You Have to Search High and Low for Well-Crafted Songs

It’s a woeful period in pop if you’re beyond junior high school age, but you can find music with craft and heart if you look hard enough. The guide, which outlines how to keep up with what’s exciting in pop on an album budget of $50 a month, offers a starting point for the search.

May

Basement Jaxx’s “Remedy” (Astralwerks/XL). Felix Burton and Simon Radcliffe, the DJs behind Basement Jaxx, have been hailed by the Face, the trend-monitoring British magazine, as the men responsible for “bringing the party back to Britain.” And this album transports that good-time dance-club spirit to your CD player. Jaxx’s trademark is an anything-goes sensibility wide enough for everything from techno to reggae. The result can be as lilting as ABBA and as seductive as Moroder. Available now in vinyl, due on CD in August.

Randy Newman’s “Bad Love” (DreamWorks). The king of the pop short story is back with more gems, including “My Country,” a look at the nation’s obsession with television that in just five minutes rivals the whole of “The Truman Show.” “Shame” and “The World Isn’t Fair” are devastatingly funny looks at sexual and economic power. But the wild card is the surprising vulnerability and warmth of the deeply personal “I Miss You” and “I Want Everyone to Like Me.”

Public Enemy’s “There’s a Poison Goin On . . . “ (Atomic Pop). The rap world appears as oblivious to quality as the country world these days, consistently ignoring riveting releases by great veterans (Public Enemy in rap, Emmylou Harris in country) in favor of what’s flashy and new. The title is a nod to Sly & the Family Stone’s heralded “There’s a Riot Going On,” and the music has much of the same biting, uncompromising edge. The target is exploitation, in the music business and elsewhere. The disc can be ordered and downloaded now through the Web site https://www.atomicpop.com and ordered through https://www.amazon.com. In stores July 13.

June

June Carter Cash’s “Press On” (Small Hairy Dog/Risk). In spirit more memoir than conventional album, Carter Cash’s warm, endearing collection of songs salutes not only the legacy of the Carters, country music’s first family, but also her 31-year marriage to Johnny Cash. In the acoustic package, she reflects on the sacrifices of love (the promising acting/performing career she gave up to be Mrs. Cash) as well as the blessings of that love (the couple’s duet on the gospel-edged “The Far Side Banks of Jordan” is all the more touching because of Cash’s recent struggles with a rare nerve disorder). Music straight from the heart.

Ibrahim Ferrer’s “Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer” (World Circuit/Nonesuch). For anyone captivated by the Grammy-winning “Buena Vista Social Club” CD, this package of songs featuring the 72-year-old singer could safely carry a money-back guarantee. Produced by Ry Cooder and backed by some of the musicians found on “Social Club,” Ferrer sings upbeat songs and ballads in a stylish, relaxed way that makes you understand why he’s been called the Nat King Cole of Cuban music. A joy.

Moby’s “Play” (Rave New World/V2).”Honey,” the opening track on this recording studio auteur’s new collection, is a spectacular mix of classic blues and contemporary hip-hop that builds upon a selection from musicologist Alan Lomax’s classic field recordings. The track--offering both the moody mystery of “Woke Up This Morning” (the A3 tune that opens “The Sopranos”) and the seductive undercurrents of 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love”--is so striking you can’t imagine anything else matching it. But Moby--drawing on textures that range from gospel-soul to electronic dance--reaches the same heights repeatedly in exploring questions of spiritual emptiness and longing. *

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Robert Hilburn, The Times’ pop music critic, can be reached by e-mail at robert.hilburn@latimes.com.