Though they haven't released an album since 2005, Swedish band The Cardigans are still much admired for their accessible, idiosyncratic take on all matters pop. However, as their lead singer, the focus was always going to be on Nina Persson.
Now removing herself even further from The Cardigans as well as her side projects (her superb non-Cardigans unit, A Camp), Persson releases a debut solo album as she approaches 40 and settles into motherhood. As such, the topics broached are less concerned with notions of fun'n'games than coming to terms with layers of responsibility. Throughout it all, Persson impresses with a kind of effortless (almost too casual, sometimes) pop music that other musicians reach for but rarely grasp. Her voice remains one of the best filter-tipped instruments around, by turns burnished and shagged-out, but always just right. lojinx.com/nina-persson

Download: Burning Bridges for Fuel, Food for the Beast, Silver