Global Warming

On these pages we offer three distinct voices -- Björk's Icelandic yelp, the aloof caress of French-born Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadler, the undulating singspeak of Cornershop's Indian leader Tjinder Singh -- on three new CDs whose musical roots grow in very different parts of the globe. We've brought them together under the banner of "exotic pop" because they transplant the familiar aural touchstones of the verse/chorus/verse song to a brave new frontier where electronic blips mingle with the organic hum of electric guitars, sampled phrases surround human voices, and stylistic signifiers collide to create music free of generic constraints. And most of all, because against the backdrop of banal buzz-bin modern rock and overhyped trends, Björk, Cornershop, and Stereolab have carved out individual paths to a vibrant, fertile oasis of creativity -- one accessible to anybody willing to be transported by the fleeting pleasures of pop.

-- Matt Ashare

Orient express

Cornershop take a virtuoso leap
by Franklin Soults
Also: Talking 'shop with Cornershop.

Landscape artist

Björk creates a techno-fantasy world
by Jon Garelick

City lights

The urbane allure of Stereolab
by Stephanie Zacharek