Featured New Album Releases

Shellac

Dude Incredible

Touch and Go

Pop/Rock

Fifth album finds these math rock heroes sounding incredible, dude, despite a lack of top-shelf songs.

— Mark Deming

Jason Moran

All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller

Blue Note

Jazz

A marvelous tribute that still retains its own shape and coherency.

— Steve Leggett

My Brightest Diamond

This Is My Hand

Asthmatic Kitty

Pop/Rock

The project's first album in three years combines high art and pop into some of her most exciting, fully realized music.

— Heather Phares

Lia Ices

Ices [LP]

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Third album from this solo act switches gears completely, dropping haunted chamber pop for sample-heavy tropical electropop.

— Fred Thomas

The Juan MacLean

In a Dream

DFA

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The band's third album adds some obvious '80s elements, and further synthesizes and improves their unique brand of dance-pop.

— Tim Sendra

Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood

Juice

Indirecto

Jazz

The third studio offering from this quartet finds them sounding more like a single band than ever before.

— Thom Jurek

Blake Mills

Heigh Ho

Verve

Pop/Rock

The second offering by the guitarist, singer, and songwriter is unassuming, poetic, and quite sophisticated. Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, and a fine cast assist.

— Thom Jurek

Vessel

Punish, Honey

Tri Angle

Electronic

The producer's blunt, industrial-tinged second album makes for riveting, if uneasy, listening.

— Heather Phares

Shintaro Sakamoto

Let's Dance Raw

Other Music Recording Company

Pop/Rock

The former Yura Yura Teikoku founder's post-apocalyptic lounge is thought-provoking, musically dazzling, and sometimes bewildering.

— Heather Phares

Tim McGraw

Sundown Heaven Town

Big Machine Records

Country

A smooth sequel to Two Lanes of Freedom that relies on classic song and studio craft.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

Dead Man's Town: A Tribute to Born in the U.S.A.

Lightning Rod Records

Pop/Rock

Roots rockers cover the songs from Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., lowering the volume but also the emotional impact.

— Mark Deming

Chris Brown

X

RCA

R&B

Despite "Loyal" and other boastful moments, an album -- firmly rooted in R&B -- more about affection than aggression.

— Andy Kellman

Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators / Slash

World on Fire

Dik Hayd Records

Pop/Rock

Slash's second record with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators may be longer than Use Your Illusion I but it delivers a lot of full-throttle rock.

Barbra Streisand

Partners

Sony Music / Sony Music Entertainment

Vocal

Babyface-produced duets album featuring the pop legend and handpicked guest vocalists.

— Matt Collar

The Madden Brothers

Greetings from California

Capitol

Pop/Rock

Unexpectedly fun SoCal tribute from the Good Charlotte co-leaders that evokes soft pop from all different eras.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Train

Bulletproof Picasso

Columbia

Pop/Rock

On their seventh album, the San Francisco group offer their own spin on the sounds of 2010s pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

Def Jam 30

Def Jam

Rap

The third commemorative Def Jam box, following 1995 and 2009 sets, functions more as a collector's item than an essential wide-scoped anthology.

— Andy Kellman

Marco Benevento

Swift

Royal Potato Family

Pop/Rock

The keyboard wizard/composer delivers his vocal album debut: a woozy, adventurous exercise in indie rock produced by its namesake, Richard Swift.

— Thom Jurek

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

Bring Us Together

Hot Bus / Rough Trade

Pop/Rock

The Danish duo's third album is a streamlined, but still happily weird, version of their overstuffed, Technicolor pop sound.

— Tim Sendra

Allah-Las

Worship the Sun

Innovative Leisure

Pop/Rock

The band's second album isn't a departure from their first, but does feature a moodier garage psych sound and improved songs.

— Tim Sendra

BRONCHO

Just Enough Hip to Be Woman

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

Oklahoma band's second album is stuck in low gear too often, never reaching the happily dumb punk rock heights of their first effort.

— Tim Sendra

Lowell

We Loved Her Dearly

Arts & Crafts

Pop/Rock

The young Canadian indie pop singer's debut is full of spark and attitude.

— Timothy Monger

Mazes

Wooden Aquarium

FatCat Records

Pop/Rock

The trio's third album retains the art rock direction of their previous release, but adds more energy and sharper hooks.

— Tim Sendra

Generationals / Richard Swift

Alix

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Buoyant '80s synth pop-influenced fourth album from the New Orleans duo.

— Matt Collar

Wadada Leo Smith

The Great Lakes Suites

TUM Records

Jazz

These dynamite suites are fantastically performed by the composer, Henry Threadgill, Jack DeJohnette, and John Lindberg.

— Thom Jurek

Paolo Nutini

Caustic Love

Atlantic / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

On his third full-length, the whiskey-voiced, Scottish singer/songwriter takes on the mantle of retro-funk and soul.

— Thom Jurek

Gut und Irmler

500m

Bureau B

Electronic

Krautrock and experimental techno luminaries collaborate on a hypnotic, transporting debut.

— Heather Phares

GRMLN

Soon Away

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock

Yoodoo Park's take on grungy punk-pop feels more genuine on this set of songs about letting go.

