Editors' Choice for May 2015
Elefant
Fascinating compilation of early material, alternate versions, and rarities by a pioneering Spanish synth pop group.
Harvest / Universal / Virgin EMI
The band aims for the back of arenas with its slick and unabashedly '90s alt rock-influenced third album.
Sacred Bones
By turns ominous, poignant, and playful, Benjamin John Power's second full-length is a danceable memento mori.
Virgin EMI
The second solo outing from the Killers singer is an infectious, synthy melange of '80s adult-contempo pop.
![Midnight Mission [2015] [Bonus Tracks]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=vGmf1_p0n5MGckgyIjVotVWnbEN5fCjifro6xhIBuB4=&f=3)
Omnivore
Folk rock soul, heartland rock ambitions, and arena rock swagger on the L.A. band's smart, powerful debut.
Matador
The former hardcore act fully embrace a moody, new post-punk sound on their fifth LP.
Delphian
This program is absorbing from beginning to end as it is done here. Brilliantly diverse, gutsy, and very strongly recommended.
Cleopatra
The Scott singer/songwriter explores his pop side (with help from six female duet partners) on this stellar offering.
Decca
Casually virtuosic debut from the neo-outlaw songwriter who penned hits for Kenny Chesney and Darius Rucker.
Thrill Jockey
Fifth album and Thrill Jockey debut by Haley Fohr's haunting experimental folk project, and easily her most accomplished work yet.
Deathwish
The Louisville power punk trio offer a captivating blend of muscular post-punk, socio-political hardcore, and streamlined alt rock on their excellent fifth LP.
Zoo Music
The scuzz pop duo continues to grow into a great pop band where the guitar noise is equaled by the sharp hooks and catchy choruses.
Orfeo
The biggest strength here, apart from Müller-Schott's muscular yet lyrical tone, is the choice of program. A thoroughly satisfying cello recital.
Fire Records
The Swedish duo's second album is well-crafted and expansive, full of swirling keys, hypnotic female vocals, and soundtracky charm.
Ribbon Music / Ribbon Records
The singular-sounding, rhythm-heavy Scottish art pop quartet is unique as ever on this excellent sophomore outing.
Don Giovanni
Sax-enriched punk rock band cooks with righteous rage and inspiring joy on their first full album.
Signature / Signature Sounds / Signature Sounds Recording Company
The queen of the minor key returns to her home state of Idaho and turns in one of the strongest albums of her career.
Emika Records
After the all-instrumental, mostly piano effort Klavírní, the artist returns with her third proper album of bewitching electro.
Harmonia Mundi
Music for 18 Musicians, Steve Reich's minimalist masterpiece, receives a brilliant performance by Brad Lubman and Ensemble Signal.
Cuneiform Records
Ambitious intergalactic electro-acoustic avant jazz opera continuing to document Chicago-based composer Rob Mazurek at his creative peak.
Ipecac / Reclemation
Reunion set for the alt-rock pioneers is eclectic and unified, their best work since the confounding masterpiece Angel Dust.
Actes Sud / Musicales Actes Sud
This album of French pieces on Spanish themes shows Roth and his period instruments orchestra, Les Siècles, at their liveliest.
Mello Music Group
Usually a producer, Muldrow presents an album where she's strictly an MC and the results are excellent.
New West
Intelligent, charming, ambitious album from Howe Gelb's long-running band about the turbulent life of a touring musician.
Universal
Former Angry Young Man becomes the Larry David of pub rock, and it suits him perfectly on this sharp but laid-back set.
Flying Buddha
A double dose of dizzying brilliance from Erykah Badu's and Prince's favorite Australian avant-R&B band.
4AD
The composer's fragmented, ethereal explorations of humanity and technology blur the line between intimate and invasive.
Domino
Paying tribute to vintage hip-hop, R&B and disco, the band's witty electro-pop sounds fresher than ever.
Dualtone Music
More endearing, sunshiny melodies and harmonies from the Seattle quintet, who lean toward indie pop after balancing folk on their debut.
Masterworks / Sony Music
On his Sony Masterworks debut, the enigmatic songwriter teams with Larry Klein and comes up with a gem.
Chandos
Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra present a sonic showcase of works by Hector Berlioz, featuring violinist James Ehnes.
Harmonia Mundi
Beautifully recorded live at the Barbican Centre, this is a cornerstone Grieg recording for the 2010s.
Slumberland
The band's second album is a hyper-focused blast of piercing pop and dynamic noise, poppier than their debut but just as strong.
ECM
Legendary bassist celebrates his 80th birthday with a fine trio date playing career milestones and new tunes.
Brainfeeder
A massive, accessible, revelatory debut by the veteran L.A. saxophonist, his large band, strings, and a choir.
ECM
At 70, the pianist changes his method to produce a new solo work culled from five improvised performances.
Stones Throw
The underground producer makes his beat tape debut the same year he lands a production on the landmark To Pimp a Butterfly.
