Featured New Album Releases

Big Time Rush

24/Seven

Nickelodeon / Columbia

Pop/Rock

The Nickelodeon boy band's third studio album is a fun dance-oriented soundtrack for summer.

— Matt Collar

Surfer Blood

Pythons

Sire / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Surfer Blood's second album offers some of their most polished and lighthearted songs yet.

— Heather Phares

Boards of Canada

Tomorrow's Harvest

Warp

Electronic

The influential duo's first album in eight years is some of their most consistent, and subtly chilling, music yet.

— Heather Phares

Disclosure

Settle

Cherrytree Records

Electronic

The sibling dance synthesists follow three major U.K. pop hits with a debut album abundant in pleasures.

— Andy Kellman

The Lonely Island

The Wack Album

Island / Republic

Comedy/Spoken

Fake rap trio the Lonely Island explore their innate wackness with hilarious results on their third album.

— Gregory Heaney

Harry Connick, Jr.

Every Man Should Know

Columbia

Vocal, Jazz

The New Orleans-born singer and pianist's stylistically eclectic album of all-original compositions.

— Matt Collar

Chrisette Michele

Better

Motown

R&B

The supremely skilled Grammy winner's fourth album -- her first for Motown -- is a positive and empowering set, her best work since her debut.

— Andy Kellman

Black Sabbath

13

EMI / Republic / Vertigo / Virgin / Virgin/EMI

Pop/Rock

With three of their four original members, this album is a surprising continuation of the apocalyptic metal brilliance of their classic '70s material.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for Dark Music of Quality and Distinction, Vol. 3 by B.E.F.

B.E.F.

Dark Music of Quality and Distinction, Vol. 3

The End

Pop/Rock

Twenty some years in the making, the Heaven 17 side project returns with Boy George, Kim Wilde, and other guest vocalists.

— David Jeffries

These New Puritans

Field of Reeds [Limited Edition]

Infectious

Pop/Rock

Through unconventional songwriting, the former dance punks turn out a magnificent career highlight.

— Jason Lymangrover

Emika

DVA

Ninja Tune

Electronic

The Berlin-dwelling electronic artist shows there is more behind her dark vision than just clever dubstep production.

— Jason Lymangrover

Jason Isbell

Southeastern

Relativity / Southeastern Records

Pop/Rock

An ultimately positive set that deals with atonement and personal redemption with just a trace of country twang.

— Steve Leggett

Jimmy Eat World

Damage

RCA

Pop/Rock

A sophisticated and still infectious breakup album that reflects the maturity of the journeyman emo-rock outfit.

— Matt Collar

Fat Tony

Smart Ass Black Boy

Relativity / Young One

Rap

Wit, a cool flow, and some infectious songs make the underground Houston rapper’s second album a winner.

— David Jeffries

Lust for Youth

Perfect View

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Third record from this Swedish producer strips away some of the noise from earlier albums, focusing on samples and cold rhythms.

— Fred Thomas

Goo Goo Dolls

Magnetic

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The band's electro-tinged, 11-track, tenth long-player stays the course, despite some sonic deviations.

— James Christopher Monger

Sonny & the Sunsets

Antenna to the Afterworld

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Inspired by the murder of a friend, the album is an oddly uplifting return to the Sunsets' classic outerspace rock & roll sound.

— Tim Sendra

Close

Getting Closer

!K7

Electronic, Pop/Rock

With some guest vocalists, progressive house producer Will Saul introduces his side project with a soft and serene debut.

— David Jeffries

Alison Moyet

The Minutes

Cooking Vinyl / Metropolis

Pop/Rock

On her first recording in six years, the iconic singer turns in a fine, all electronic effort of beat-driven torch songs and uptempo dance tracks.

— Thom Jurek

Mick Harvey

Four (Acts of Love)

Mute

Pop/Rock

On his sixth album the Australian singer-songwriter presents a moving, unsentimental song-cycle on romantic love comprised of covers and originals.

— Thom Jurek

Various Artists

The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 12A: 1972

Motown / Universal

R&B, Pop/Rock

Motown struggles with finding an identity in their new hometown of Los Angeles on this five-disc 1972 singles box.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Scanners

Love Is Symmetry

Tigertrap

Pop/Rock

The polished productions on the band's third album take their eclectic songwriting to new levels.

— Heather Phares

Aoife O'Donovan

Fossils

Yep Roc

Country, Folk

On her debut solo album, Crooked Still's frontwoman, backed by a killer band, turns in a quietly dazzling collection of original songs.

— Thom Jurek

Dave Koz

Summer Horns

Concord

Jazz

Four contemporary jazz sax giants get together with some guests and throw a groove party full of jazz, R&B, and funk covers.

— Thom Jurek

Gold Panda

Half of Where You Live

Ghostly International

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The Ghostly artist conceptualizes his second electronic outing as a travelogue of Asia and South America.

