Editors' Choice for January 2017
Concord
Alterna-punk vets evolve on album ten, combining muscle with rhythmic new wave/post-punk influences.
Etc Recordings
Third LP from the British "Too Close" singer that finds him reflecting on faith, self-worth, and positivity in an increasingly challenging world.
Merge
Solo debut from former Swearin' frontwoman is a smart, impassioned breakup album, indie pop style.
Fat Possum Records
Tommy Stinson is the only holdover in this new edition of his short-lived '90s band, but the feel and the fun are all there.
Earth Records
This handsome package contains three solid '90s-era albums, with a bonus fourth disc of unreleased alternates, demos, and new songs.
![The Devil Don't Sleep [Bonus Tracks]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=_47CXxTA-cYbCAaIB_PmnByhM-OFI8zG4l-qVpXXB1I=&f=3)
Valory / The Valory Music Co.
On his sequel to Just as I Am, Brantley Gilbert further separates himself from the bro country pack.
Harmonia Mundi
One of Pärt's most popular works is well-suited to the sound of the Cappella Amsterdam.
BIS
These are unusually strong performances that provide serious competition for the hundreds of other recordings of these warhorse symphonies.
ECM
This adventurous and accessible date by the Swiss trio should help establish an audience beyond Europe's borders and jazz's confines.
Daniel Taylor Music / Sony Classical
The freshness of the program is so great that you might easily listen to this outside of the holiday season.
Hot Shot Records / Hot Spot Records
Changing his delivery slightly, the Texas singer/songwriter channels Johnny Mercer, Nat King Cole, Satchmo/ and swing on this excellent date.
Anti-
Nearly 30 minutes of Seussian guitar pop instrumentals from songwriter/maverick Steve Marion.
Resonance
This 1968 club date is a hard-grooving, Detroit soul-jazz stunner from guitarist and organist Lyman Woodard and drummer Melvin Davis.
Halocline Trance
Drifting further from club music conventions, Egyptrixx presents some of his best work yet with this trippy, atmospheric full-length.
Thrill Jockey
Moving to Thrill Jockey, the experimental electronic duo creates a hypnotic, bracing album using self-built instruments and loads of distortion.
Light in the Attic Records
The singer/songwriter's visionary expansion of tropicalia was misunderstood in 1971, but is now justly regarded as a Brazilian rock classic.
Light in the Attic Records
This 1970 masterpiece is a formal goodbye to the Jovem Guarda as it melds MPB, rock, soul, and groove to inspire a new generation.
Light in the Attic Records
On this intimate date, the Brazilian singer/songwriter explored influences ranging from the Laurel Canyon scene to spacy soul and jazz.
Stoner Disco
The New Pornographers guitarist's third solo outing is a warm-hearted tribute to '70s AM pop and disco studiocraft.
BIS
Fine engineering captures the energy of an extraordinary pair of Shostakovich performances.
Polyvinyl
The prolific songwriter balances intense poetic narratives with more reflective electronic pieces on his first album since moving to Montreal.
Stones Throw
Inviting, frolicsome, and delightfully off-center love songs from the multi-instrumentalist Stones Throw signee.
Harmonia Mundi
The Jerusalem Quartet presents the even-numbered quartets of Béla Bartók in polished performances that build anticipation for a complete cycle.
ECM
The lineage in this band enables its members to explore an abundance of creative ideas with subtlety, empathy, and confidence.
Ambitious double set from the Australian singer/songwriter adds more rock to the mix without blurring her hard country roots.
Arts & Crafts
Innovative turntablist Kid Koala enlists Icelandic vocalist Emilíana Torrini for a wondrous album of dreamy ambient pop.
Nuclear Blast
On an album nearly five years in the making, the lineage thrash metallers and producer Jens Bogren show the kids how it's done.
Mom + Pop Music
Indie folk-rocker Aly Spaltro crops her pseudonym to Lady Lamb for this seven-track EP that emphasizes vulnerability and resilience.
Merge
The outstanding singer and songwriter teams in the studio with Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, and the results are impressive.
Thirsty Ear
On his final Thirsty Ear date, the pianist/composer and his trio deliver an accessible but no less questing set of new tunes.
Memphis Industries
The Leeds indie rock outfit moves deftly into a more experimental phase on their strong sophomore set.
Mute
The fourth and final volume in a 20-year series, the artist sends it off with the same musical imagination, savvy, and humor he began with.
Editions Mego
Seefeel's Mark Clifford and Scott Douglas Gordon (Loops Haunt) team up for a chaotic yet joyful album of free-form explorations.
Vermilion Records
The singer/songwriter's second album is a warm and shiny electro-pop collaboration with Boxed In's Oli Bayston.
Run the Jewels, Inc.
The third installment in the duo's excellent catalog is their best to date, packed with agile wordplay, inspired guests, and tight production.
Rock Action
Brilliant debut album of Afro-pop-inspired indie pop from Golden Grrrls and Shopping members.
Urinal Cake
Longtime Michigan indie scene regular Stef Chura perfects her anxious, visceral sound with her excellent first studio album.
Slumberland
The band's second album was a struggle to make, but the resulting smoothly polished melancholy pop is a breeze to listen to.
Warner Bros.
Brash, breathless modern punk-pop with a strong classic pop sensibility.
Captured Tracks
Excavated 1980 session from the legendary English pop wizard that leans in a cheerful pub rock/new wave direction.
Houndstooth
London-based producer Ross Tones' second album as Throwing Snow is a suspenseful, constantly evolving cinematic journey.
![Stitch of the World [Limited Deluxe Edition] [Bonus Tracks]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=kug0CQ6faGmx1pGLQ8IbVypQg_7iAU1wjqLgK_xGXts=&f=3)
Yep Roc
The gifted singer/songwriter delivers another album of great songs and singing, this time produced by Iron and Wine's Sam Beam.
![Ty Segall [2017]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=bhfxgKIiY0PkfZDc_z8s2JhUoDg0hsvx4F4sL4oO-nA=&f=3)
Drag City
With Cairo Gang's Emmett Kelly on board and a live studio band, the album is a thunderous noise-fest balanced with sweet folk-rock tunes.
Ghostly International
Tycho's fourth studio album is darker and moodier than past efforts, but it still maintains the instrumental group's familiar, pleasant sound.
Now-Again
The first anthology from this seminal Zimbabwean heavy rock band who led the country's mid-'70s counterculture.