Damon Albarn

Everyday Robots

Parlophone

Pop/Rock

Spare, warmly melancholic solo debut from the leader of Blur and Gorillaz.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Pixies

Indie Cindy [Limited Edition]

Pixies

Pop/Rock

The legendary alt-rock band's first album in 23 years continues the sci-fi riff rock of Bossanova and Trompe le Monde.

— Heather Phares

Brody Dalle

Diploid Love

Caroline

Pop/Rock

The former Distillers and Spinnerette frontwoman's solo debut celebrates motherhood with equally raw and tender songs.

— Heather Phares

Ray LaMontagne

Supernova

RCA

Pop/Rock

On his fifth offering, LaMontagne and producer Dan Auerbach deliver a collection that purposely evokes '60s psych rock, folk, and pop.

— Thom Jurek

Brian Blade / Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band

Landmarks

Blue Note

Jazz

On its fourth album, the band returns to Blue Note and goes deeper into its exploration of song forms through modern jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Old 97's

Most Messed Up

ATO

Pop/Rock

Rough, rowdy, and sounding like a boozy boys night out, the band's 10th album is one of their toughest and best in years.

— Mark Deming

Rodrigo y Gabriela

9 Dead Alive

ATO

Latin

With their first new material in five years, the acoustic duo deliver fierce, beautifully articulated tunes melding their musical roots with expansive creativity.

— Thom Jurek

Caroline Polachek / Ramona Lisa

Arcadia

Terrible

Pop/Rock

Chairlift member Caroline Polachek debuts her side project with this eerie, elegant, and excellent effort.

— David Jeffries

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

Nights Like This

Warner Bros.

R&B

A Mark Ronson-inspired modern-R&B makeover from the retro blue-eyed soul singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Wye Oak

Shriek

Merge

Pop/Rock

The duo successfully revamps its sound on its fourth album, chucking out guitars and indie rock in favor of synths and subtle adult pop.

— Tim Sendra

Lindsey Stirling

Shatter Me

Lindseystomp Music

Pop/Rock

Behold, the impish violinist, dancer, and YouTube sensation's colorful and highly River-danceable second studio album.

— James Christopher Monger

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood / Chris Robinson

Phosphorescent Harvest

Silver Arrow Records

Pop/Rock

On its third offering, the band tries to evoke the adventure of psych-era California rock.

— Thom Jurek

Johnnyswim

Diamonds

Big Picnic Records

Pop/Rock, Folk

First full-length album from this accomplished and emotionally rich vocal duo.

— Mark Deming

Floor

Oblation

Season of Mist

Pop/Rock

The legendary Floor reunite on Oblation, an album of heavy drone-pop that more than lives up to the band's stellar debut.

— Gregory Heaney

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

Midnight Sun

Chimera Music

Pop/Rock

Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl reach the next stage of their creative evolution on the warm and psychedelic Midnight Sun.

— Gregory Heaney

The Pink Mountaintops

Get Back

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Black Mountain's Stephen McBean's fourth outing under the Pink Mountaintops moniker is a wild unruly gem.

— James Christopher Monger

Fennesz

Bécs

Editions Mego

Electronic

Sixth solo album from this pioneering electro-acoustic musician sees him revisiting the heights of his most pop-leaning work.

— Fred Thomas

Chad VanGaalen

Shrink Dust

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The fifth album from the uber-imaginative Calgary songwriter is filled with spacey psych-folk, sci-fi imagery, and a newfound country influence.

— Timothy Monger

Harvey Mason, Sr.

Chameleon [Bonus Tracks]

Concord / Concord Music Group

Jazz

The journeyman drummer reimagines his '70s funk-jazz roots.

— Matt Collar

3108

3108

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Debut album that blends '80s synth pop, '90s noise pop, and classic indie pop into a bright and hooky modern mix.

— Tim Sendra

Elephant

Sky Swimming

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

The duo's debut album is a welcome introduction to their breezy, graceful indie pop.

— Heather Phares

Nat Baldwin

In the Hollows

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock

Sixth solo album from Dirty Projectors bassist makes brilliant use of space and pristine string arrangements.

