Featured New Releases for
December 18, 2012

The soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is a wild ride through '60s spaghetti Westerns, '70s exploitation, and modern hip-hop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Florida group draws from '80s Manchester alt-rock for influence on this strong debut.

— Jason Lymangrover

The 21st century Pogues sound a lot like the 20th century version, albeit a little heavier on the piss than the vinegar.

— James Christopher Monger

Inspired by Marvin Gaye's 1972 film soundtrack work, the Atlanta MC's eighth album is a small step forward from his seventh.

— Andy Kellman

Toots leads a revamped version of the Maytals through his hits at a well-recorded 1991 show in New Orleans.

— Steve Leggett

The excellent third volume in the great bluesman's Chess Masters series finds him at the crossroads where the 45 rpm single was giving way to the LP.

— Thom Jurek

Even in the singles-oriented field of late-'70s reggae, it's rare to find a compilation as fully essential and exciting as this anthology.

— Fred Thomas

Released to coincide with the legendary New Wave of Heavy Metal outfit's 35th anniversary, this mammoth box set is cool, but pricey.

— James Christopher Monger

Bezuidenhout gets able backing from the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra under Petra Müllejans, who come up with fresh sonorities in the winds and in the lower string parts.

— James Manheim

Hits like "I Don't Like" and "Love Sosa" are the highlights of this narrow gangsta rap debut.

— David Jeffries

The Australian garage rock trio's debut is a rough-hewn gem for every second of its 32 minutes.

— Jason Lymangrover

The New Hampshire group's debut is a trippy dose of modern psychedelia that shifts between pretty melodies and fierce instrumental passages throughout.

— Tim Sendra

All in all it would be hard to improve on this release as an introduction to the music of this American group that has done as well as anybody at being consistently crowd-pleasing while keeping to rigorous standards.

— James Manheim

An ideal choice for those who want to get deeper into how Handel's London audiences heard his music. Banzo's group Al Ayre Español catches the unusual moment of rich string sound effects quite vividly.

— James Manheim

Erwin Schulhoff's eclectic chamber music of the 1920s receives a handsome presentation from the impressive Vogler Quartet.

— Blair Sanderson

The cumulative effect is powerful indeed, and the musicians are backed up by superb engineering from Harmonia Mundi. If you are interested in the development of Pärt's music over time, you could hardly do better than this release.

— James Manheim

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato brings royal heroines to life in her exciting Baroque opera collection, Drama Queens.

— Blair Sanderson

These rare tracks feature Brother John Rydgren's baritone musings over a backdrop of fuzz guitars, heavenly choirs, and sitar drones.

— Steve Leggett

Peter, Paul and Mary toured Japan in 1967, releasing a live album there drawn from the shows -- the album, expanded, has now been released in the U.S.

— Steve Leggett