Featured New Album Releases

Wiz Khalifa

Blacc Hollywood [Deluxe]

Atlantic

Rap

Nicki Minaj, Project Pat, Juicy J, and others join the rapper for a mix of club bangers and stoner cuts.

— David Jeffries

Kimbra

The Golden Echo

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The New Zealand singer/songwriter's second album delivers vibrant R&B and pop pastiches that borrow the best of Michael Jackson and Prince.

— Heather Phares

Smokey Robinson

Smokey & Friends

Verve

R&B

The Motown great covers 11 of his biggest hits with a list of guests that alternates between suitable and peculiar.

— Andy Kellman

Imogen Heap

Sparks

RCA

Pop/Rock

Spacy, dense, and elliptical record constructed largely on expanded found sounds.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

DragonForce

Maximum Overload

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

DragonForce return with an album of dazzling power metal that proves virtuosity doesn't always have to be serious.

— Gregory Heaney

Benjamin Booker

ATO

Blues, Pop/Rock

Ragged, invigorating modern garage-blues from the young Tampa Bay guitarist/singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

Look Again to the Wind: Johnny Cash's Bitter Tears Revisited

Masterworks

Country, Folk

A moving folk and alt-country salute to Johnny Cash's landmark 1964 album about the struggle of Native Americans.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Mötley Crue

Big Machine Records

Country

A modern country tribute to Mötley Crüe that is surprisingly devoid of macho swagger and heavy on latter-day Crüe tunes.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Dr. John

Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch

Concord

Pop/Rock, Blues

This tribute to Louis Armstrong features a star-studded cast and some wild interpretations of tunes associated with him.

— Thom Jurek

Bebel Gilberto

Tudo

Masterworks / Portrait

International

The Brazilian artist reunites with producer Mario Caldato, Jr. in a subtle, imaginative, emotionally resonant collection of originals and covers.

— Thom Jurek

Celebration

Albumin

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album incorporates earthy psych rock and soul into their shimmering post-punk and dream pop.

— Heather Phares

Liam Bailey

Definitely Now

Flying Buddha / Masterworks

Pop/Rock

Scattershot but promising debut from the retro-blues/soul/rock/reggae singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Electric Würms

Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne team up with Nashville's Linear downfall on their expansive debut as Electric Würms.

— Gregory Heaney

jj

V

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock

Their third full-length sees the Swedish duo continue with their ethereal indie pop sound while bringing in more electronic flourishes than before.

Jessica Hernandez / Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

Secret Evil

Instant Records

Pop/Rock

This Detroit unit's debut full-length finally hits the shelves after a two-year wait -- and it was worth it.

— Thom Jurek

Literature

Chorus

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The group's second album is an energetic, whip-smart take on classic indie pop with plenty of songs that sound like hit singles.

— Tim Sendra

Beach Day

Native Echoes

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

The Florida duo's second album is another warm slice of garage pop meets girl group goodness, filled with sprightly rockers and stormy ballads.

— Tim Sendra

Music Go Music

Impressions

Secretly Canadian / Thousand Tongues

Pop/Rock

The band's long-awaited third album answers the musical question of what would happen if you mixed together ABBA's icy pop and Fleetwood Mac's warm pop.

— Tim Sendra

Orenda Fink

Blue Dream

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

Third solo album by Azure Ray member was inspired by the death of her dog and the strange dreams that followed.

— Fred Thomas

Bahamas

Bahamas Is Afie

Brushfire / Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

The languid, wry, and bittersweet soft country-tinged third album from the Canadian band.

— Matt Collar

Castanets

Decimation Blues

Asthmatic Kitty

Pop/Rock

Long-running project turns in what may be its oddest collection yet, incorporating unlikely electronics into experimental folk tunes.

— Fred Thomas

Moiré

Shelter

Ninja Tune / Werkdiscs

Electronic

Emotive downtempo hybrids of house and techno, worthy of front-to-back, dimly lit listening, supported by Actress.

— Andy Kellman

Accept

Blind Rage

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

Accept continue to deliver old-school metal with grit and swagger on their 14th studio album.

— Gregory Heaney

Sarah Jaffe

Don't Disconnect

Kirtland Records

Pop/Rock

The shape-shifting Texan finds the sweet spot between the dancefloor and the open road.

— James Christopher Monger

Grumbling Fur

Preternaturals [LP]

The Quietus Phonographic Corporation

Pop/Rock

Experimental synth pop duo makes its most inspired work yet, merging abstract interludes with bright melodic pop.

— Fred Thomas

Randy Travis

Influence, Vol. 2: The Man I Am

Warner Bros. / Warner Music

Country

Second collection of easy-rolling country covers by the peerless singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ruthie Foster

Promise of a Brand New Day

Blue Corn Music

R&B, Blues, Pop/Rock

Bright, optimistic collection of modern blues and neo-soul produced by Meshell Ndegeocello.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ace Frehley

Space Invader

eOne

Pop/Rock

The veteran Kiss guitarist gets comfortable and cosmic on this inspired throwback album.

