Featured New Album Releases

Weezer

Everything Will Be Alright in the End

Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

Rivers Cuomo and company reunite with producer Ric Ocasek and go back to their roots on this big, hooky, eccentric record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Zola Jesus

Taiga

Mute

Pop/Rock

Nika's bold, brassy fourth album embraces pop and delivers some stunningly beautiful moments in the process.

— Heather Phares

Flying Lotus

You're Dead!

Warp

Electronic

Steven Ellison confronts mortality and pushes four genres forward at once.

— Andy Kellman

Stevie Nicks

24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault

Reprise

Pop/Rock

With the help of Dave Stewart, Nicks finishes off songs largely written in the late '70s and early '80s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Iceage

Plowing into the Field of Love

Matador

Pop/Rock

Danish band moves away from hardcore-inspired rock into more introspective but equally powerful territory.

— Mark Deming

Tinashe

Aquarius

RCA

R&B

Pleasing and promising debut from a model and actor who vividly displays her talent as an R&B singer and songwriter.

— Andy Kellman

Jackson Browne

Standing in the Breach

Inside Recordings

Pop/Rock

The singer and songwriter goes back to the poignant basics on his first studio album in six years to excellent effect.

— Thom Jurek

Jason Aldean

Old Boots, New Dirt

Broken Bow

Country

The swaggering country singer gets slow and seductive on his sixth album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Keyshia Cole

Point of No Return

Interscope

R&B

Filled with slow outpourings of grief and combativeness, the singer's sixth album includes collaborations with StarGate, DJ Mustard, and Mike WiLL.

— Andy Kellman

Johnny Marr

Playland

New Voodoo

Pop/Rock

Quickly written and recorded sequel to the Smiths guitarist's first solo album is a stylish, visceral rush.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ex Hex

Rips

Merge

Pop/Rock

Mary Timony's power trio shakes up rock conventions on its life-affirming debut.

— Heather Phares

Caribou

Our Love

Merge

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Sixth album from this experimental electronic artist is easily his most straightforwardly dancey.

— Fred Thomas

SBTRKT

Wonder Where We Land

Young Turks

Electronic

Many genres fill the London dubstep producer's second effort, but the mood remains maudlin the whole way through.

— David Jeffries

Béla Fleck / Abigail Washburn

Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn

Rounder

Folk

The husband-and-wife banjoists deliver an intimate, edifying, and progressive dialogue on musical tradition with standards and originals.

— Thom Jurek

Bill Frisell

Guitar in the Space Age!

OKeh Records / Oken

Pop/Rock

The guitarist and his band take on rock, country, blues, and surf guitar music from the late '50s and early '60s, rework it, and deliver a fun record.

— Thom Jurek

Macy Gray

The Way

Happy Mel Boopy Touring Co

R&B

Following a pair of covers albums, the animated R&B singer and songwriter offers a raw and scattered set of originals.

— Andy Kellman

Godflesh

A World Lit Only by Fire

Avalanche Recordings

Pop/Rock

Godflesh return with their first album in 13 years with the devastating and minimal A World Lit Only by Fire.

— Gregory Heaney

Vashti Bunyan

Heartleap [LP]

Fat Cat

Folk, Pop/Rock

The British singer/songwriter releases her third -- and claims final -- album. Self-produced and edited, it is a tender, poignant masterpiece.

— Thom Jurek

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Unravelling

Fat Cat / FatCat Records

Pop/Rock

Working with producer Paul Savage, the Scottish group delivers some of its most vivid, hardest-hitting songs yet.

— Heather Phares

Allo Darlin'

We Come from the Same Place

Fortuna POP! / Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The group's third album is another well-constructed, heartfelt, and true slice of simple and sophisticated indie pop for adults.

— Tim Sendra

The Vaselines

V for Vaselines

Rosary Music

Pop/Rock

The re-formed duo's second post-comeback album sands off their frolicsome rough edges in favor of a cleaner, more considered approach.

