Featured New
Releases for
April 16, 2013
The Low Highway
New West
This album is the songwriter and his road band without agenda doing what he loves: telling stories that resonate deeply.
True Romance
Asylum / Atlantic / I Am Sound
By turns brooding and sparkly, True Romance is an addictive full-length introduction to Charli XCX's "neon goth."
The Terror
Lovely Sorts of Death Records / Warner Bros.
The Flaming Lips' darkest album, The Terror is a powerful acknowledgment of just how isolating pain can be.
Free the Universe
Because Music
With a guest list to die by Lazer for, this is the second great modern reggae meltdown from Diplo's electro-meets-dancehall project.
Adrian Younge Presents Twelve Reasons to Die
Soul Temple
This wild and wonderful album was inspired by the Italian murder mystery/slasher film genre known as giallo.
Ghost on Ghost
Nonesuch
An intimate, jazz-influenced outing that shows Sam Beam successfully expanding his range as a songwriter.
A Quiet Darkness
Downtown
This darkly beautiful album by the married L.A. indie duo was built on found sound samples collected in abandoned roadside houses.
Let's Face the Music and Dance
Legacy / Sony Legacy
Willie Nelson heads into his home studio supported just by the Family for a pleasing collection of standards.
Anika
Stones Throw
Anika's mix of vintage electronics, dub, and deadpan alto vocals remains as unique as ever on this set of covers and remixes.
Grownass Man
BDC / Middle West
The debut from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, MEgafaun's Phil Cook and Peter Wolf Crier's Brian Moen introduces a surprisingly competent blues-rock trio.
Descender
Downtown
The solo debut from Miike Snow frontman suggests a deep affinity for Van Dyke Parks, Scott Walker, David Ackles, and Harry Nilsson.
Little French Songs
Verve
On her first recording in five years, France's former first lady delivers a sparse, delightful set of originals and covers perfect for spring.
Infestissumam
Loma Vista / Republic
Infestissumam offers up ten new Beelzebub-approved singalongs that reside somewhere between Gothenburg and Broadway.
Letherette
Ninja Tune
The production duo expands on the promise of its EPs, delivering a stylish sound that will please fans of Dilla and Daft Punk alike.
This River
Alligator Records / Proper Records
Greasy raw Southern funk, soul, blues, and rock fuel the first studio album from the Florida swamp sage in three years.
Dreamchaser
Simha
The soprano returns with her first album in five years, covering songs by Elbow, the Cocteau Twins, Sia, and Sigur Rós, among others.
No Morphine No Lilies
Foxhaven Records / Royal Potato Family
The second offering by this all-star group led by the drummer and composer is startling, intuitive, and even more sophisticated.
The Heart of the Matter
Decca / Emarcy
A lush, intimate album produced by Gil Goldstein that showcases Monheit's virtuoso chops and emotive passion in equal measure.
Alphawaves
Thrill Jockey
The debut from this collective made up of ex-Trans Am, Golden, and Mars Volta members re-creates Krautrock and vintage psych.
You'll Be Safe Forever
Editions Mego
Joined by Louis Sherman, Mark Van Hoen revives his old experimental-ambient alias with a set that straddles dazed bliss and creeping terror.
Desperate Ground
Saddle Creek Records
A return to form for this scrappy Portland punk trio, Desperate Ground revitalizes the energy missing on the band's past few albums.
Rat Farm
Megaforce
The 14th studio album from the alt-rock legends finds the Kirkwood brothers returning to their roots.
Change of Heart: The Songs of André Previn
Telarc Distribution
Vocalist Michael Feinstein collaborates with legendary composer/pianist André Previn for a celebration of Previn's pop tunes.
Thorn in My Heart: The Work Tapes
Yep Roc
Only a songwriter of this caliber could deliver an album's worth of songs about love's many contradictions and captivate listeners throughout.
Baba Yaga
4L / Fat Possum Records / Turnstile / VL
The sophomore outing from Athens, Georgia-based country psych-rockers finds the sweet spot between Big Star, My Morning Jacket, and Band of Horses.