— Fred Thomas

Howlin Rain

Live Rain

Agitated / Silver Current

Pop/Rock

This incendiary, rugged collection of live recordings was compiled from the band's 2012 tour.

— Thom Jurek

The String Cheese Incident

Song in My Head

Loud & Proud / Relativity

Pop/Rock

After nine years, the Colorado jam unit returns to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a studio album produced by Jerry Harrison.

— Thom Jurek

The Hive Dwellers

Moanin'

K Records

Pop/Rock

Second album from this Olympia band is emphatic and dynamic, showing these indie veterans have plenty on their minds.

— Mark Deming

Nels Cline Singers

Macroscope

Mack Avenue

Jazz

The Nels Cline Singers fifth album shows that they're still making some of the most interesting, adventurous, genre-smashing music of the early 21st century.

— Sean Westergaard

Ólafur Arnalds

Gimme Shelter [Music from the Motion Picture]

Milan

Stage & Screen

The Icelandic composer, along with a string quartet and electric guitar, provides a quietly compelling score for Ronald Krauss' film.

— Thom Jurek

Klaus Johann Grobe

Im Sinne der Zeit

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The golden age of German prog rock gets a victory lap in this debut album from a Swiss duo fluent in Krautrock.

— Mark Deming

Maria Juur / Maria Minerva

Histrionic

Not Not Fun

Electronic

Equally sleek and confessional, Minerva's aloof dance-pop excursions take her music to a new level.

— Heather Phares

Muuy Biien

D.Y.I. (Do Yourself In)

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records / HHBTM

Pop/Rock

This Atlanta group bases its sound on the unexpected marriage of nihilistic punk and textural ambience.

— Fred Thomas

Plasticland

Plasticland

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Outstanding debut album from Wisconsin-based band that cracked the code of classic U.K. freakbeat.

— Mark Deming

Prins Thomas

Prins Thomas, Vol. 3

Full Pupp

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Third proper solo album from pioneering space disco producer is a collection of classic, galactic, electro-brilliance.

— Fred Thomas

Sly & Robbie

Underwater Dub

Groove Attack

Reggae

The legendary rhythm section's comeback continues on this booming and grooving album.

— David Jeffries

The Bevis Frond

High in a Flat: Highlights 1987-1990

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Compilation of tracks from the early days of the band, focusing on the poppier side of their eccentric psychedelia.

— Tim Sendra

Curtis Stigers

Hooray for Love

Concord Jazz

Pop/Rock, Jazz

Another sharp selection of standards and clever contemporary covers by the jazz singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Olga Bell

Krai

New Amsterdam / New Amsterdam Records / One Little Indian

International, Pop/Rock

Sung completely in Russian, this album by the Brooklyn indie producer explores lesser-known histories of her motherland.

— Fred Thomas

We Have Band

Movements

Naïve

Pop/Rock

With the help of Tim Goldsworthy's production, the band's third album is its sleekest, most danceable, and best to date.

— Tim Sendra

André Obin

Ways of Escape

Sky Council

Pop/Rock

The Massachusetts-based synth pop artist's second album contains some of his most distinct and finely detailed material.

— Andy Kellman

Blancmange

Happy Families Too...

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

The synth pop duo re-record their 1987 debut with modern tech and more mature techniques.

— David Jeffries

Whitechapel

Our Endless War

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

Whitechapel offer up a brutal tirade on societial ills on their fifth album, Our Endless War.

— Gregory Heaney

Timeflies

After Hours

Island

Electronic

The sophomore album of anthemic club cuts and dance-oriented R&B from the pop duo.

— Matt Collar

Broken Twin

May

Anti-

Pop/Rock

The debut from the Danish songtress evokes the Old English word uhtceare, which means to "lie awake before dawn worrying."

— James Christopher Monger

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Greatest Hits

Fantasy

Pop/Rock

Just what the title says, a dozen excellent songs from arguably the best American rock band of their day.