— Tim Sendra

Outrageous Cherry

The Digital Age

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Arriving 20 years after their debut album, the band's Burger Records debut is as fuzzy, trippy, and bittersweet as ever.

— Heather Phares

Bass Drum of Death

Rip This

Innovative Leisure

Pop/Rock

The Mississippi duo's third album of bombastic, fuzz-laden rock.

— Matt Collar

Broods

Evergreen

Capitol

Pop/Rock

The New Zealand sibling duo delivers a lush, synth-laden debut full of dark textures and melodic hooks.

— Timothy Monger

Steve Gunn

Way Out Weather

Paradise of Bachelors

Pop/Rock, Folk

On his second Paradise of Bachelors offering, the artist artfully and ambitiously showcases his increasing confidence as a singer/songwriter.

— Thom Jurek

Betty Who

Take Me When You Go

RCA

Pop/Rock

The Australian pop singer's first full-length delivers more of her bold, playful '80s-meets-2010s sound.

— Heather Phares

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

Atomos

Kranky

Pop/Rock

Gorgeous commissioned work for a Wayne McGregor Random Dance production that also functions as the ambient-neoclassical duo's second album.

— Andy Kellman

Sixx:A.M.

Modern Vintage

Eleven Seven

Pop/Rock

Nikki Sixx's band moves away from darkness and into light with this stomping, glammy hard rock LP.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Peaking Lights

Cosmic Logic

Weird World

Pop/Rock

Indie dub duo peel back even more of the lo-fi film on this clearer, more beat-minded fourth album.

— Fred Thomas

Minus the Bear

Lost Loves

Dangerbird Records

Pop/Rock

Minus the Bear show that even their cast-offs are better than some band's first-choice tracks with a solid collection of B-sides and rarities.

— Gregory Heaney

Doug Seegers

Going Down to the River

Rounder

Country

This traditional country singer/songwriter delivers a knockout debut after nearly two decades of homelessness and street singing.

— Thom Jurek

Yellowcard

Lift a Sail

Razor & Tie

Pop/Rock

Tightly rendered, hooky melodic rock anthems that are as emotionally charged as they are totally accessible.

— James Christopher Monger

Hozier

Island

Pop/Rock

The soulful Irish singer/songwriter delivers a charming debut full of dark, bluesy mystique.

— Timothy Monger

New Found Glory

Resurrection

Hopeless Records / Universal

Pop/Rock

The California outfit's first album since shrinking to a four-piece is a triumphant return to pop-punk form.

— Matt Collar

Vic Godard / Subway Sect

1979 Now!

AED Records

Pop/Rock

Fun and enlightening re-recording of Northern Soul-inspired lost demos made in 1979 by the underrated post-punk icon.

— Tim Sendra

Minnie Driver

Ask Me to Dance

Rounder / Zoë Records

Pop/Rock

The actress and singer delivers subtly passionate interpretations of her favorite songs on her third album.

— Mark Deming

Wampire

Bazaar

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Stronger songs and more direct production make this Portland indie act's sophomore effort stronger than its cluttered debut.

— Fred Thomas

Scars on 45

Safety in Numbers

Nettwerk / Nettwerk Music Group

Pop/Rock

The Yorkshire rock band's sophomore album of melodic, harmony-laden, romantic pop.

— Matt Collar

Pissed Jeans

Shallow

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Pissed Jeans' 2005 debut finds the band at their most primal as they take on the mundane annoyances of everyday life.

— Gregory Heaney

Jason Falkner / Roger Manning / Brian Reitzell / TV Eyes

TV Eyes

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

The lone and long out of print release from the electropop supergroup featuring members of Jellyfish and Redd Kross.

