Jorge Drexler

Thanks to "Al Otro Lado del Río" ("The Other Side of the River"), the Oscar-winning song from The Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack, the domestic release of Uruguayan pop poet Jorge Drexler's seventh album (which was released overseas last year) couldn't have come at a better moment. Drexler is a superb singer-songwriter informed by the electronic age, and Eco (Echo) won't disappoint those who venture into its original and stylish take on classic South American rhythms such as milonga, tango, and bossa. The Madrid-based guitarist knows how to groove, he can definitely sing, and he writes deep lyrics in the best tradition of his mentor in Spain, Joaquin Sabina. "I am a Jewish Moor/That lives with Christians/I don't know whose God is mine/Nor who my brothers are," sings Drexler in "Milonga del Moro Judío."