Alejandro Escovedo

CRITIC’S PICK: Even fans of Austin’s legendary singer/songwriter Escovedo who are used to him throwing unexpected musical curveballs didn’t expect his latest career twist. On the recently released Echo Dancing, Escovedo re-records some older material with drum machines, low-fi recording and a raw, at times primitive esthetic that thoroughly reimagines them. As an experiment, it’s intermittently successful even though most of his choices are so obscure, most wouldn’t recognize the originals. And some of these new versions are outside any sort of Americana genre he might once have been associated with. Still, he’s an important figure in roots music and certainly worth a look, even if you’re not sure what you’ll get. — Hal Horowitz