Junip + Lost in the Trees

As pretty as José González's solo material is—the worldwide smash "Heartbeats" being a case in point—one had the sense with his rather polite second album that González was a prodigiously talented dude in need of a bit of direction. He may very well have found it in Juniper, his current collaborative project. The music is still soft and acousticish, but backed by motorik, Can-style beats, González singing through a peachy fuzz. Support comes from cinematic chamber-folkies Lost in the Trees.