— Mark Deming

Jim Gaffigan

Obsessed

Comedy Central Records

Comedy/Spoken

All the hilarious jokes about food are no surprise, but the comedian also steps outside his comfort zone on this excellent album.

— David Jeffries

Devil You Know

The Beauty of Destruction

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

Metalcore supergroup Devil You Know introduce themselves with their searing debut, The Beauty of Destruction.

— Gregory Heaney

Ex-Cult

Midnight Passenger

Goner Records

Pop/Rock

Second album successfully ups the ante for this Memphis garage punk crew, sounding leaner and more expressive in round two.

— Mark Deming

The Family Dogg

A Way of Life: Anthology 1967-1976

RPM / RPM Records

Pop/Rock

Comprehensive overview of the British pop vocal ensemble's career, featuring both their albums in full plus rare singles.

— Mark Deming

Muyei Power

Sierra Leona in 1970s USA

Soundway

International

Compilation of tracks recorded by the popular Sierra Leone Afro-pop band in California in 1975/1976.

— Matt Collar

Wovenhand

Refractory Obdurate

Deathwish

Pop/Rock, Folk

Bold, uncompromising music from David Eugene Edwards that explores the darker corners of faith and redemption.

— Mark Deming

Ought

More Than Any Other Day

Constellation

Pop/Rock

Boisterous and airy debut from Montreal post-punk collective feels as refreshing as a spring day.

— Fred Thomas

Johnossi

Transitions

Caroline / Universal

Pop/Rock

The Swedish duo play to the back of the room on their epic fourth album.

— Timothy Monger

Survival Knife

Loose Power

Fat Possum Records / Glacial Pace Recordings

Pop/Rock

Band made up of two founding members of '90s punks Unwound tends toward more muscular sounds on this debut.

— Fred Thomas

Measles / Ohio Express / Rare Breed

Beg, Borrow & Steal

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

Before they were bubblegum hitmakers, the Ohio Express released a fine garage pop album for Cameo, reissued here with bonus tracks.

— Tim Sendra

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

Riding Your Way: The Lost Transcriptions for Tiffany Music 1946-1947

Real Gone Music

Country

Recorded in 1946-1947, 49 rediscovered performances from the King of Western Swing and his band at the height of their powers.

— Mark Deming

Portrait

Crossroads

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

Metal classicists Portrait take listeners on a journey to glory days pre-commercial metal with an album that feels like an homage to the NWOBHM.

— Gregory Heaney

Dino Saluzzi / Dino Saluzzi Group

El Valle de la Infancia

ECM

International, Jazz

The third offering in 18 years from the bandoneonist's "family band" is as timeless and accessible as it is complex and modern.

— Thom Jurek

Mahan Esfahani

Byrd, Bach, Ligeti

Wigmore Hall Live

Classical

Esfahani is emerging as a major star on his instrument, and this recital offers an ideal place to start with his work.

— James Manheim

Maurizio Pollini / Christian Thielemann / Staatskapelle Dresden

Brahms: Klavierkonzert Nr. 2

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Pollini gives a thoughtful and controlled reading of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 with Thielemann and the Dresden Staatskapelle.

— Blair Sanderson

Anonymous 4

Marie et Marion

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Hear the delicious sounds of the singers' voices clashing in linear harmony in this introduction to the polytextual motet and chanson around 1300.

— James Manheim

Michael Riesman / Mark Atkins

Philip Glass: Voices for Didgeridoo and Organ; Organ Suite

Orange Mountain Music

Classical

This is compelling, and it has the chance to be breathtaking; at the very least, it's unlike anything you've heard from Glass before.

— James Manheim

Valentina Lisitsa

Chasing Pianos: The Piano Music of Michael Nyman

Decca

Classical, Stage & Screen

Lisitsa's flawlessly precise style fits in a rather eerie way, and fans of Nyman will doubtless find this a fresh and exciting take.

— James Manheim

Juan Diego Flórez / Roberto Abbado

L' Amour

Decca

Classical

On L'Amour, tenor Juan Diego Flórez presents a collection of bel canto arias from French operas of the 19th century.

— Blair Sanderson

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