Vusi Mahlasela

Sing to the People

ATO / MapleMusic Recordings

International

Recorded in Johannesburg, this set features Vusi Mahlasela performing several of his signature songs in front of an enthusiastic audience.

— Steve Leggett

Karyn Williams

Only You

Inpop Records

Religious

Draws a great deal from the country pop scene, while maintaining enough inspirational hyperbole to secure a few Dove award nominations.

— James Christopher Monger

Enrico Rava

On the Dance Floor

ECM

Jazz

The famed Italian trumpeter celebrates the music of Michael Jackson in this excellent live recording.

— Thom Jurek

Pere Ubu

Lady from Shanghai

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Thirty-five years after The Modern Dance, Pere Ubu subvert dance music's relentless beats with plenty of weirdness and paranoia.

— Heather Phares

Wooden Wand

Blood Oaths of the New Blues

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Leaving behind the roosty full-band bluster of their 2011 album, these spare songs ring of isolation, pastoral moodiness, and spiritual weariness.

— Fred Thomas

Vogler Quartet

Dvorák: String Quartets, Vol. 1

CPO

Classical

This is the first in a series of Dvorák's string quartets from the formerly East German Vogler Quartet and it is a very strong double album that will give fans plenty of pleasurable listening.

— James Manheim

Solange

True

Terrible

R&B

The musically playful, lyrically glum EP prelude to Solange's third proper solo album was co-written and co-produced by Dev Hynes.

— Andy Kellman

Joe Lovano / Joe Lovano Us Five

Cross Culture

Blue Note / EMI / EMI Music Distribution

Jazz

The third album from saxophonist Joe Lovano's Us Five quintet is an adventurous, exploratory work also featuring guitarist Lionel Loueke.

— Matt Collar

Broadcast

Berberian Sound Studio

Warp

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen, Electronic

The soundtrack to Peter Strickland's sound-driven horror film features some of Broadcast's most clever, eerie, and beautiful music yet.

— Heather Phares

Original TV Soundtrack

Girls, Vol. 1: Music from the HBO Original Series

Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

It may not have as much spark as the show, but it's a believable, listenable backdrop to the ups and downs of post-college life.

— Heather Phares

Hollywood Undead

Notes From the Underground

A&M / Octone Records

Pop/Rock

More juvenile party songs and angst-ridden ballads from the masked group of alt-metal rappers.

— Jason Lymangrover

Black Veil Brides

Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones

Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

Black Veil Brides return with plenty of glam and gloom on their third album, Wretched and Divine.

— Gregory Heaney

Chris Tomlin

Burning Lights

Sidecho Media / Six Step / Six Steps Records

Religious

Another excellent set of praise-based earworms from one of CCM's most consistently solid practitioners.

— James Christopher Monger

Daniel Avery

Fabriclive 66

Fabric

Electronic

The first commercial mix from the DJ/producer formerly known as Stopmakingme is a club set, condensed into 76 minutes, that slams and smacks.

— Andy Kellman

Ethernet

Opus 2

Kranky

Electronic

Portland, Oregon electronic artist Tim Gray moves from trance to ambient on his sophomore album.

— Jason Lymangrover

Grant Llewellyn / BBC Symphony Orchestra

Lowell Liebermann: Revelry

Albany Music Distribution

Classical

Lowell Liebermann's stylistically ambiguous music receives clear interpretations in this album by Grant Llewellyn and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

— Blair Sanderson

David Zinman / Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Michael Torke: Color Music

Decca

Classical

Michael Torke's energetic orchestral music is well-represented on this compilation by David Zinman, Kent Nagano, and Yoel Levy.

— Blair Sanderson

Pet Shop Boys

Memory of the Future: Remixed

Parlophone

Pop/Rock

The third single from the duo's 2012 album Elysium gets remixed by Ulrich Schnauss, DJ Waldo, and Digital Dog.

— David Jeffries

Living Sisters

Run for Cover

Vanguard

Pop/Rock

Covering artists ranging from Funkadelic to Doris Day, the four-woman all-star project Living Sisters turn in an EP of easy, sophisticated swing.

— John Bush

Twenty One Pilots

Vessel

Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock, Rap

The major-label debut of this Ohio-based duo offers up a nonstop party of Top 40-leaning glossy pop, mixing in rap breakdowns and classic rock flair.

— Fred Thomas

Silke Avenhaus

Salon chromatique et harmonique

CAvi-music

Classical

Silke Avenhaus presents a cleverly devised program of unusual Romantic piano works, modeled after 19th century salon recitals.

— Blair Sanderson

Karen Geoghegan / Juanjo Mena

Weber: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2; Bassoon Concerto; Invitation to the Dance

Chandos

Classical

Weber's two semi-neglected symphonies receive a handsome presentation from Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic on this 2012 Chandos release.

— Blair Sanderson

John Elwes / Paul Esswood / Daniela Mazzucato / Carolyn Watkinson / Alan Curtis

Agostino Steffani: Duetti da Camera

Archiv Produktion

Classical

These little duets, on extravagant romantic themes, are sectional pieces of great subtlety and charm. The album, with a quartet of singers of the era accompanied by Baroque vocal-music pioneer Alan Curtis on harpsichord, was among the first albums of its kind even to enter the ballpark.

— James Manheim

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