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Jordy Birch
Jordy Birch's Fun Machine
Virgin
Clocking in one second shy of 39 minutes, the album is a quirky excursion that lives up to its name. From "Super Plastic" with its robotic talk-style vocal and toy-like soundscape to the lazy vibe of "Fun Machine", T-Rex-style "Rock 'N' Roll Karma" and late-era Beatlesque ballad "Beatrice," the album is all over the place but held together by Birch's voice and sense of fun. What could be further apart than the disco meets funk of "Hustlin'" and the smoky western meander of "El Camino Del Diablo"?		 Remy Shand
The Way I Feel
Universal
Winnipeg native Remy Shand is a staggering talent, whose old soul sensibility belies his 24 years. Playing and producing the debut himself, the guy with the funky falsetto delivers a rare seamless album from beginning to end. The seductive mix of soul, jazz, funk and pop is flawless. While some might find it smaltzy, others will turn to it for a sure-fire make-out session or post break-up woe-is-me immersion. Either way, dim the lights.
Ellen Reid
Cinderellen
Mr. Friendly/Madacy
What emerges after listening to Ms. Reid's solo debut is just how underutilized she was in her years with multi-platinum band Crash Test Dummies. The keyboardist, who did sing a couple of CTD tracks, notably XTC's "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead," has recorded a pop album that's cooler than most adult-contemporary fare. "Make You Mine" is a groovy number with an electronic bed. "Everything" is dark, somnolent and downright creepy, while on "Bullet," her voice is just stunning. 		Alanis Morissette
Under Rug Swept
Maverick
Her third international album is a happy medium between the 30-million selling Jagged Little Pill and boundary-breaking Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Essentially the songs explore victimization, control and loss of self from the wistful "Flinch" to the beautiful ballad "That Particular Time." Produced by Morissette, the album also ranges from the ticking time bomb of "A Man" to the hip hop-based sting of "So Unsexy." The closer is the profoundly moving "Utopia."
Chris Isaak
Always Got Tonight
Reprise
The man with the sexy croon and flashy jackets - oh, and his own TV show - returns with an album he says he wrote in bits and pieces on napkins and with a stick in the Hawaiian sand. Beside the late Roy Orbison, Isaak is in a class unto himself, sounding like no one else and certainly not following any trends. His quick wit and charm doesn't come out in his lyrics, but his sex appeal sure does. If you like this guy, you'll like this album. 		Glenn Lewis
World Outside My Window
Epic
This 29-year-old Toronto native is touted to break out big time. The R&B crooner with Stevie Wonder stylings was offered the opening slot on Alicia Keys North American tour after she heard his single "Don't You Forget It" on a Red Star Sounds Volume I: Soul Searchin' compilation. That kind of endorsement can only bode well for the release of his full album. While not all the songs are memorable, his smooth, rich voice is and the production doesn't draw attention away from that fact.

- Karen Bliss