Philip Selway's Familial was released earlier this week; People calls it "a dreamy solo debut." The Onion's A.V. Club calls it "a hushed, fragile collection" with some "truly beautiful, affecting tracks" The New York Post says "Selway's songs feature plain-speaking, personal lyrics and whistle-able melodies." Complex calls it "a warm, folk-ish record that’s a definite departure from his group’s previous catalog, while maintaining Radiohead’s standard for quality." Spinner features Selway in a video interview you can watch here.

AfroCubism, the collaboration between Cuban and Malian musicians that was meant to take place when the Buena Vista Social Club was born, is due out October 19 and is now up for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with the exclusive bonus track "El Manisero." "What I've heard of Afrocubism so far sounds pretty awesome," says NPR's Robin Hilton on the All Songs Considered blog, which premiered a new behind-the-scenes video today. Watch it here.

"By Some Miracle," the opening track to Philip Selway's just-released solo debut album, Familial, is now the album's featured music video, which premiered on MySpace and can be seen here. "'By Some Miracle' is always the first track that I play to people who are new to my songs," Selway tells Spinner. "I'm aware that no one knows what to expect from me outside Radiohead, and so I think this song sets the tone for what is to come on the record."

Punch Brothers return to the road Saturday for the first of several September performances, starting with a set at the moe.down festival in Mohawk, New York. The band's fall tour includes a stop at the Lied Center in Lawrence, Kansas. Punch Brothers guitarist Chris Eldridge spoke with the folks at the Lied Center about the band's unique sound, in a video interview now on YouTube. Watch it here.

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby have taken the collaborative spirit of their forthcoming album, Lonely Avenue, and joined up with another duo, Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, for the VideoSong "Things You Think," featuring music by Folds and lyrics by Hornby. The song is available now on iTunes, and the video is just out on YouTube. Watch it here.

The Ben Folds "Lonely Interview" series of live online video interviews continues this week, following last week's chat with Bob Saget. Up today are Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer at 6 PM ET and Michelle Branch at 7 PM ET; on Thursday, Ben talks to fans Corey Young (6:30 PM) and Nina Jankowicz (7 PM); and Friday at 4 PM, it's UK video blogger Charlie McDonnell. Tune in at benfolds.com/chat.

Björk has co-written a new song with Icelandic poet Sjón for the animated Finnish film Moomins and the Comet Chase, based on the Scandinavian children's book series and TV show. The track, titled "The Comet Song," is coming soon to the iTunes US store, with proceeds from track sales going to support UNICEF's efforts to aid children in Pakistan. You can watch the video for the song now.


    

Punch Brothers performed two songs off their latest album, Antifogmatic, for Relix magazine, now available online at Relix TV. Today's Sun gives the album four stars, saying, "You’re left thinking this is a new and thrilling form of music. Jazzgrass, anyone?" Maverick magazine also gives it four stars: "Notes buzz like a bee in a jar, scales leap from high to low like a crazed man on a cliff top, and a visceral drama exudes from every playful flourish."

The Black Keys have a few weeks off from their North American tour before hitting the road for several weeks with the Kings of Leon in September. A recent home-state performance "brought the audience to a fist-pumping fever," reports the Columbus Dispatch, which says the band's new album, Brothers, "casts its essence in musical gold." The band shares the secret of their success in a new CNN interview: "Turn everything up really loud."

Philip Selway spoke with the Associated Press about his forthcoming solo debut album, Familial, for an interview broadcast live online via the AP Livestream channel you can watch here. Selway talks about the impetus behind the solo project, his under-the-radar writing process, the source of the title, and how working with a new set of musicians on Familial differed from working with his longtime bandmates in Radiohead.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops brought the latest leg of their US summer tour to a close with a free outdoor concert in Milwaukee and return to the States in late August. Up next, the Drops head to Europe for a brief festival tour, with stops in the UK, Norway, and Belgium. The trio sat down for a quick video chat about the tour you can watch here.

Christina Courtin performed at Joe's Pub in New York City on Friday night and performs again in New York later this month for the Reclaim the Coast concert at City Winery to benefit the Gulf Restoration Network. Courtin recently performed two songs off her self-titled Nonesuch debut album in Brooklyn for La Blogotheque's "Take-Away Shows." You can watch the resulting videos here.