Amy Cooper
water/fire (Stone Child)

While an Amy Cooper may have been captain of your high school cheerleading squad, this Amy is less cheerleader and more that girl who dated guys on motorcycles, smoked under the bleachers, and made combat boots look sexy. On her debut album, water/fire, Cooper walks the thin line that separates shadow from light with the smooth expertise of a tightrope walker. With a deep, sultry voice that rivals PJ Harvey's, Cooper flirts with gloom while being intellectually seductive. A delicate balance of the sweet and the menacing, water/fire, which was produced by indie rocker John Vanderslice, blends murky guitars, slightly haunting string arrangements, and a soft yet powerful percussion that sweeps in and out like the tide. But the grace of water/fire is Cooper's husky voice, which echoes sweetly and wistfully across the album's dusky, lo-fi landscapes. Lying somewhere between interstate highway tumbleweeds and Greenwich Village, the album recalls Ennio Morricone's trademark whistling ("Hurried Steps"), Joan Baez-era folk ("You and I"), and early Liz Phair ("Undone"). One of the album's best tracks, though, is all Cooper's own; the morbid, albeit bouncy, ballad "Faded Sign" is an eerie, catchy number perfectly rounded off by strings that swing like a pendulum. Water/fire will catch you off guard and subtly hook you in, like a moth to a flame. (Elisa Jacobs)

Pedestrian
Volume One: unIndian songs (Anticon)

People sure hate Anticon. Is it because they're whiteys? Or because their voices sound nerdy? Or maybe Sole releasing a track attacking El-P and then getting completely annihilated by El-P's response (it's called "Linda Trip" and is well worth downloading) soured folks on the collective. It's too bad because they are good lyricists, their beats knock, and they push limits by rhyming over weird beats using weird voices and weird concepts. When Divine Styler does it, it's dope, so why not these guys? It's hard to say, but besides the cLOUDEAD series they did, which was incredible, I don't like them much either. Still, whenever I make myself listen to one of their records, I'm always pleasantly surprised, and this is the case with Anticon cofounder Pedestrian's debut album, unIndian Songs. "O Hosanna" features some stellar Run DMC-Beastie Boys-style back-and-forth rapping between Pedestrian and Jel over a good old-fashioned big beat. Several songs – including "The Dead of a Day," "Jane 2: Electric Boogaloo," and "Anticon" – feature harmonized singing reminiscent of the Streets, and it works very well. The songs are humorous, pay homage to hip-hop classics, and are well written. The beats range from grimy hip-hop loops to atmospheric electronics to pleasant Múm-like progressions. So relax, hip-hoppers, it's OK to like Anticon. (Nate Denver)

Mail stuff for review to Sarah Han, Bay Guardian Building, 135 Mississippi St., S.F. CA 94107.