Like an imaginary soundtrack to those early black-and-white cartoons where city streetscapes come alive and hover, XTC cofounder Andy Partridge gets his freak wiggle on next week in a loose, layered, freeform two-CD set that reunites him with an old mate from his heady, post-Punk days. Released on his own boutique label, Ape House Records, Monstrance is an improvised, instrumental three-man round table, with original XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews and the drummer from his Andrews' Shriekback, Martyn Barker. Recorded over a three-day period in 2005 and 2006, the fruit of the trio's unfastened, baggy jams was boiled down by Future Sound of London guitarist Stuart Rowe, free of overdubs and studio edits. Mind-altering highlights include the 16-minute "Priapple" and the piano flirtation of "Little Field." Other Ape House releases are also due Tuesday domestically for the first time, including the UK's poppy Milk and Honey Band and two other projects Partridge's hands have been on -- Canadian Veda Hille's Return of the Kildeer and Partridge's 2003 collaboration with Peter Blegvad, Orpheus: The Lowdown.

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hits the showers with the Gym Class Heroes Wednesday. The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Bloc Party Thursday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Death Cab for Cutie Wednesday and My Morning Jacket Thursday. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson presents The Ataris Wednesday and The Noisettes Monday. And Last Call with Carson Daly clues Junior in about The Bird and the Bee Thursday.

New Releases Coming Tuesday
The Almost - Southern Weather (Tooth & Nail/Virgin) new from Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie, with guest Jeremy Enigk of Sunny Day Real Estate on "Dirty and Left Out"; Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath: The Dio Years (Rhino/Warner Bros) in anticipation of the reunion tour (Dio and Sabbath as Heaven and Hell), this anthology features three new songs; Brandi Carlile - The Story (Columbia) with guests The Indigo Girls on "Cannonball"; David T. Chastain ­ Countdown To Infinity (Leviathan) layered instrumental album from the Southern Gentlemen shredder, with drummer Mike Haid; Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (Rough Trade) new solo album from the former Pulp frontman; Dogboy - Rebel Riddim (Suburban Noize) smooth, pensive bounce from the Kottonmouth Kings associate, getting lost in a cool Jamaican breeze; Erasure - "I Could Fall In Love With You" (Mute) CD single with five remixes; Everybody Else - Everybody Else (Militia Group) my pick of the week is this joyous, hip-shaking, hand-clappin' full-length debut from this Harvard educated Power Pop trio featuring former Push Star, Carrick Moore Gerety; Jeff Finlin ­ Angels In Disguise (Ryko) infectious Americana diatribes from The Thieves cofounder, with Will Kimbrough; Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather (Virgin) with guest Mike Viola of the Candy Butchers; Further Seems Forever - The Final Curtain (567 Records/Razor & Tie) CD and DVD set featuring the band's final show and rare 27th Street sessions featuring Chris Carrabba; Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Atlantic) domestic release of this UK hit, heard recently on The OC; Idlewild - Make Another World (Sanctuary) with two exclusive bonus tracks; Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (RCA) hot off their tour last fall with Bob Dylan; Alison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection (Rounder) featuring songs from the soundtracks of Cold Mountain and O Brother, Where Art Thou?; Pentangle - The Time Has Come 1967-1973 (Castle/Sanctuary) four-CD box set packed with rarities and a 1968 concert at the Royal Albert Hall; Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof - original motion picture soundtrack (Warner Bros) with music from Joe Tex, T-Rex and The Coasters; The Roadside Graves - No One Will Know Where You've Been (Kill Buffalo) rootsy, storytelling Americana with a hint of Bob Dylan's wanderlust; Martin Sexton ­ Seeds (Kitchen Table) with guests Keller Williams and Nils Lofgren; Shadows Fall - Threads of Life (Atlantic) recorded in Dave Grohl's California facility, Studio 606; Sia - Lady Croissant (Astralwerks) live album, featuring a cover of The Pretenders' "I Go To Sleep"; Sick Puppies - Dressed Up As Life (Capitol) featuring "All the Same," a big YouTube hit with its "free hugging" video; Emilie Simon - March of the Empress (Milan) icy-cool original soundtrack composed for the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, unfortunately shelved when the film's producers went in another direction; Todd Snider - Peace, Love and Anarchy: Rarities, B-sides and Demos Vol. 1 (Oh Boy) featuring the aching, bald-man bummer "Combover Blues," a cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Stoney" and guest guitarist Tommy Womack lending a hand in the Crazy Horse-esque "Cheatham Street Warehouse"; Soulsavers - It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land (V2) with guest vocalists Jimi Goodwin of the Doves, Will Oldham and Mark Lanegan; Stars of the Lid - Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky) featuring different cover art on the two-CD set and three-LP vinyl versions; Static-X ­ Cannibal (Reprise) bristling, brutal new album with producer John Travis; Los Straitjackets - Rock En Espanol, Vol. 1 (Yep Roc) Spanish language album covering The Troggs, The Kinks, Arthur Alexander and The Coasters, with special guest vocalists Big Sandy, Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos and Little Willie G. of Thee Midniters; Subtle ­ "The Mercury Craze" (Lex) red vinyl 12-inch, seven-inch picture disc or CD single, featuring Doseone from Clouddead; Throbbing Gristle - Part Two: The Endless Not (Mute) also available in a special Totemic Gift edition with talismans of copper, bone, wood or rubber; Timbaland - Shock Value (Mosley Music/Interscope) with songs by Fall Out Boy, Elton John, Nelly Furtado and The Hives; Paul Wall - Get Money, Stay True (Atlantic) with guests Fergie and Yung Redd; Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang ­ Dislocation Blues (Rounder) featuring covers of Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" and "Changing of the Guard," these Melbourne, Australia, sessions were Whitley's last; Jah Wobble - Heart & Soul (Trojan/Sanctuary) new solo album from the Public Image Limited bassist and Dub visionary; Wolfgang - The Wicked Truth About Loving a Man (Hypnote) rocking a vintage synth vocoder and Human League beats, is he simply a robot pining for emotion or today's confused man-machine?