What the CL Music Team is listening to on this fine Monday to rocket launch the work week. Click here to check out previous entries.

Leilani - Air, Le Voyage Dans La Lune (out tomorrow, Feb. 7, 2012 via Astralwerks); Adrian Younge, Something About April (2011)
I've only listened to the new Air effort a few times, but am already intrigued. The French electro duo composed music to go with Georges Méliès' 1902 film, A Trip To The Moon (Le Voyage Dans La Lune), the work commissioned in conjunction with the painstaking restoration of the early sci-fi film and more a companion piece than an actual score. You, too, can listen to it now at NPR.

Younge's album would've made my Best of 2011 list, had I heard it sooner and I've been jamming the hell out of it for the past few weeks. In Something About April, multi-instrumentalist/composer Younge — who's been a buzzed-about talent since he scored the 2009 blaxploitation spoof, Black Dynamite — mixes '70s retro funk and psyche soul in the vein of Sly and the Family Stone, with moments of '50s R&B-fused pop, sexy blaxsploitation slinkiness and hints of Spaghetti Western drama, all of it wrapped up in a sexy, seriously cool package. Singer-songwriter provides mood-setting vocals amid the instrumental forays, which feature guests Dennis Coffey (Motown’s Funk Brother fuzz guitarist), Shawn Lee (Ubiquity Records), and Italian cinephiles Calibro 35. Check out lead single "It's Me" below.

"It's Me" by Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn by Wax Poetics

Scott - Sepultura, Arise (1991)
Probably not the last great front-to-back album of thrash metal's early '90s heyday, but certainly one of the all-time greats, nonetheless. With more soul than Megadeth, more groove than Slayer, and more balls than Metallica, Arise found a perfect balance of brutality and expression.

Taylor - Adam and the Amethysts, Flickering Flashlight (2011)
Jangly, friendly, homemade-ly pop....What more could one ask for on a rainy Monday morning?

Gabe - Simple Minds, Sparkle In The Rain (1984)
Triumphant, soaring, anthemic rock is just what I needed this morning. Sparkle In The Rain, Simple Minds' sixth studio album, has long been a source of inspiration for me and 28 years after its release, it still holds the same majestic power. The album sounds like it was meant to be belted from a mountaintop for the whole world to hear thanks to its huge sound and ringing choruses. Loaded with several UK hit singles, the album was a worldwide success and it ranks among my all-time favorites. And extra points for having the stones to cover Lou Reed's epic "Street Hassle" and paring it down to a shorter yet no less effective piece of work.

Shanna - Marble Sounds, "Good Occasions" (2010)
Feels appropriate for the this overcast morning...

Joel - Gotye, Making Mirrors (2011)
“Somebody That I Used To Know” (video below) seems to be everywhere only a few short months since its stateside release, but the rest of Gotye’s debut isn’t much like it. Making Mirrors is a strange, artsy-soul affair that draws more from Sting and Peter Gabriel than from any contemporary influence. “I Feel Better” sounds like a feel-good R&B track, but pitch-shifted vocals turns “State Of The Art” into something almost otherworldly.

Ray - Levek, 2009 demos + new self titled 7"
David Levesque's solo output — which he releases under the Levek moniker — has earned him praise from Pitchfork.com, but the Gainesville-based maestro wouldn't have needed an endorsement from the indie-holy-grail-keepers to make a splash in Florida's diverse musical landscape. His 2009 demo recordings range from dusty, piano-and-ukulele-driven blasts into the past ("Creature Creeper," "Muhammed Ali and Me") to ambient, polyrhythmic pop ("Dream Entry No. 1," and "NW 4th St."), and the A-side of his most recent self-titled 7" release — "Look On The Bright Side" — finds Levesque polishing up his already pristine sound and crafting a laid-back, string-drenched soul-pop gem that Mayer Hawthrone would've killed for. Levek plays next month's edition of Rock The Park alongside fellow Gainesville sound-architechts Hundred Waters and one of Tampa's best new bands — The Florida Kilos.

Shae - Dessa, A Badly Broken Code (2010)
At first, I was on the fence about A Badly Broken Code. I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of hip-hop, and Dessa (née Margret Wander) disconcertingly looks a lot like my high school volleyball coach; when listening to music, no one should be transported back to the humid gym where they spent hours practicing serves and sprawls. But Dessa's voice is pristine yet forceful; she hits the mic with intelligent, literary lyrics executed with clarity and precision, a female Aesop Rock without the slack-jawed swagger. And like Aesop Rock, who I didn't like at first either, she's grown on me. I throw on A Badly Broken Code during any number of occasions: at work; while baking; while getting ready for a night out. What ultimately won me over? Dessa's confidence and ability to incorporate many different elements into her music: she has hip-hop ballads (reminiscent of Mary J. Blige), uses a clarinet on her slinky "Dixon's Girl," and sings the a cappella "Poor Atlas" using vocals as the string section. Like Adele's 21, there's a bit of something for everyone. Unlike Adele's album-as-a-product, Dessa's record comes across as something more substantial and artistic.

Evan — Daedalus, Bespoke (2011)
There was a bit of buzz about this DJ a few months back when he hit town. I feel terrible for missing the show, because this enjoyable mix of electronica and dance music has been on repeat for me for a few weeks. "In Tatters" is a stand-out track; listen below.