— David Jeffries

Apache Dropout

Heavy Window

Magnetic South Recordings

Pop/Rock

Mutant heartbeat grooves combine with potent garage-grade psychedelia on this Indiana band's third long-player.

— Mark Deming

Statik Selektah

What Goes Around

Duck Down Entaprizez

Rap

The underground comes out in full force for the hip-hop producer's excellent 2014 effort.

— David Jeffries

The Last Internationale

We Will Reign

Epic

Pop/Rock

Third album from these rabble-rousers is less folk and more rock, and features Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) on drums.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

VH1 Love & Hip Hop: Music from the Series [Best Buy Exclusive]

Def Jam

Stage & Screen

A sampling of songs featured in the VH1 series that features contemporary R&B and rap from the likes of Trey Songz, K. Michelle, and Common.

— Andy Kellman

The Hobbes Fanclub

Up at Lagrange

Shelflife

Pop/Rock

Debut album from an English trio whose brand of retro-shoegaze sounds beamed in directly from 1991.

— Tim Sendra

Dirty Loops

Loopified

Verve / The Verve Music Group

Electronic

The Swedish trio's innovative debut mixes jazz fusion, R&B, and electronic dance music.

— Matt Collar

The Fat White Family

Champagne Holocaust

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

Purposefully crude tunes -- both musically and philosophically -- dominate this first salvo from U.K. lo-fi group.

— Mark Deming

Savaging Spires

We Should Be Dead (Together)

Critical Heights

Pop/Rock

Mysterious U.K. psych-folk band blends woodsy folk and creepy experimentalism on this collection of shifting textural moods.

— Fred Thomas

Smoke Dawson

Fiddle

Tompkins Square

Folk

Appalachian fiddle tunes done with verve and wild grace by a veteran street busker in 1971.

— Steve Leggett

The Ocean Blue

Waterworks [Bonus Tracks]

Korda Records

Pop/Rock

The Pennsylvanian dream pop band offers an expanded reissue of its 2004 EP with three newly recorded songs.

— Timothy Monger

Better Than Ezra

Surprise

Liaison Music

Pop/Rock

The independent debut album from the Louisiana alt-rock band.

— Matt Collar

Bishop Allen

Lights Out

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Retreating upstate, the former Brooklynites deliver a pleasurable if somewhat maudlin album of melodic and catchy indie pop.

— Timothy Monger

Album cover for Under the Spell of JOY by JOY

JOY

Under the Spell of JOY

Teepee Records

Pop/Rock

Top-shelf heavy psychedelic rock from a San Diego power trio who could have fit nicely on a bill with Blue Cheer and Hawkwind.

— Mark Deming

Pallbearer

Foundations of Burden [LP]

Profound Lore

Pop/Rock

The sophomore album by this Arkansas doom quartet reveals no slump. It builds on their successful debut and surpasses it creatively.

— Thom Jurek

Paul Thorn

Too Blessed to Be Stressed

Perpetual Obscurity

Pop/Rock

More solid country roots rock exploring the Saturday night/Sunday morning split where redemption is at stake.

— Steve Leggett

Buckcherry

F#ck [Best Buy Exclusive]

UMD

Pop/Rock

Novelty EP from the Sunset Strip sleaze merchants that contains the F-word in every song title.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rui Lopes / English Chamber Orchestra

Through Time

Solo Musica

Classical

Lopes excels in the bruising virtuosity of Vivaldi's concerto, the delicate melodicism of the young Mozart, and throughout this effort.

— James Manheim

Yasunori Imamura

Spanish Music for Vihuela from the Time of Charles V

Querstand

Classical

This music is a fascinating mix of intense structural thinking and improvisatory qualities, and Imamura brings this mixture off brilliantly.

— James Manheim

Richard Reed Parry / Kronos Quartet / Nico Muhly / yMusic

Richard Reed Parry: Music for Heart and Breath

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

The pieces here sound similar, but each remains distinctive. Still, Parry doesn't sound precisely like anyone else, either. A pretty impressive initial attempt.

— James Manheim

Nicola Benedetti / Rory Macdonald

Homecoming: A Scottish Fantasy

Decca

Classical

In celebration of Scotland's Year of Homecoming, Nicola Benedetti has recorded Bruch's Scottish Fantasy and several songs from her native land.

— Blair Sanderson

Jonathan Freeman-Attwood / Roy Howat

Gabriel Fauré: Lydia's Vocalises

Linn Records

Classical

These are genuinely interesting little works, most of them under a minute in length, forming something of a Fauré vocal counterpart to the Mikrokosmos.

— James Manheim