World Cafe on KCCU-HD2

The Brooklyn band People Get Ready has been combining music and performance art since 2009, when the group first performed at The Kitchen's Dance and Process series in New York. The band released its self-titled debut earlier this month, and it's a fine collection of harmony-rich pop.

Few artists channel the spirit of '80s new wave as infectiously as George Lewis Jr., better known by the stage name Twin Shadow. Lewis wears his '80s pop influences on his sleeve throughout his recent second album, Confess: The sleek synth-pop vibe of "Five Seconds" recalls Duran Duran, while "Run My Heart" evokes Bruce Springsteen power ballads and Lewis' breathy, straightforward vocals convey the swagger of Prince. Lewis' R&B leanings help give Twin Shadow's sound its own distinct, surprisingly modern identity.

Soul legend Bobby Womack was considered a survivor before he'd started work on his long-awaited comeback album The Bravest Man in the Universe. After overcoming hospitalization with pneumonia and successful treatment of colon cancer while in the midst of recording the album, Womack released his finest work in ages over the summer.

Alt-J (stylized as ∆) may be the most successful new British band of 2012 — a favorite to win the Mercury Music Prize in November and a Top 20 chart phenomenon in the U.K. The group, which chose its name from the mathematical symbol for change, made a splash with its debut album, An Awesome Wave, which came out in September. The record mixes upbeat indie rock and brooding synths with vocals that sound like no one else's in music today.

The Great American Canyon Band is a Baltimore indie-folk act featuring husband-and-wife duo Paul and Krystal Jean Masson. The pair's first single, "Tumbleweed," is a lovely, dreamy piece of countrified rock, destined for road trips. The rest of the self-titled EP came out in May, and an additional track, "Young Lady," was released on Sept. 5; it's available for download here.