Nine Inch Nails

Hesitation Marks

HALO

Pop/Rock

Trent Reznor sounds like a restless, inventive artist at peace with himself on this NIN comeback.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Neko Case

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

Anti-

Country, Pop/Rock

The barefooted, sword-wielding New Pornographer's sixth studio outing may be her very best.

— James Christopher Monger

John Legend

Love in the Future

G.O.O.D. Music

R&B

The piano man's first proper solo studio album since 2008 is a sprawling set of intense love songs.

— Andy Kellman

Chelsea Wolfe

Pain Is Beauty

Sargent House

Pop/Rock

Wolfe's fourth album delivers some of her most ambitious, eclectic, and satisfying music yet.

— Heather Phares

Ariana Grande

Yours Truly

Island / Republic / Universal Music

Pop/Rock

A sophisticated, '90s R&B-inflected debut that showcases Grande's strong vocal chops.

— Matt Collar

The Julie Ruin

Run Fast

Dischord Records / The Julie Ruin / TJR

Pop/Rock

Bikini Kill founder Kathleen Hanna revives what was once a moniker for her alter ego as a shouty, synth pop-tinged full rock band.

— Fred Thomas

Jaheim

Appreciation Day

Atlantic

R&B

The singer's sixth album contains some of his boldest lyrics -- both sexual and societal -- but sounds every bit like a Jaheim release.

— Andy Kellman

Okkervil River

The Silver Gymnasium

ATO

Pop/Rock

Frontman Will Sheff goes Back to the Future on this 11-track ode to his hometown of Meridian, New Hampshire.

— James Christopher Monger

Richard Buckner

Surrounded

Merge

Folk, Country, Pop/Rock

Longstanding alt-country songwriter fills out his lonely tunes nicely with unexpected electronic and ambient textures.

— Fred Thomas

The 1975

The 1975

Interscope

Pop/Rock

A sophisticated debut inspired by the anthemic, romantic pop of '80s John Hughes films.

— Matt Collar

King Khan & the Shrines

Idle No More

Merge

Pop/Rock

Six years after their last offering, this psych-soul unit returns with renewed energy and a newfound political subtext to their garage stompers.

— Fred Thomas

Holograms

Forever

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

Second album from Swedish post-punk group shows the same type of growth as phases of some of their most revered predecessors.

— Fred Thomas

Raheem DeVaughn

A Place Called Love Land

Mass Appeal

R&B

DeVaughn follows his Grammy-nominated third studio album with a strong, independent set dominated of bedroom material.

— Andy Kellman

Various Artists

Sweet Relief, Vol. 3: Pennies from Heaven

Vanguard

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

The third Sweet Relief charity record finds AAA artists sweetly singing their favorite songs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tamar Braxton

Love and War

Epic

R&B

The singer and television personality's first album since her 2000 debut is at its best when rooted in relatable romantic matters.

— Andy Kellman

Over the Rhine

Meet Me at the Edge of the World

Great Speckled Dog Records

Pop/Rock

Soulful, country-folk double album inspired by Linford Detweiler and Karen Bergquist's pre-Civil War farmhouse.

— James Christopher Monger

Rizzle Kicks

Roaring 20s

Universal

Pop/Rock, Rap

The Brighton-based pop-rap crew top their debut on this infectious and informed follow-up.

— David Jeffries

Surf City

We Knew It Was Not Going to Be Like This

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The group's second album is still noisy and hypnotic, but adds tighter arrangements and a few very poppy tunes to the mix.

— Tim Sendra

Warm Digits

Interchange

Distraction / Distraction Records / Forced Exposure

Pop/Rock

Interchange transcends its roots as a locally commissioned art project, becoming a playful, optimistic examination of nostalgia and futurism.

— Heather Phares

Bastille

Bad Blood

Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

The group's debut album balances bouncy synth-pop with the anthemic aspirations of Coldplay, Keane, and Snow Patrol.

— Heather Phares

Jackson & His Computerband

Glow

Warp

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Jackson Fourgeaud's first outing in eight years shows off his wide range of electronic styles.

— Jason Lymangrover

Nedelle Torrisi

Advice from Paradise [LP]

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's first album under her own name is a lovely update of classic soft rock sounds made in collaboration with Kenny Gilmore.

— Tim Sendra

North Mississippi Allstars

World Boogie Is Coming

Songs of the South Records

Country, Pop/Rock

World boogie is coming? These guys boogie like the world has no choice but to surrender to the fact.

Paley Brothers

The Complete Recordings

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

Collection containing all of the Paleys' 1977 LP, 1976 EP, several singles, and 11 unreleased tunes.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

TV Ghost

Disconnect

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

The band's accomplished third album trades crazed tirades for somber, hypnotic post-punk.

— Heather Phares

Volcano Choir

Repave

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame joins with fellow Wisconsin outfit Collections of Colonies of Bees for their second record.

