St. Vincent

St. Vincent

Loma Vista / Republic / Universal

Pop/Rock

A fascinating mix of directness and artifice, St. Vincent's fourth album is her most satisfying yet.

— Heather Phares

Beck

Morning Phase

Capitol / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

A warm, comforting country-rock companion to the sorrowful 2002 LP Sea Change.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Dierks Bentley

Riser

Capitol Nashville

Country

Reflective arena country from a singer facing middle age.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

ScHoolboy Q

Oxymoron

Interscope

Rap

It's the Top Dawg rapper's most coarse and complicated effort to date, but the highlights are still vital.

— David Jeffries

Neneh Cherry

Blank Project

Smalltown Supersound

Pop/Rock

Riveting, often bleak work from Cherry -- only her fourth proper solo album but as collaborative as anything from her deep, undervalued discography.

— Andy Kellman

The Notwist

Close to the Glass

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The Notwist return from a six-year hiatus with their most rewarding album yet.

— Heather Phares

Brad Mehldau / Mark Guiliana

Mehliana: Taming the Dragon

Nonesuch

Jazz

This duo delivers a wild, experimental record where sonics are as important as melodies, and genre restrictions matter not.

— Thom Jurek

Bob Mould

Workbook [Deluxe Edition]

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

25th Anniversary edition of Mould's solo debut includes a B-side plus a full 1989 show from the Cabaret Metro in Chicago.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Death Vessel

Island Intervals

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Coming out of a six-year hiatus, this indie folksinger turns in his most sophisticated and deeply reaching work to date.

— Fred Thomas

Mike Gordon

Overstep

ATO

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

Phish's bass player delivers a pretty good Phish album, quirky and propulsive, light as dragon's breath, full of winks and asides.

— Steve Leggett

Wild Beasts

Present Tense

Domino

Pop/Rock

Wild Beasts' fourth album sets their meditations on loss and lust to spare electro-pop.

— Heather Phares

Bleeding Rainbow

Interrupt [LP]

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

Improving on their plodding 2013 album, these Philly fuzz poppers meld '90s indie influences with a unique sense of hooks and harmony.

— Fred Thomas

Lo-Fang

Blue Film

4AD

Pop/Rock

Combining R&B, synth pop, orchestral, and folk music with often unsettling lyrics, Lo-Fang's debut is hard to forget.

— Heather Phares

patten

Estoile Naiant

Warp

Electronic

The producer's second Warp release continues his shift toward less challenging abstract electronic music.

— Andy Kellman

Natural Child

Dancin' with Wolves

Burger Records / Redeye Music Distribution

Pop/Rock

Natural Child go country on their third album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Yellow Ostrich

Cosmos

Barsuk

Pop/Rock

Sophisticated '70s Krautrock-influenced album inspired by the work of Carl Sagan.

— Matt Collar

Johnny Winter

True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story

Columbia / Legacy

Pop/Rock, Blues

A career-spanning look at an iconic whirlwind albino electric blues guitar player from Texas with a brilliant slide style.

— Steve Leggett

Little Feat

Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990

Rhino

Pop/Rock

All of the Feat's albums from 1971-1990, plus a disc of rarities, are affordably boxed up.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Joe Louis Walker

Hornet's Nest

Alligator Records

Blues

Prolific blues guitarist delivers a winner; a versatile and powerful set with dashes of rock, soul, R&B, and even psychedelia.

— Mark Deming

Skaters

Manhattan

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Skaters make the sights and sounds of the Big Apple their muse on their debut album, Manhattan.

— Gregory Heaney

Greg Ashley

Another Generation of Slaves

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Gris Gris leader is in a singer/songwriter mode on this low-key effort, which shows off his Leonard Cohen influence.

— Mark Deming

Damaged Bug / John Dwyer

Hubba Bubba

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

Thee Oh Sees mastermind John Dwyer trades the guitar for an arsenal of synthesizers on Hubba Bubba, the debut of his Damaged Bug solo project.

— Gregory Heaney

Tacocat

NVM

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

Second album of fun songs from the peppy, punky, poppy Seattle quartet.

— Tim Sendra

Thalia Zedek / Thalia Zedek Band

Six

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Six musically simple but emotionally complex selections from the distinctive songwriter and guitarist.

— Mark Deming

Vertical Scratchers

Daughter of Everything

Merge

Pop/Rock

On their first full-length, former Enon and Tricops! members make wry guitar pop that nods to the best of the '60s and '90s.

— Heather Phares

Mozes and the Firstborn

Mozes and the Firstborn

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Debut album from these laid-back and slightly loopy garage rockers from Holland, who deliver fine tunes and a playful vibe.

