ALISON MOYET  The Minutes [Cooking Vinyl] As Yaz, Alison Moyet and synth-pop maestro Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Erasure) recorded one of pop’s most simple yet haunting songs, “Only You.” Here, Moyet has another significant other: producer Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Robyn, Madonna). And Sigsworth’s presence is significant; these wonderfully arranged and produced songs find the pair flitting with ease from edgy to laissez-faire. Breezy opener “Horizon... 

MADNESS Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da [Cooking Vinyl] In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Madness scored a Beatlesque run of U.K. hits, and for good reason: a Beatlesque way with melody. Initially affiliated with the 2 Tone ska movement, the septet put Jamaican bounce behind quintessentially British songs, sidestepping the political sloganeering of their post-punk peers to paint nuanced portraits of everyday London life. Their fourth album since... 

THE CULT Choice of Weapon [Cooking Vinyl] It’s been more than 20 years since the Cult achieved platinum success with Electric and Sonic Temple, records that appeared to establish the band as goth-metal’s reigning power. Unable to sustain the momentum, the group ultimately disbanded in the mid-’90s, with frontman Ian Astbury going on to gain notice as the fill-in for Jim Morrison in touring configurations of the Doors. The group’s latest album... 

BLACK FRANCIS NonStopErotik [Cooking Vinyl] Occasional Pixies leader Black Francis has tended to alternate between albums full of honeyed crooning (Honeycomb, aptly enough) and noisy collections of unhinged sonic mayhem (Bluefinger). He marries the two on his latest, making for an intriguing union that turns unsettling with creepy vocals on the minor-key ballad “Rabbits” and the seemingly unconnected rhythm track that chugs along under “My...