Cosmica Records
A lush, inventive, and exciting debut from the eclectic Latin indie pop duo Sergio Mendoza and Luz Elena Mendoza.
Merge
After over a quarter century of releasing records with Superchunk and Portastatic, their nominal frontman steps out with a synth pop-flavored solo album.
Hyperion
The Takács Quartet is gripping throughout. Highly recommended, evocative early Shostakovich, with excellent sound from England's Wyastone Estate concert hall.
![#1 to Infinity [Bonus Track]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release-covers/250/0004/408/0004408602.jpg)
Legacy
Synchronized with a Caesar's Palace residency, all of the singer's number one pop hits from 1990-2008, plus a brand new song.
Naxos
Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra present two modernist masterpieces, Prokofiev's Third Symphony and his Scythian Suite.
Signum Classics
This St. John Passion by Chilcott is well thought out and original. Very strongly recommended.
Shanachie
Featuring appearances from Phil Perry and Stokley Williams, the singer marks two decades as a solo artist with one of her best albums.
![Sylva [CD/DVD]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=7SMlH_GE45cs4hDUm8M_exyhM-OFI8zG4l-qVpXXB1I=&f=3)
Impulse!
Brooklyn's jazz-funk heroes team with a symphony orchestra and swing hard in an ambitious groovefest.
SFS Media
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present one of the most detailed and lucid presentations of Tchaikovsky's Fifth available.
Merge
Adding some dramatic scope to his sound (with strings, horns, and a side-long concept), the singer/songwriter goes big without going flat.
Deutsche Grammophon
Myung-Whun Chung leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in a revelatory performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 in D major.
Chandos
Three orchestral works by Slovak composer Eugen Suchon are presented by Neeme Järvi and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.
Mello Music Group
Inspired, infectious, and heavy, the underground rapper's tenth album is an excellent blast of retro soul and social commentary.
Play It Again Sam
Another fine collection of Radiohead and Alt-J-inspired, widescreen cinematic pop from the Oklahoma-based outfit.
Atlantic / Elektra / Parlophone / PRW / Warner Bros. / Warner Music
A spacy, soulful rebirth for Paul Weller.
Orfeo
Tenor Breslik's reading of Schubert's song cycle Die schöne Müllerin, where he has no shortage of competition, can only make his reputation grow.
Temporary Residence
Enhanced by Sam Dew, Rob Crow, and Helado Negro, the most substantial installment in a flurry of 2015 releases from Guillermo Herren.
Temporary Residence
The composer and pianist returns with 11 outstanding new pieces that honor the joys and terrors of the world outside.
RJ's Electrical Connections
Up-and-coming rapper makes his debut with the veteran producer and the listener is the winner.
Play It Again Sam
The former Moloko frontwoman's first album in eight years takes a tender, personal approach that's all the more powerful for its subtlety.
Metal Blade
This Bay area doom act reveal no sophomore slump on this date. Their meld of sounds and textures here is startling.
PentaTone Classics
Ozawa's quadraphonic recordings with the Boston Symphony of Ravel's orchestral works are an audiophile treat.
XL
The Las Vegas-based artist's debut album expands on the vibrant, genre-defying charm of his early singles.
Columbia
Pharrell executive produces an excellent throwback album of disco and funk-flavored party starters.
Honor Press
Debut album from this full-on noise punk band documents one of the longest and most impressive temper tantrums in history.
King's College Choir
Stephen Cleobury showcases the centuries-old organ of King's College, Cambridge, in works by Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Reubke.
Hyperion
Stephen Hough plays 27 selections from Grieg's collection of Lyric Pieces, which were composed between 1867 and 1901.
Steinway & Sons
Stewart Goodyear's second release for Steinway & Sons covers familiar ground with Rachmaninov's Second and Third piano concertos.
Morr Music
The Icelandic singer and multi-instrumentalist delivers a sophomore LP of elegant art pop that is moody and lonesome, yet warmly engaging.
Raven / Raven Records
The group's first four albums -- and their biggest hits -- are combined with non-LP singles.
Nonesuch
Inspired collaboration between the genre-bending piano trio and the acclaimed jazz saxophonist.
Castle Face
After getting in touch with their softer side on Drop, the gnarly, noisy guitars are back on the band's sixth album in five years.
Nonesuch / WEA
Written for modular synths and percussion, the composer's delightfully mercurial second album is some of his most playful and audacious music yet.
Burger Records
Israeli shoegaze trio pick up where their impressive 2013 debut left off.
Godless-Hotspot
Another distinctive, high-quality album from the sly and sincere soul/funk/rock fusionist.
Sinfonieorchester Basel / Solo Musica
Shakespeare's influence on Berlioz inspired some of his most impressive works, such as the King Lear Overture and Romeo and Juliet.
Atlantic / GC / Rhino
An obsessive fan's dream, this 14-disc deluxe box captures the band at an early peak with high-quality, dynamic sound.