— Mark Deming

Milagres

Violent Light

Kill Rock Stars

Pop/Rock

The Brooklyn quartet dials up the neon glow on this darkly appealing album.

— Timothy Monger

The Souljazz Orchestra

Inner Fire

Strut

Jazz

Here the Canadian sextet and friends deliver their most sophisticated recording to date, yet never sacrifice groove for ambition.

— Thom Jurek

Rob Jones / The Voluntary Butler Scheme

A Million Ways to Make Gold

Split

Pop/Rock

Witty, bubblegummy pop played by one guy, Rob Jones, and delivered with some suprising emotional power this time out.

— Tim Sendra

Run River North

Run River North

Nettwerk

Pop/Rock

Bursting with youthful passion, this indie pop sextet from the Valley makes a charming, folk-infused debut.

— Timothy Monger

Andrea Belfi / David Grubbs / Stefano Pilia

Dust & Mirrors

Blue Chopsticks / Drag City

Pop/Rock

Following a far more subdued 2010 debut, this exploratory studio trio returns as a powerful, rock-minded unit.

— Fred Thomas

Hamell on Trial

The Happiest Man in the World

New West

Folk, Pop/Rock

More laughs, more rage, and more purposeful snarkiness from the veteran One-Man Punk Band.

— Mark Deming

Creative Adult

Psychic Mess

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

With its first full-length, this gothy punk quartet burns with the same dark, dynamic intensity as the band's early EPs.

— Fred Thomas

Bristol Ensemble / Davidge

Slo Light

The End

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The Massive Attack producer breaks out on his own with guest vocalists like Sandie Shaw and Cate Le Bon.

— David Jeffries

She Sir

Go Guitars

Shelflife

Pop/Rock

Debut album from Austin, Texas quartet that splits the difference between dream pop and shoegaze with a nice helping of post-rock gloom.

— Tim Sendra

John the Conqueror

The Good Life

Alive / Alive Naturalsound Records

Pop/Rock

Philly blues-rockers show they're a stronger band on their second album; too bad their songwriting hadn't followed suit.

— Mark Deming

D. Charles Speer / D. Charles Speer & the Helix

Doubled Exposure

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

Speer's most accessible album yet, if accessible means one can't help being kind of fascinated by it.

— Steve Leggett

Twin Forks

Twin Forks

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

Debut LP by former Dashboard Confessional frontman's new folk act has potential.

— Timothy Monger

The Fray

Helios

Epic

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth LP is stocked with familiar, electro-tinged chord progressions paired with melodies that return the favor.

— James Christopher Monger

David Sanborn / Joey DeFrancesco / Bobby Hutcherson

Enjoy the View

Blue Note

Jazz

A swinging hard bop and soul-jazz-inflected date that harks back to classic '60 and '70s Blue Note albums.

— Matt Collar

Brandt Brauer Frick

DJ-Kicks

!K7

Electronic

A gleefully sprawling set from the German experimental techno musicians, mixed strictly with vinyl and dubplates at Berlin's Watergate club.

— Andy Kellman

Brian Culbertson

Another Long Night Out [LP]

BCM

Jazz

After 20 years the artist completely re-imagines and re-records his debut with a stellar lineup of contemporary jazz greats.

— Thom Jurek

Casper & the Cookies

Dingbats

Wild Kindness Records

Pop/Rock

The fourth album by Athens, Georgia indie pop team is a fun, stylistic romp.

— Timothy Monger

Lime Cordiale

Falling Up the Stairs

Chugg Music / MGM

Pop/Rock

Sophomore EP from the '70s blue-eyed soul, funk, and rock quintet from Australia.

— Matt Collar

The Jasmine Minks

Cut Me Deep: The Anthology 1984-2014

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning collection of autumnal indie pop from one of the early Creation bands.

— Tim Sendra

François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles

Paul Dukas: L'Apprenti Sorcier; Velléda; Polyeucte

Musicales Actes Sud

Classical

François-Xavier Roth and the original instruments ensemble Les Siècles perform The Sorcerer's Apprentice and other works by Paul Dukas.

— Blair Sanderson

Hans-Christoph Rademann / Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin / Berlin RIAS Chamber Choir

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Magnificat; Motet "Heilig ist Gott"

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

The random selection and clean singing of the RIAS Kammerchor make this worth the time of those interested in J.S. Bach's second son.

— James Manheim

Denis Matsuev

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Mariinsky

Classical

There's nothing exactly groundbreaking here, but for a Tchaikovsky concertos recording that will shake the walls, this is a good pick.

— James Manheim

Bjarte Eike / Barokksolistene

The Image of Melancholy

BIS

Classical

Listeners looking for a completely different presentation of Dowland's Flow My Tears and similar works of that time will most certainly get one.

— James Manheim

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