New Reviews for May 16, 2025

Better DreamingEditor's choice
tUnE-yArDs
Better Dreaming
4AD
Pop/Rock
The duo delivers a soulful, funky, and uplifting antidote to the fractured state of life in the 2020s.
- Heather Phares
Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio ArmageddonEditor's choice
Chuck D
Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio Armageddon
Def Jam
Rap
The Public Enemy leader's first Def Jam-issued solo effort revisits the Bomb Squad's chaotic, experimental production style.
- Paul Simpson
1978: Revenge of the DragonEditor's choice
José James
1978: Revenge of the Dragon
Rainbow Blonde
R&B, Jazz
A joyous sequel to the singer's 2024 studio LP, this is artfully split between inspired cover versions and solid originals.
- Andy Kellman
MetalhorseEditor's choice
Billy Nomates
Metalhorse
BWSCD / Invada
Pop/Rock
The singer/songwriter turns her personal and professional highs and lows into witty, affecting sketches of resilience.
- Heather Phares
Flowers for the LivingEditor's choice
Mourning [A] BLKstar
Flowers for the Living
Don Giovanni
R&B
Celebrating their tenth year, the Cleveland-based Afrofuturists honor the living and dead while railing against inequality and brutality.
- Andy Kellman
Caveman Wakes UpEditor's choice
Friendship
Caveman Wakes Up
Merge
Pop/Rock
Full of blue-collar imagery and ambling, dissonant arrangements, an artful expression of depression penned by Dan Wriggins following a breakup.
- Marcy Donelson
Something Soft
M(h)aol
Something Soft
Merge
Pop/Rock
With their drummer taking over lead vocals, the anti-establishment post-punk band sound a little less angry but at least as relentlessly provoked.
- Marcy Donelson
Chet Baker Re:imagined
Various Artists
Chet Baker Re:imagined
Blue Note
Pop/Rock, Jazz, Vocal
U.K. and European indie pop artists pay homage to the iconic trumpeter/singer's classic West Coast jazz recordings.
- Matt Collar

More Recent Releases

Ten
Shamir Bailey / Shamir
Ten
BEATrio
Edmar Castañeda / Béla Fleck / Antonio Sanchez
BEATrio
Blest
Yuno
Blest
Goldie Presents Rufige Kru: Alpha Omega
Goldie / Rufige Kru
Goldie Presents Rufige Kru: Alpha Omega
Miracle Music
Grails
Miracle Music
Avicii Forever
Avicii
Avicii Forever
Volume 4 & 5
Bardo Pond
Volume 4 & 5
Truth Is
Carolyn Wonderland
Truth Is
All Featured New Releases
Justin Hayward Discusses the Moody Blues' Biggest Hits and Recently Covering an '80s Pop Classic
Space Jams - The Funky, Futuristic, and Featherbrained Universe of Sci-Fi Dance Music
Jill Sobule, 1959-2025

Trending Artists on Streaming Services

Willow Avalon
Willow Avalon

Willow Avalon

Americana, Contemporary Country, Country-Folk, Country-Pop

Apple - Featured Albums: Willow Avalon - Southern Belle Raisin' Hell

Willow Avalon's smoky voice and shimmering, West Coast highway-attuned rock style -- first introduced on the 2021 single "Drivin" -- make her seem out of another time, like Stevie Nicks reborn at the turn of the millennium. But her quirky, minimal social media presence and lyrical honesty make her fit in well with her singer/songwriter contemporaries. "Drivin" paved the way for her 2024 EP Stranger, which was followed by her 2025 full-length Southern Belle…  Read More

Editors' Choice for April, 2025

Adrian Younge Presents Something About April III
Adrian Younge
Adrian Younge Presents Something About April III
Hyldon JID023
Hyldon / Adrian Younge
Hyldon JID023
Electric War
Malcolm Catto / Little Barrie
Electric War
Hex Key
Mamalarky
Hex Key
The Film
Moor Mother / Sumac
The Film
Anxious
Nell Smith
Anxious
Owls, Omens, And Oracles
Valerie June
Owls, Omens, And Oracles
Electric Junk: Deutsche Rock, Psych and Kosmische 1970-1978
Various Artists
Electric Junk: Deutsche Rock, Psych and Kosmische 1970-1978
Sky Girl
AllMusic Staff Pick - May 18, 2025
Various Artists
Sky Girl
Club/Dance
Released in 2016, this compilation of obscure independent artists is a resplendent collection of unheard magic. Genre classifications are hard to pin down precisely, as all of the artist here-- Linda Smith, Gary Davenport, The Rising Storm, etc.--- make dreamlike songs that are a little too far outside of the lines of normal rock, folk, or garage. Instead, Sky Girl catalogs a specific mood. One that's bittersweet, nostalgic, and reveals more curiosities with every spin.
- Fred Thomas
Classical Highlights for April 2025
Mike Peters, 1959-2025
New AllMusic Feature - Trending Artists