Battles: a new sound from New York

New Yorker Battles's latest album,"Mirrored," is providing fans with new sounds that's hyped and innovative. They are a group to look out for. The group's next gig is in Perth on February 3.

http://austinist.com/2007/05/22/new_release_tuesday_battles_mirrored.php

British singer Joe Brown on tour

British pop star Joe Brown's new album, "The Very Best of Joe Brown," will be out on February 18. His 50th-anniversary tour is on now until May 10.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=WCROSX0CK0K15QFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/arts/2008/01/31/bmbrown131.xml

Scarlett Johansson takes a shot at singing

Scarlett Johansson, star of the newly released movie "The other Boleyn girl," co-starring Natalie Portman, will come out with her first music album tilted "Anywhere I Lay My Head" in May. The album is produced by respected New York record producer David Sitek and features ten Tom Waits covers and one original song.

http://www.newstatesman.com/200801310017

A comeback for k.d. lang

Canadian singer k.d. lang released her new album, "Watershed", on Nonsuch Records January 28. She is best known for her 1992 hit single “Constant Craving.”

http://www.newstatesman.com/200801240034

Classical: new releases

Debussy: Arabesques; Children's Corner; Images; Clair de Lune; L'Isle joyeuse
Simon Trpceski (piano)
EMI

Bach: Cello Suites
Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)
Harmonia Mundi

Lennox Berkeley: String Quartets Nos 1-3
Maggini Quartet
Naxos

Tasmin Little: The Naked Violin

Tippett: Piano Concerto; Fantasia on a Theme of Handel; Piano Sonatas Nos 1-4
Steven Osborne (piano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, cond Martyn Brabbins
Hyperion

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2008/01/26/bmclasscds126.xml

Exhibition: Zhang Xiaogang

Chinese surrealist artist, Zhang Xiaogang, will be displaying his paintings at the new Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London, opening in Spring 2008. He is said to be inspired by family photos from the Chinese Cultural Revolution period and often paint in black and white in photographic poses and combining the aesthetic of traditional Chinese charcoal drawing.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article3233277.ece

Theatre: Sacred Oedipus

"Oedipus Loves You," a remake of the sacred classic is playing at the Riverside Studios in London from February 8 to 24.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/features/preview-oedipus-loves-you-riverside-studios-london-775545.html