We pick out the week's best new music, so you don't have to.

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Michael Kiwanuka's leap into the mainstream musical consciousness is unusual. He released his first EP just a year ago, and caught on pretty quickly in his native UK -- touring with Adele and being named the winner of the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll. Word of his talents spread stateside, particularly after several SXSW dates, and with the release of his first album, he's poised to gain some major traction across North America. What's more impressive is that Kiwanuka has managed to build an audience as a soul singer, a genre that isn't exactly burning up the charts. Home Again isn't a straight Motown throwback. Between the big horns and swinging beats, Kiwanuka interjects softer, folksier ballads that remind listeners why so many modern singer-songwriters are described as "soulful." Like Mumford and Sons before him, Kiwanuka could be the next British import to reintroduce Americans to a native genre too-long ignored. You can hear an exclusive interview with Kiwanuka over at our Downtime page.

Jeff the Brotherhood - Hypnotic Knights

If you were asked to name a breakout power-pop duo who makes a lot of noise and sings unabashedly about the joys of youthful exuberance, you'd probably name Canadian rockers Japandroids - but look out, there are some new party animals on the scene. Nashville-based Jeff the Brotherhood is Japandroids southern-style, stripped of all the extra instrumentation and hip affectations of their Northern counterparts. If you like to have a good time, and prefer your gravy on biscuits rather than french fries, then you should check out Hypnotic Knights over at NPR.