— Jason Lymangrover

Joseph Arthur

The Ballad of Boogie Christ

Lonely Astronaut

Pop/Rock

With a sprawling cast, horns, strings, and great songs, this is a poignant, boisterous, carefully recorded psychedelic soul record.

— Thom Jurek

The Black Dahlia Murder

Everblack

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The Black Dahlia Murder continue to refine their hybrid death metal sound on their relentless sixth album.

— Gregory Heaney

Children of Bodom

Halo of Blood

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

Children of Bodom deliver a relentless and strangely fun riff-fest on their sixth album, Halo of Blood.

— Gregory Heaney

Safety Scissors

In a Manner of Sleeping

BPitch Control

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The producer's first album in eight years offers smooth but quirky left-field pop that's full of low-key delights.

— Heather Phares

Richard Pryor

No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert [7CD/2DVD]

Shout! Factory

Comedy/Spoken

It’s not complete, but this large set is both a loving tribute and an enticing overview of the man who changed comedy while entertaining millions.

— David Jeffries

Dennis Callaci / Simon Joyner

New Secrets

Shrimper

Pop/Rock

Two legends of underground songwriting team up for a second volume of softly cracked Americana collaborations.

— Fred Thomas

Julia Hülsmann / Julia Hülsmann Quartet

In Full View

ECM

Jazz

The ruminative, expansive debut from Hülsmann's quartet with British trumpeter Tom Arthurs.

— Matt Collar

Aarse / Bjørnstad / Ketil Bjørnstad / Lechner / Sheppard

La Notte

ECM

Jazz

Recorded at the Molde International Jazz Festival, the composer and his band play an original suite in tribute to director Michaelangelo Antonioni.

— Thom Jurek

Susanne Abbuehl

The Gift

ECM

Jazz, Folk

On her third ECM offering, the vocalist and composer illuminates the words of Emily Dickinson, Sara Teasdale, Emily Bronte, and Wallace Stevens.

— Thom Jurek

ZOFO Duet

Mosh Pit

Sono Luminus

Classical

A most enjoyable piano four-hands release, all the more impressive for its unearthing of contemporary works that are not new

— James Manheim

John Vanderslice

Dagger Beach

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

California popsmith delivers some of his most interestingly skewed production on this reflective post-relationship album.

— Fred Thomas

KT Tunstall

Invisible Empire/Crescent Moon

Blue Note / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

On her Blue Note debut, the singer/songwriter delivers a lovely, warm, bittersweet collection that addresses grief, loss, and transition.

— Thom Jurek

Seraphic Fire / Patrick Dupré Quigley

Seraphic Fire

Seraphic Fire Media

Classical

Seraphic Fire under the conducting of Patrick Dupré Quigley is precise, expressive, and enthusiastic about what it is doing.

— James Manheim

Morgan Heritage

Here Come the Kings

VP Records

Reggae

After five years off, the roots reggae group returns with a well-rounded effort including a guest appearance from Shaggy.

— David Jeffries

Overseas

Junketboy

Pop/Rock

The debut of this indie supergroup shines due to input from the creative forces that drove Bedhead and the New Year to greatness.

— Fred Thomas

Power Trip

Manifest Decimation

Southern Lord Records

Pop/Rock

On its reverb-drenched Southern Lord debut, this sonically assaultive Texas crossover quintet take no prisoners.

— Thom Jurek

Rodan

Fifteen Quiet Years

Quarterstick

Pop/Rock

A collection of rare and unreleased tracks from this short-lived but highly influential early-'90s math rock act.

— Fred Thomas

The Devil's Blood

III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The Devil's Blood take a bow on their epic and raw final album, III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars.

— Gregory Heaney

The Sudden Death of Stars

Getting Up, Going Down

Ample Play

Pop/Rock

Sitar-heavy modern psychedelic pop with a rich sound and memorable songs from a French combo.

— Tim Sendra

Young Fathers

Tape Two

Anticon

Rap

The sequel to Tape One provides more raw R&B, rap, and reggaeton landscapes, but in an icier climate.

— Jason Lymangrover

Rachel Barton Pine / Matthew Hagle

Violin Lullabies

Cedille Records

Classical

There are some lovely works here that aren't much heard except as encores, such as Grieg's Vuggevise and others.

— James Manheim

Leonard Slatkin / Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3; Symphonic Dances

Naxos

Classical

The symphony's glorious melodies flower luxuriantly and there is a confident musicality here that is immensely appealing.

— James Manheim

Walter Trout

Luther's Blues: A Tribute to Luther Allison

Mascot Music

Blues, Pop/Rock

On his 23rd release, blues guitarist Walter Trout pays tribute to one of his main influences, the late Luther Allison.

— Al Campbell

Date Palms

The Dusted Sessions

Thrill Jockey

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

Third album from this spectral Bay Area band intertwines warm electronics with patiently meditative organic instruments over seven cosmic explorations.

— Fred Thomas