— Heather Phares

This Will Destroy You

Another Language

Suicide Squeeze

Pop/Rock

Third album from Texas post-rock band explores wobbly tape delays and drony textures.

— Fred Thomas

Mickey Church / Jimmy Messer / Andrew Naeve / White Arrows

In Bardo

Votiv

Pop/Rock

The second album by the L.A. electro indie pop gang adds a bit of moodiness to their psych-heavy sound.

— Timothy Monger

Dark Horses

Hail Lucid State

Last Gang Records

Pop/Rock

The band opts for a more stripped-down, rock-driven approach that delivers some of its strongest songs yet.

— Heather Phares

Mia Doi Todd

Floresta

City Zen

Pop/Rock

The L.A. singer travels to Brazil and delivers a heartfelt collection of its songs, aided by a stellar cast of younger musicians.

— Thom Jurek

Lucky Peterson

Travelin' Man

JSP / JSP Records

Blues, R&B

Makes the old Chicago blues approach sound as sturdy and solid as ever.

— Steve Leggett

Octave Minds

Boys Noize / Gentle Threat

Electronic

Chilly Gonzales and Boys Noize join forces for a side project that sounds like so much more on this elegant debut.

— David Jeffries

The Earls of Leicester

Rounder

Country

A handful of bluegrass greats pay tribute to Flatt & Scruggs, but mimic the originals a bit too well.

— Mark Deming

Scruffy the Cat

The Good Goodbye: Unreleased Recordings 1984-1990

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

The spirit, charm, and songwriting smarts of these Boston roots rockers captured in 23 tracks (all but one unreleased).

— Mark Deming

Moonface

City Wrecker

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Following suit with their last full-length, this EP is made up of spare, haunted piano and vocal arrangements.

— Fred Thomas

Flyleaf

Between the Stars

Loud & Proud

Pop/Rock

More pop than emo, the band's fourth outing is also its first with new vocalist Kristen May.

— James Christopher Monger

Anjou

Kranky

Electronic, Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

Meticulously edited patchwork of dense and otherworldly synth sounds from former members of Labradford.

— Fred Thomas

So Cow

The Long Con

Goner Records

Pop/Rock

Brian Kelly forms a band for the third So Cow album, but can't decide if he's a snarky pop songwriter or a noisy guitar hero.

— Mark Deming

Steelism

615 to Fame

Single Lock Records / Thirty Tigers

Country, Pop/Rock, R&B

A reverential blending of influences into something familiar, yet also entirely new.

— Steve Leggett

The Fauntleroys

Below the Pink Pony

Plowboy

Pop/Rock

Debut EP from underground supergroup featuring Alejandro Escovedo, Ivan Julian, Nicholas Tremulis, and Linda Pitmon.

— Mark Deming

Cannibal Corpse

A Skeletal Domain

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The death metal legends deliver on their reliable, bloody mess of a 13th album.

— James Christopher Monger

Hamish Kilgour

All of It and Nothing

Ba Da Bing Records

Pop/Rock

First solo album from founding member of the Clean is unexpectedly dark, drifting, and lacking in pop jangle.

— Fred Thomas

Sleepwave

Broken Compass

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The industrial-heavy debut from ex-Underoath frontman Spencer Chamberlain's newest project.

— James Christopher Monger

Joe Jack Talcum

Home Recordings 1993-1999

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records

Pop/Rock

Second collection of home-brewed recordings from the Dead Milkmen guitarist; stronger and more serious than you'd expect.

— Mark Deming

Mike Doughty

Stellar Motel

Megaforce / Snack Bar

Pop/Rock

Singer/songwriter Mike Doughty continues to explore the fusion of hip-hop, dance music, and alt-folk on the celebratory Stellar Motel.

— Gregory Heaney

Motionless in White

Reincarnate

Fearless Records

Pop/Rock

Motionless in White finally come into their gothic industrial sound on their driving third effort.

— Gregory Heaney

Nick Oliveri / Nick Oliveri's Uncontrollable

Leave Me Alone

Schnitzel

Pop/Rock

Bass wildman Nick Oliveri explores the punk side of his storied career on a solo album featuring guest spots from Phil Campbell and Dean Ween.

— Gregory Heaney

Obey the Brave

Salvation

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Canadian metalcore classicists Obey the Brave return with a melodic edge on their sophomore album.

— Gregory Heaney

Red Snapper

Hyena

Lo Recordings

Electronic, Stage & Screen

The group's soundtrack for the film Touki Bouki is the basis for this 2014 album.

— David Jeffries

Various Artists

Temporary: Selections from Dunedin's Pop Underground 2011-2014

Ba Da Bing Records

Pop/Rock

Widely varied collection of the next wave of D.I.Y. artists from the town that spawned the Flying Nun Records scene.

— Fred Thomas

Carolina Eyck / Annu Salminen / John Storgårds

Kalevi Aho: Theremin Concerto; Horn Concerto

BIS

Classical

The big news here is the theremin concerto, part of very small literature for that instantly recognizable instrument. A superb release.

— James Manheim

Amandine Beyer / Gli Incogniti

Monsieur Couperin: Apothéoses

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Beyer's violin seems almost to bloom from its surroundings, and the playing of all the musicians has a most attractive combination of crispness and warmth.

— James Manheim