— Scott Kerr

Hookworms

Pearl Mystic

Weird World

Pop/Rock

Alternately thrilling noise rock and calming neo-psych battle for supremacy on the publicity-shy band's debut album.

— Tim Sendra

Califone

Stitches

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Bluesy, broken, and highly impressionistic, Califone's latest trades the wounds of the windy city for the scars of the Southwest.

— James Christopher Monger

Jonathan Rado

Law and Order

Woodsist

Pop/Rock

Solo project from half of Foxygen explores many different rock and pop styles in delightfully lo-fi fashion.

— Tim Sendra

Dave Holland

Prism

Dare2 Records

Jazz

Holland revisits the expansive fusion sound of his early years with Miles Davis.

— Matt Collar

Annihilator

Feast

EMI / UDR

Pop/Rock

The thrash stalwarts offer a glimpse of the old ways of metal with their 14th record, Feast.

— Gregory Heaney

Pepper

Pepper

Island / Law Records / Velvet Hammer Music

Pop/Rock

Splitting the difference between Margaritaville and John Mayer, the reggae-rock group gets radio-friendly on this 2013 release.

— David Jeffries

Rod Stewart

Rarities

Island / Mercury

Pop/Rock

All the released rarities -- demos, alternates, B-sides, non-LP singles -- from Rod's Mercury years rounded up on two CDs.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bl'ast!

Blood!

Southern Lord Records

Pop/Rock

A powerful lost recording session from this legendary mid-'80s hardcore unit, remixed in 2012 by Dave Grohl.

— Fred Thomas

Blood on the Dance Floor

Bad Blood

Dark Fantasy Records

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The scary "scene" group attack both their critics and their fake fans on the appropriately titled Bad Blood.

— David Jeffries

Coachwhips

Hands on the Controls

Black Apple / Castle Face / Revolver USA

Pop/Rock

John Dwyer bridges the gap between East Coast noise punk and West Coast psych rock on Coachwhips' first album.

— Gregory Heaney

Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project / Ed Roland

Devils 'n Darlins

429 Records

Pop/Rock

Collective Soul leader reconnects to his roots and stretches out with his new band, Sweet Tea Project.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ginkgo

Manopause

Ibid

Pop/Rock

The solo debut of Tapes 'n Tapes' Josh Grier captures the feel of a full band, namely Modest Mouse.

— Jason Lymangrover

Hellsongs

These Are Evil Times

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

The Swedish pop trio branches out with an album that mixes the traditional metal covers with some original tracks.

— Gregory Heaney

14KT

Nickel & Dimed

Mello Music Group

Rap

With Blu and Black Milk as guests, the hip-hop producer offers a rich half-instrumental, half-vocal effort.

— David Jeffries

Jefferson Starship

Live in Central Park, NYC May 12, 1975

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

Flawed but powerful archival recording of Jefferson Starship live in 1975.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jo Ann Campbell

All the Hits: Her Complete Cameo Recordings

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock, Easy Listening, Vocal, R&B

Not even close to having all of her hits, it's still an interesting collection, recorded with a crackerjack New York session band.

— Steve Leggett

Joanie Sommers

Come Alive! The Complete Columbia Recordings

Real Gone Music

Vocal, Pop/Rock, Jazz

Combines her lone Columbia Records album with her non-album singles for the label from the same period.

— Steve Leggett

Pop Will Eat Itself

Dos Dedos Mis Amigos/A Lick of the Old Cassette Box (The Lost 1996 Album)

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Stonewall Jackson

Original Greatest Hits

Real Gone Music

Country

Retitled reissue of the excellent 2002 compilation The Best of Stonewall Jackson.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sundowner

Neon Fiction

Fat Wreck Chords

Pop/Rock

Chris McCaughan delivers another album of personal and reflective acoustic punk on his third outing as Sundowner.

— Gregory Heaney

Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice

Cipriano de Rore: Missa Doulce Mémoire; Missa a note negre

Hyperion

Classical

This is a superior Renaissance choral release, featuring music of an unjustly neglected composer.

— James Manheim

Sebastian Weigle

Wagner: Das Liebesverbot

Oehms Classics

Classical

Wagner's neglected opera Das Liebesverbot receives a lively and humorous performance in this concert recording from Oehms Classics.

— Blair Sanderson

Lucia Aliberti / Coro Sinfonico di Milano Geiuseppe Verdi / Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi

Early Verdi Arias

Challenge Classics

Classical

For Verdi buffs, there are some seldom-recorded arias here, and they are done very well.

— James Manheim

Trevor Pinnock / Royal Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble

Mahler: Symphonie No. 4

Linn / Linn Records

Classical

Trevor Pinnock presents exquisite chamber performances of Mahler's Fourth and Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune on this hybrid SACD.

— Blair Sanderson

Michael Gees

Beyond Schumann

Challenge Classics

Classical

Listener reactions to this will necessarily be personal, but it's worth noting that Gees has accomplished something unlike that offered by earlier similar attempts.

— James Manheim

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