Morrissey

World Peace Is None of Your Business

EMI / Harvest

Pop/Rock

Moz's first album for Harvest is his weirdest, proggiest record since Southpaw Grammar.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Puss N Boots

No Fools, No Fun

Blue Note

Country

Charmingly ragged country-rock trio featuring Sasha Dobson, Catherine Popper, and Norah Jones.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bleachers

Strange Desire

RCA

Pop/Rock

Solo debut from fun.'s Jack Antonoff is a time trip back to the soundtracks of John Hughes' high-school films, but with a modern twist.

— Tim Sendra

Jason Mraz

Yes!

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

The former wizard of wordplay delivers a sun-kissed romantic record for couples already in love.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Marsha Ambrosius

Friends & Lovers

RCA

R&B

More quiet, carnal fire from the Grammy-nominated R&B singer, songwriter, and producer.

— Andy Kellman

Luluc

Passerby

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The Australian folk duo's debut for Sub Pop is a treasure of timeless songcraft and gentle restraint.

— Timothy Monger

The Reigning Sound

Shattered

Merge

Pop/Rock

A subtle but soulful change of pace for Greg Cartwright, though the songwriting and performances are as strong as ever.

— Mark Deming

Weird Al Yankovic

Mandatory Fun

RCA

Comedy/Spoken

Iggy Azalea, Pharrell, Robin Thicke, and Lorde all get their "Weird Al" redo on his hilarious 2014 release.

— David Jeffries

John Hiatt

Terms of My Surrender

New West

Pop/Rock, Blues

A blues-influenced offering from the veteran singer and songwriter that proves he's still a talent to be reckoned with.

— Mark Deming

Jungle

Jungle

XL

Pop/Rock

Debut from this mysterious U.K. duo builds its darkly evocative tracks on throwback grooves and floating falsetto vocals.

— Fred Thomas

Wunder Wunder

Everything Infinite

Dovecote Records

Pop/Rock

Sun-kissed modern pop draws from decades of psychedelic dance music but sounds fully modern, with the duo totally in charge of their sound.

— Tim Sendra

Woman's Hour

Conversations

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock

Quietly seductive noctural pop from a quartet that splits the (small) difference between the xx and Chvrches.

— Tim Sendra

Honeyblood

Honeyblood

Fat Cat / FatCat Records

Pop/Rock

The crunch-pop duo's first full-length delivers equal amounts of sugar and grit, as well as a surprising amount of nuance.

— Heather Phares

The Acid

Liminal

Mute / Mute US

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The trio's debut is full of subtly compelling, shape-shifting tracks that compare favorably with the xx and How to Dress Well.

— Heather Phares

Melted Toys

Melted Toys

Underwater Peoples

Pop/Rock

Spacy, Felt-influenced indie pop that sounds like the soundtrack to a blanket fort-building party.

— Tim Sendra

Army Navy

The Wilderness Inside

The Fever Zone

Pop/Rock

The Los Angeles outfit's third album of melodic, '70s-influenced power pop.

— Matt Collar

Plastikman

EX: Performed Live at the Guggenheim NYC

Minus Inc. / Mute

Electronic

Minimal techno legend returns with his first proper album in over ten years.

— Fred Thomas

Slow Club

Complete Surrender

Wichita

Pop/Rock

The Sheffield twosome delivers a strong third outing full of torchy breakup ballads with a Northern soul edge.

— Timothy Monger

Maxwell Kardon / Anand Wilder

Break Line: A Musical by Anand Wilder & Maxwell Kardon

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock

A peculiar, occasionally mesmerizing, yet often impenetrable indie rock musical from the Yeasayer co-founder.

— James Christopher Monger

Betraying the Martyrs

Phantom

Sumerian Records

Pop/Rock

Betraying the Martyrs deliver deathcore with a dramatic flair on their sophomore effort.

— Gregory Heaney

Big Wreck

Ghosts

Anthem / Rounder / Zoë Records

Pop/Rock

Moves the band in a slightly more prog rock direction, with some acoustic-based tracks tossed in as well.

— Steve Leggett

Driver Friendly

Unimagined Bridges

Hopeless Records

Pop/Rock

Austin pop punks deliver an upbeat, yet strangely wistful set full of guitar hooks and stately brass sections.

— Timothy Monger

Fhloston Paradigm

The Phoenix

Hyperdub

Electronic

Complex but accessible Afrofuturist techno from King Britt and a handful of women who lend their voices.

— Andy Kellman

Jerry Garcia / Jerry Garcia Band

Garcialive, Vol. 4: March 22nd, 1978 Veteran's Hall

ATO

Pop/Rock, Country

An often low-key live date from around the time of the band's Cats Under the Stars studio album.

— Fred Thomas

John Coltrane

Sideman: Trane's Blue Note Sessions

Blue Note

Jazz

Three-disc anthology of Coltrane's Blue Note sessions as a sideman for other artists in the '50s.

— Matt Collar

Landlady

Upright Behavior

Hometapes

Pop/Rock

The Brooklyn outfit's second offering is a mix of imaginative art pop and difficult indie rock.

— Timothy Monger

Fink

Hard Believer

Ninja Tune

Pop/Rock

This trio tones down the electronics yet convincingly ups the production ante with a set of dark and melancholy songs.

— Thom Jurek

Novembers Doom

Bled White [LP]

The End

Pop/Rock

On its ninth effort, the Chicago band sums its musical history while pushing ever forward in a dark, aggressive, dynamic set.

— Thom Jurek

Various Artists

Country Funk II: 1967-1974

Light in the Attic Records

Country, R&B

Like the first volume, this one is full of neat little country funk surprises.

— Steve Leggett

Various Artists

Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Wild Rockers, Vol. 4: A Collection of Rare Rockabilly & Surf from the Fifties & Sixties

BBE

Pop/Rock, R&B

20 more frantic rock & roll rarities rounded up by the Scottish DJ and collector, with plenty of lost classics from the '50s and '60s.

— Mark Deming

Hagai Shaham / Arnon Erez

Pizzetti & Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Violin Sonatas

Hyperion

Classical

These works show the abundant melodic gifts of the composers and the music here will spice up a chamber recital if given the chance.

— James Manheim

Christiane Karg

Heimliche Aufforderung

Berlin Classics

Classical

This is a good mixture of familiar pieces and obscure tunes like the Madrigal, reason enough for some Strauss buffs to acquire the release.

— James Manheim

Alexei Lubimov

Haydn: The Seven Last Words of Christ

Zig Zag Territoires

Classical

As long as listeners are down with the idea of a fairly speculative recording, the effect of the tangent piano is electrifying.

— James Manheim

Jenny Lin

Night Stories: Nocturnes

Hänssler Classic

Classical

Lin delivers not a collection of mood pieces but a survey of what the idea of night has meant musically.

— James Manheim

Pavel Kolesnikov

Tchaikovsky: The Seasons

Hyperion

Classical

Kolesnikov's enthusiasm for the music is clear, and his readings are poetic and on the slow side.

— James Manheim

Peter Orth

Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Challenge Classics

Classical

Peter Orth's recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's Diabelli Variations for Challenge Classics is compelling listening from beginning to end.

— Blair Sanderson

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