The Plain Where the Palace Stood
Drag City
With a background in improv and experimental sounds, Grubbs' take on pop songs is obtuse and jagged, but also warm and curious.
Better
Moving on from their debut's mysterious mix of surf and shoegaze, Odonis Odonis explore the different sides of noise-pop on this EP.
F.M. Sushi
Time No Place
This electronic duo strip away the sunshiny samples of their debut for a darkly gothic and dancy follow-up.
Inland Emperor
Knowledge Room Recordings
A stylistically varied outing from the exploratory jazz and funk ensemble that touches upon '60s organ soul, acid jazz, and psych pop.
Still Bored
Damaged Goods
The Leeds punk group emulates '70s U.K. punk with such authenticity that it's hard to tell their music from the real thing.
X'ed Out
Sargent House
Even more innovative than their acrobatic playing is the math rock group's ability to craft solid pop songs.
Sun Ship: The Complete Session
Verve
This two-disc compilation greatly details the sessions of the final -- and posthumously released -- date by the saxophonist's great quartet.
Inspiration Information/Wings of Love
Epic/Legacy
A pairing of the cult psychedelic soul/funk hero's 1974 album with some unreleased material from 1975-2000.
Time Was
Thrill Jockey
Entering a real studio and expanding to a duo with inclusion of singer Hanna Olivegren, Zomes takes huge steps forward on this third album.
In the Marrow
Spiderbomb
Dead Confederate haven't changed their template very much for this one, still favoring dirge-like, guitar-driven, slow-burning grunge epics.
The Space Between
Delmark
Multimedia project explores the interconnectedness of Indra's Net with unconventional, sometimes unsettling electro-acoustics.
![Album cover for I Can Hear Music [Bonus Tracks] by Dump](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0003885734/front/220/qRJV6hLrii-dCz3N_4OdoVWnbEN5fCjifro6xhIBuB4=.jpg)
I Can Hear Music [Bonus Tracks]
Morr
Dump's second album is expanded with a second disc of instrumentals and a fine Beach Boys cover.
In Concert
Relativity
The world fusion group's 2012 tour is documented on this warm, hypnotic, and very welcome live effort.
Replicant Moods
100% Silk
The Los Angeles-based group makes a joyous blend of house, techno, and disco that has all the kinetic energy of a machine-driven jam session.
The Synthetic Love of Emotional Engineering
Fancy Animal Records
Jason Hill (Louis XIV) loves rock & roll and loves being sleazy; this album does both to near perfection.
The Soviet Experience, Vol. 3: String Quartets by Dmitri Shostakovich and his Contemporaries
Cedille Records
The Pacifica's cycle of Shostakovich quartets continues to offer readings that are near-definitive among non-Russian versions.
Spheres
Deutsche Grammophon
Worthwhile for anyone looking for a relaxing listen; it will stick in your head in unexpected ways.
Live
Delicacies
Aptly titled, Live is a no-edits, no-overdubs document of the band's pumping, hypnotic, and otherworldly live show.
Ablation
Editions Mego
After a seven-year dormancy, this darkly ambient project returns with sounds more steeped in dread and organic noise than ever.
Various Artists
Arts & Crafts: 2003-13
Arts & Crafts
A nice two-disc compilation of music from innovative Canadian indie pop label Arts & Crafts.
Legendary
Fearless Records
The band's third album is radio-ready pop rife with pop culture references and singalong choruses.
Mediterraneo
Erato / Virgin Classics
This album is perhaps of a bit more interest to speculative world music fans than to serious devotees of old Mediterranean song.
Couperin: Concerts Royaux
Analekta
Flutist Grégoire Jeay is a standout, with perfect intonation and a wonderful dancing, delicate tone.
Schubert: Winterreise
Capriccio Records
Taken together, the components of this release add up to a major new statement on Winterreise, a work for which there is no shortage of recordings.
Ascribe unto the Lord: Sacred Choral Works by Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Chandos
The dramatic power, harmonic ingenuity, and formal sophistication of Samuel Sebastian Wesley's anthems make them treasures of Anglican church music.