Kirin J. Callinan

Embracism

Terrible / XL

Pop/Rock

As exhausting as it is exhilarating, the enigmatic Aussie's solo debut is an electro-pop/experimental rock nightmare, but in a good way.

— James Christopher Monger

Various Artists

Scared to Get Happy: A Story of Indie-Pop 1980-1989

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Five-disc set explores the guitar pop sound of the U.K. in the '80s, ranging from sophisticated ballads to noise-blasted rave-ups.

— Tim Sendra

John Scofield

Überjam Deux

Emarcy

Jazz

After a decade-long break, the guitarist reunites his deep groove unit for a near perfect summertime exercise in soulful jazz funk.

— Thom Jurek

George Braith

Musart

Real Gone Music

Jazz

At long last this exotic, groove-laden, sophisticated jazz masterpiece is finally resurrected and reissued thanks to Real Gone and Dusty Groove.

— Thom Jurek

Goldheart Assembly

Long Distance Song Effects

EMI / New Music Club

Pop/Rock

The band's ambitious second album borrows from '70s orchestral rock to deliver some of its freshest-sounding music yet.

— Heather Phares

Deap Vally

Sistrionix

Island

Pop/Rock

Stomping hard rock rhythms, distorted and greasy blues riffs, and shouted, shrieking vocals.

— Steve Leggett

Hackamore Brick

One Kiss Leads to Another [Bonus Tracks]

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

A cult classic from 1970 often credited as the first "post-Velvets" album, with heavy Velvet Underground influences on smart, straightforward songs.

— Fred Thomas

Joe

Doubleback: Evolution of R&B

Massenburg

R&B

The highlights from Joe's tenth album apply grown-man macking to relaxed grooves that recall late-'70s and early-'80s smooth soul.

— Andy Kellman

About Group

Between the Walls

Domino

Pop/Rock

The indie-avant supergroup imbues its rough-edged experiments with raw emotion yielding rewarding results.

— Heather Phares

Owen

L' Ami du Peuple

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Mike Kinsella comes full circle on his seventh album as Owen, touching on both the fire of youth and the satisfaction of growing older.

— Fred Thomas

Myron & E / The Soul Investigators

Broadway

Stones Throw

R&B

Backed by the Soul Investigators, Finland's finest retro-soul band, the California-based vocal duo follows four singles with a stirring album.

— Andy Kellman

Bobby Womack

Everything's Gonna Be Alright: The American Singles 1967-76

Charly Records

R&B

Stellar double-disc collection of the A- & B-sides of Bobby Womack's singles between 1967 and 1976.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Editors

The Weight of Your Love

PIAS

Pop/Rock

The British band's fourth studio album is an epic, orchestral-infused work recorded in Nashville.

— Matt Collar

Huntress

Starbound Beast

Napalm Records

Pop/Rock

On their sophomore effort, this female-fronted California metal quintet reveals tremendous growth in songwriting and musical ambition.

— Thom Jurek

Tim Andrews

Something About Suburbia: The Sixties Sounds of Tim Andrews

RPM

Pop/Rock

Compiles all the mod-era recordings of British vocalist Tim Andrews.

— Matt Collar

Various Artists

Greatest Hits from Outer Space

Ace

Pop/Rock, R&B, Stage & Screen, Vocal

Wildly entertaining collection of rock, pop, easy listening, and R&B songs about space from the '50s and '60s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

A Road Leading Home: Songs by Dan Penn

Ace

Pop/Rock, R&B, Blues, Country

A sampler of songs Penn wrote either solo or with other writers not named Spooner Oldham.

— Steve Leggett

Various Artists

Sophisticated Boom Boom: The Shadow Morton Story

Ace

Pop/Rock

Dynamite comp of the work of legendary girl group/hard rock producer Shadow Morton.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

Très Chic: More French Girl Singers of the 1960s

Ace

Pop/Rock

A thoughtfully researched and curated cache of French pop, goes beyond just the big names to reveal some deeper cuts.

— Fred Thomas

Ahmed Abdul-Malik / Ray Nance / Seldon Powell

Spellbound

Real Gone Music

Jazz

On his final date as a leader, the double bassist leads a killer band and seamlessly integrates straight-ahead jazz and Middle Eastern sounds.

— Thom Jurek

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Rare, Rarer & Rarest

Wounded Bird

Pop/Rock

This compilation concentrates on deep cuts and jazzy instrumentals from the Owl and the Pussycat soundtrack.

— Jason Lymangrover

François-Xavier Roth / SWR Baden-Baden and Freiburg Symphony Orchestra

Strauss: Tone Poems, Vol. 1

Haenssler

Classical

François-Xavier Roth starts his series of Strauss tone poems with two perennial favorites, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklärung.

— Blair Sanderson

Michael Lewin

Piano Phantoms

Dorian Sono Luminus

Classical

Michael Lewin presents 18 piano pieces based on supernatural themes, including the highly popular Graceful Ghost Rag by William Bolcom.

— Blair Sanderson

Grateful Dead

Dick's Picks, Vol. 22: Kings Beach Bowl, Kings Beach Lake Tahoe, CA 2/22-2/24/68

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

This volume of the endless concert archive series finds the band in its earliest raw days, melding blues jams and avant-garde tendencies.

— Fred Thomas

King Curtis

Do Your Thing

Wounded Bird

Jazz, R&B

A sort of greatest-hits sampler of his Atlantic years originally released in 1970 in Holland only.

— Steve Leggett

Sha Na Na

The Night Is Still Young

Wounded Bird

Pop/Rock

Half of Sha Na Na's 1972 album is an overlooked bubblegum pop gem.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Browns

Complete Pop & Country Hits

Real Gone Music

Country, Pop/Rock

Real Gone rounds up the 24 charting pop and country singles from the Browns on this definitive compilation.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

J.D. Overdrive

Fortune Favors the Brave

Metal Blade / Metal Mind Productions

Pop/Rock

Poland's J.D. Overdrive offer up their take on southern metal with their sophomore effort, Fortune Favors the Brave.

— Gregory Heaney

Choir of the Queen's College, Oxford / Owen Rees / Brook Street Band

Handel, Scarlatti: Dixit Dominus

Avie

Classical

These are the Baroque stars of tomorrow here, and everything about this album represents British Baroque performance at its best.

— James Manheim

Colin Carr

Bach: Cello Suites

Wigmore Hall Live

Classical

Colin Carr's performance of Bach's Cello Suites at Wigmore Hall displays intellectual concentration, expressive consistency, and physical control.

— Blair Sanderson

Vasily Petrenko / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 'Leningrad'

Naxos

Classical

Shostakovich's Seventh is often interpreted as a heroic symphony, but Petrenko finds layers of more personal expression in the music.

— Blair Sanderson

Marek Janowski

Wagner: Das Rheingold

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Marek Janowski's live concert presentation of Das Rheingold on hybrid SACD continues the excellent Wagner Edition on PentaTone.

— Blair Sanderson

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