— Timothy Monger

The Datsuns

Deep Sleep

Hellsquad Records / Love Da Records / V2

Pop/Rock

The New Zealand heavy rockers move back to '60s psychedelia without abandoning their love of '70s fuzz.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Richard Dorfmeister / Rupert Huber / Tosca

Outta Here [Bonus Track]

!K7

Electronic

The traditionally downtempo and tasteful duo go retro disco and wind up smelling funky.

— David Jeffries

Shakey Graves

And the War Came

Dualtone Music

Pop/Rock, Folk

Melancholic and angelic melodies that gently take one's breath away.

— Steve Leggett

Single Mothers

Negative Qualities

HXC / XL

Pop/Rock

Ranting Canadian punk band hits the jackpot with this smart, literate, and furiously satisfying debut album.

— Mark Deming

Deke Dickerson / Los Straitjackets

Deke Dickerson Sings the Great Instrumental Hits!

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

The Masked Marvels of Instrumental Rock bring in a guest vocalist to tackle 14 songs you never knew had lyrics.

— Mark Deming

Peter White

Smile

Heads Up / Heads Up International / Telarc

Jazz

The British guitarist's fourteenth album of bright, melodic, Latin- and R&B-infused smooth jazz.

— Matt Collar

Phil Selway

Weatherhouse

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

Handsome, intimate set of classically English art rock from the Radiohead drummer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

David Virelles

Mbókò

ECM

Jazz

The ECM debut by this up-and-coming pianist offers a bold jazzman's take on Afro-Cuban ritual music that is at once striking and deeply moving.

— Thom Jurek

Dinosaur Feathers

Control

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

Brooklyn band moves from sunny indie psych to catchy soul-pop influenced by '80s radio R&B production.

— Fred Thomas

Tomorrows Tulips

When

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

The SoCal trio's third album rides a serious bummer to a land where grunge guitars and morbidly sad four-track warbling are still the currency.

— Tim Sendra

Batida

Dois

Soundway

Latin

An African dancefloor DJ mixing bowl that doesn't shy away from social commentary.

— Steve Leggett

Handsome Jack

Do What Comes Naturally

Alive / Alive Naturalsound Records / Alive Records

Pop/Rock

New York State band mixes the right amount of grit into its boogie on its third long-player.

— Mark Deming

High Ends / Jeffrey Innes

Super Class

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

The slacker, one-man electro-dance party side project of Yukon Blonde frontman Jeffrey Innes.

— James Christopher Monger

Hungry Cloud Darkening

Glossy Recall

Off Tempo

Pop/Rock

Second album of gorgeous and mysteriously distant pop from these occasional Mount Eerie collaborators.

— Fred Thomas

Wax Witches

Center of Your Universe

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Wax Witches' Alex Wall delivers a smashing tribute to the yearning isolation of youth with a surprisingly subdued and muscular album.

— Gregory Heaney

Radio Birdman

Citadel Records

Pop/Rock

The recorded legacy of the great Australian rock band in one jam-packed eight-disc box set. Yeah hup!

— Mark Deming

Astro / Ali Campbell / Alistair Campbell / Don Chandler / Winston Delandro / Colin Graham / Matthew Hoy / John Johnson / Michael Martin / Mickey / Winston Rose / Paul Slowely / Michael "Mickey" Virtue / Terence Wilson

Silhouette: The Legendary Voice of UB40

Cooking Vinyl

Pop/Rock, Reggae

Reunited and it feels so good as the three UB40 members deliver this small and sweet LP.

— David Jeffries

Fair Maiden

Bedroom Suck

Pop/Rock

Debut full-length from Australian rockers shifts quickly from medieval tones to sunny, country-tinged pop.

— Fred Thomas

Field Report

Marigolden

Partisan

Pop/Rock

The Milwaukee-based band goes for a stripped-down approach on its second album, with impressive results.

— Mark Deming

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / John Storgårds / Christian Tetzlaff

Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Ondine

Classical

In his performances of Shostakovich's violin concertos, Christian Tetzlaff shows a clear respect for the performance tradition David Oistrakh started.

— Blair Sanderson