L'Altra

By its very definition, L'altra could not possibly be run-of-the-mill. Any band whose name translates to "the feminine other" in a number of Romance languages surely has something dark and mysterious up its sleeve.As does any group that comes from a collaboration of two exes - singer-guitarist Joseph Costa and singer-keyboardist Lindsay Anderson - who spent 7 years together and broke up before they'd even made a record. That Lindsay and Joe have recorded a trio of albums since then only confirms that the energy at the core of the L'altra sound - a moody mix of baroque balladry decorated with ambient electronics, simultaneously soothing and unnerving - is hardly commonplace.