Listen Up: Magic!, Old Crow Medicine Show, Seether

Magic!, Don't Kill the Magic
Pop-rock
* * * stars out of four

Like smash Rude, much of this Canadian quartet's debut has a reggae vibe. Really, it's inspired by The Police, like Bruno Mars' Locked Out of Heaven was. Musicianship and a charming, lyrical civility make it stand out. — Brian Mansfield

Download:Rude, Little Girl Big World, How Do You Want to be Remembered

Old Crow Medicine Show, Remedy
String band
* * *

The Americana-on-speed band's latest collaboration with Dylan — they completed his fragmentary Sweet Amarillo — is one of several standouts on this set of old, old-sounding original songs. — Jerry Shriver

Download: Sweet Amarillo, Brushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer, The Warden

Seether, Isolate and Medicate
Alt-rock
* * 1/2

Producer Brendan O'Brien opens the South African grunge-anchored trio's horizons considerably, but too often even the tastiest melodies and crunchiest riffs suffocate under a Nickelback veneer. — Edna Gundersen

Download: See You at the Bottom