Spoon

They Want My Soul

Loma Vista / Republic

Pop/Rock

The band's first album in four years is a concise return that's too complex to be considered back-to-basics.

— Heather Phares

Naomi Punk

Television Man

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

The meta-punks' second album delivers cathartic collages that are more singular and insular than ever.

— Heather Phares

Angus & Julia Stone

Angus & Julia Stone

American / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

The Australian duo's third album of atmospheric folk-rock features production via Rick Rubin.

— Matt Collar

Adult Jazz

Gist Is

Spare Thought

Pop/Rock

The ambitious debut by this Leeds quartet displays expertly crafted, experimental indie pop, created from a sprawling labyrinth of styles.

— Thom Jurek

Twin Peaks

Wild Onion

Grand Jury Music

Pop/Rock

Debut album of happily raucous rock & roll, with a tender side, played with skill and fever by a gang of young Chicagoans.

— Tim Sendra

Panopticon

Roads to the North

Bindrune

Pop/Rock, Folk

Brilliant and unexpectedly successful merger of blazing black metal and traditional Appalachian instrumentation.

— Fred Thomas

David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights / David Kilgour

End Times Undone

Merge

Pop/Rock

Another fine addition to the legendary New Zealand icon's well-crafted body of indie rock work.

— Tim Sendra

The Ben Miller Band

Any Way, Shape or Form

New West

Country

On its New West debut, this Joplin, Missouri trio treads a labyrinthine path through American musical traditions, delivering its trademark "Ozark Stomp."

— Thom Jurek

Rosebuds

Sand+Silence

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock

Sixth album finds this indie pop band in improved spirits and graceful form; Justin Vernon of Bon Iver plays and produces.

— Mark Deming

EDJ

EDJ

Easy Sound Recording Company

Pop/Rock

Fruit Bats frontman and pop polymath Eric D. Johnson's first foray under just his initials.

— James Christopher Monger

Bear in Heaven

Time Is Over One Day Old

Dead Oceans / Hometapes

Pop/Rock

On their fourth album, Bear in Heaven craft a delicate and drifting soundtrack to late nights in the big city.

— Gregory Heaney

Elvis Presley

That's the Way It Is [Legacy Edition]

Legacy / RCA / Sony Legacy / Sony Music Entertainment

Pop/Rock

Expansion of Elvis' 1970 LP emphasizes his return to the stage that year.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Billy Joe Shaver

Long in the Tooth

Lightning Rod Records

Country

Features ten new Shaver songs, several of which feel like instant country classics.

— Steve Leggett

Godsmack

1000hp

Republic

Pop/Rock

Godsmack get back to their fiery roots with an album of straight-forward hard rock that feels like a lost album from their early days.

— Gregory Heaney

Shooter Jennings

Don't Wait Up (For George)

Black Country Rock

Pop/Rock, Country

A tribute to George Jones from a longtime friend, including two new songs (one written for Jones) and three covers of No Show's hits.

— Mark Deming

Spider Bags

Frozen Letter

Merge

Pop/Rock

Fourth album finds Dan McGee and his bandmates sounding smarter and more ambitious without getting pretentious about it.

— Mark Deming

Chrome

Feel It Like a Scientist

King of Spades Records

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Striking return to form for these industrial/cyberpunk pioneers, who have maintained an impressive level of bracing weirdness.

— Mark Deming

The Wind and the Wave

From the Wreckage

RCA

Country

Austin-based duo delivers Texas alt-country with a dash of indie folk.

— Steve Leggett

Arkells

High Noon

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

The Canadian rockers have delivered a big, boisterous album that plays to the cheap seats.

— Timothy Monger

Brimstone Coven

Brimstone Coven

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

This repackaging of early self-released material from retrofitted act sounds like a stoner metal time capsule from 1972.

— Fred Thomas

Christopher Denny

If the Roses Don't Kill Us

Partisan

Pop/Rock, Folk

The Arkansas country-soul crooner overcomes years of personal struggle to deliver his long-overdue sophomore release.

— Timothy Monger

Darkest Hour

Darkest Hour

Sumerian Records

Pop/Rock

A new label and production by Taylor Larson offer the sound of a band in the midst of an ambitious transition.

— Thom Jurek

Wovenwar

Wovenwar

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The debut outing from melodic hard rock outfit featuring former members of As I Lay Dying and Oh, Sleeper.

— James Christopher Monger

Mozart's Sister

Being

Asthmatic Kitty

Pop/Rock

Solid debut from a member of the same Montreal electro-indie scene that gave rise to artists like Grimes and Majical Cloudz.

