Manager, our January 2012 Record of the Month band with whom they’ll share the stage at The Mercury Lounge tonight (on the bill also habibi). Their recordings are gritty but not grating, and rather tight for that scene’s standards. But the real highlight here is their videos, which ,considering the very limited resources, are very well made. This one for "Secret VHS collection" (ATTENTION, you may NOT want to watch it at work!) successfully combines 3 hot hipsterland’s topics: DIY live parties in tiny Bushwick apartments, craigslist sex listings and… masturbation.

Sweden has given music some of the best voices in pop, and singer Anna Ternheim – currently a NYC resident – can be added to that growing list. Ternheim is more Lykke Li than Robyn, an inevitable comparison given their backgrounds and similar melancholic tones, and is already topping charts in native Europe with “The Night Visitor,” her fifth full-length release. The album combines more folk elements than some of her previous work, and is ornamented with her echoing vocals of solitude and contentment. Songs like “Walking Aimlessly” featuring Will Oldman on backing vocals (streaming below) and “The Longer the Waiting,” sung with Nashville engineer and “Night Visitor” producer Dave Ferguson, show that Ternheim has earned a place among Sweden’s most talented imports. You can catch her live at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on May 26. – Devon Antonetti