— Fred Thomas

Psycho Sisters

Up on the Chair, Beatrice

Rockbeat Records / Smore

Pop/Rock

Long-awaited debut album from the duo of Susan Cowsill and Vicki Peterson, loaded with fine songs and superb harmonies.

— Mark Deming

Devonté Hynes

Palo Alto [Original Motion Picture Score]

Domino

Stage & Screen

A hypnotic ambient pop score from the Blood Orange and Lightspeed Champion mastermind.

— James Christopher Monger

The Empty Hearts

The Empty Hearts

429 Records / Savoy

Pop/Rock

Brash but fun-loving '60s-inspired rock & roll from members of the Cars, the Romantics, Blondie, and the Chesterfield Kings.

— Mark Deming

The Interrupters

The Interrupters [LP/CD]

Epitaph / Hellcat Records

Pop/Rock

Energetic but derivative ska-punk debut that channels Rancid in a big, bad way.

— Tim Sendra

Nils Lofgren

Face the Music

Fantasy

Pop/Rock

Massive nine-CD/one-DVD set that tells Lofgren's full story, complete with two discs of unheard rarities.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jacobites / Nikki Sudden and the Jacobites / Nikki Sudden

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Numero / Numero Group

Pop/Rock

This brief album marks a transition for the singer and songwriter; it is among his darkest records, with nearly apocryphal source material.

— Thom Jurek

Rowland S. Howard / Nikki Sudden

Kiss You Kidnapped Charabanc

Numero / Numero Group

Pop/Rock

Two noted post-punk visionaries join forces for this dark, late-night session rooted in the blues.

— Mark Deming

Sunny Sweeney

Provoked

Aunt Daddy Records / Thirty Tigers

Country

Sunny Sweeney returns with an honest, provocative, often poignant pop-country date that's as honest as it is well-crafted.

— Thom Jurek

Andreas Varady

Andreas Varady

The Verve Music Group

Jazz

The European jazz guitarist's Quincy Jones-produced Verve debut mixes contemporary and traditional sounds.

— Matt Collar

Gerald Albright

Slam Dunk

Heads Up / Heads Up International / Telarc

Jazz

The smooth saxophonist's 14th studio album of funky jazz and sultry instrumental R&B.

— Matt Collar

Eager Seas

Fire Ahead

Armacost Records / Universal Music

Pop/Rock

California indie quartet deliver a sunny, thoughtful, and low-key set in the vein of Toad the Wet Sprocket.

— Timothy Monger

The Number Ones

The Number Ones

Static Shock Records

Pop/Rock

Tough and exciting power pop-meets-punk debut from a band of Dublin toughs.

— Tim Sendra

Vanessa Freebarin-Smith / Josh Humphrey / Dave Palmer / Brian Reitzell / Tim Rutili / Tim Young

Watch Dogs [Original Game Soundtrack]

Invada

Stage & Screen

The composer delivers a subtle, emotive score that exceeds the expectations and clichés surrounding video game music.

— Heather Phares

Daniel Behle / George Petrou

Gluck: Opera Arias

Decca

Classical

Behle is ably backed by Armonia Atenea under George Petrou. The effect gives a much fuller picture of Gluck than has been available.

— James Manheim

Valery Gergiev / Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater Orchestra

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6

Mariinsky

Classical

The side-by-side grouping of Shostakovich's Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth symphonies invites comparisons that highlight his symphonic methods.

— Blair Sanderson

Lise Berthaud / Leonard Slatkin / Orchestre National de Lyon / Giovanni Radivo

Berlioz: Harold en Italie

Naxos

Classical

Violist Lise Berthaud and Leonard Slatkin present Berlioz's Harold en Italie with a fine balance of virtuosity and coloristic effects.

— Blair Sanderson

Danjulo Ishizaka / Shai Wosner

Grieg, Janácek, Kodály

Onyx / Onyx Classics

Classical

With arresting beauty from Ishizaka throughout, and superb studio sound from the Onyx label, this is an exceptional cello recital.

— James Manheim

Angela Hewitt / Hannu Lintu / National Arts Centre Orchestra

Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 22 K482, No. 24 K493

Hyperion

Classical

This effort from pianist Angela Hewitt is especially smoothly done, creating a lovely addition to Mozart recordings.

— James Manheim

Adam Kostecki

Jacques Loussier: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Paderewski: Violin Sonata

Naxos

Classical

The second concerto here is worth the purchase price even beyond Loussier's circle of fans.

— James Manheim

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