Featured New Album Releases

Estelle

True Romance

Established 1980

R&B

The singer's scattershot fourth album, and her first independent release, covers almost as many styles as it does emotions.

— Andy Kellman

Juliana Hatfield / Juliana Hatfield Three

Whatever, My Love

American Laundromat Records

Pop/Rock

The Juliana Hatfield Three reunite for the first time in 22 years, delivering a record that's tougher, flintier, and better than their 1993 alt-rock classic.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Elle King

Love Stuff

Columbia / RCA

Pop/Rock

A promising debut from a self-styled spitfire existing at the intersection of Amy Winehouse and the White Stripes.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Mavericks

Mono

Valory

Pop/Rock, Country

The band sidesteps country and revels in Latin music, ska, rock & roll, romantic moods, and much more to impressive effect.

— Mark Deming

Steve Earle / Steve Earle & the Dukes

Terraplane

New West

Pop/Rock

The acclaimed singer-songwriter gets the blues, and the result is his most easygoing and satisfying album in years.

— Mark Deming

José González

Vestiges & Claws

Mute

Pop/Rock

Poetic, existential masterpiece of warm, harmonically enveloping folk from the Swedish artist.

— Matt Collar

A Place to Bury Strangers

Transfixiation

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Drummer Robi Gonzalez helps the band capture a massive live sound on what may be their darkest, most diverse album yet.

— Heather Phares

Glen Campbell

I'll Be Me [Original Soundtrack]

Big Machine Records

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen, Country

Soundtrack from a documentary about the country legend's struggle with Alzheimer's; uneven, but often powerfully moving.

— Mark Deming

Roebuck "Pops" Staples

Don't Lose This

dBpm

Religious, R&B

Moving and spiritual recordings from 1999, completed in 2014 by daughter Mavis and Jeff Tweedy.

— Andy Kellman

Ibeyi

XL

Pop/Rock

The killer debut from French-Cuban twins who wed Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms to electro doom soul.

— Thom Jurek

Mourn

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

An irresistible debut full of mischievous, scary, and witty punk that could have only come from bandmembers in their teens.

— Heather Phares

Damon & Naomi

Fortune

20 / 20/20/20

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

Serving as a soundtrack to Naomi's short film of the same name, the duo's eighth album is intimate and effortlessly moving indie pop.

— Tim Sendra

Richard Bishop

Tangier Sessions

Drag City

Folk, International

A mysterious instrument in the hands of a great musician in a magical place make for a great recording.

— Thom Jurek

Six Organs of Admittance

Hexadic

Drag City

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

Ben Chasny unveils a provocative new card system of composition where nothing is obvious, and everything is permitted.

— Thom Jurek

The Subways

Cooking Vinyl / YFE

Pop/Rock

Fourth studio set from the U.K. punk-poppers shows how two-thirds of a band can fall out of love and still make a fine album.

— Mark Deming

Sonny & the Sunsets

Talent Night at the Ashram

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Fifth full-length from Bay Area songwriter and his makeshift band takes a more cinematic, storytelling approach.

— Fred Thomas

Texas

Texas 25

PIAS

Pop/Rock

The band celebrates its quarter-century anniversary by revisiting its catalog in a retro-soul fashion.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bob Marley / Bob Marley & the Wailers

Easy Skanking in Boston '78

Island / Tuff Gong

Reggae

The Universal Music Group's archival Marley series kicks off with this excellent live release.

— David Jeffries

Yabby You

Dread Prophecy: The Strange and Wonderful Story of Yabby You

Shanachie

Reggae

The obscure roots reggae vocalist and producer is compiled on three discs, two filled with classic material and one with unreleased treasures.

— David Jeffries

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

So Delicious

Shanachie

Pop/Rock

A rousing modern-day blues album with a big, burly heart.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Amazing

Picture You

Partisan

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album finds them successfully blending psychedelic exploration with folky intimacy, all wrapped up in a smooth soft rock sheen.

— Tim Sendra

Phosphorescent

Live at the Music Hall

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Ramshackle live recording from this rootsy indie band, taking the same approach as expansive double-live albums from the classic rock era.

— Fred Thomas

Erik Hall / In Tall Buildings

Driver

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock

Erik Hall's solo project returns after five years with meticulous textures and rhythms weaving a melancholic indie folk landscape.

— Marcy Donelson

Art Pepper

Neon Art, Vol. 1

Omnivore

Jazz

Part one of the bootleg series curated by Laurie Pepper features the saxophonist playing live in Seattle in 1981.

— Matt Collar

Axis: Sova

Early Surf [LP]

God?

Pop/Rock

Second album of darkly damaged and guitar-heavy psychedelic mastery from this Chicago-based act.

— Fred Thomas

Bunny Lion

Red

Fantasy Memory

Reggae

Not Linval Thompson after all, the DJ's true identity is revealed on this reissue of a long lost and mythical reggae album.

— David Jeffries

Carmen Rodgers

Stargazer

Candigirl

R&B

The Foreign Exchange associate's third album is her best set of modern, mature R&B yet.

— Andy Kellman

Colin Hay

Next Year People

Compass Records

Pop/Rock

A little livelier than usual, this is nevertheless a warm, ingratiating collection of low-key pop from the old troubadour.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tropics / Chris Ward

Rapture

Innovative Leisure

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The British electronic indie pop artist turns up the soul on his steamy second effort.

— Timothy Monger

The Box Tops

The Original Albums 1967-1969

Raven Records

Pop/Rock

Four complete albums from Memphis' teenage hitmakers, featuring a pre-Big Star Alex Chilton on vocals.

— Mark Deming

The Orb

History of the Future, Vol. 2

Malicious Damage

Electronic

Highlights and rarities from the group's active and diverse post-Island years, 2002-2012.

— Andy Kellman

Darren Hayman

Chants for Socialists

Where It's At Is Where You Are

Pop/Rock, Folk

The prolific British singer/songwriter marries thoughtful indie pop and folk traditions to 19th century political chants by social activist William Morris.

— Timothy Monger

Eric Chenaux

Skullsplitter

Constellation

Pop/Rock

In a finely crafted, intimate set of vocal and instrumental ballads, the guitarist and songwriter juxtaposes accessibility and experimentation.

— Thom Jurek

Ex-Cult

Cigarette Machine

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

Six-song EP from these Memphis garage punkers confirms they're generating better noise each time they enter the studio.

— Mark Deming

Grooms

Comb the Feelings Through Your Hair

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock

A stylistic breakthrough for this long-running noise pop band sees them reaching new artistic heights.

— Fred Thomas

Letts

Hold Fast

Community Music / Vagrant

Pop/Rock

The folksy solo debut from Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes' guitarist Christian Letts.

— James Christopher Monger

Los Bonsáis

Nordeste

Elefant

Pop/Rock

Impressive first album by the fresh and sprightly noise pop duo from Asturias.

— Tim Sendra

S. Carey

Supermoon

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

The second EP from the Wisconsin-based chamber folk artist is a sparse affair featuring reinterpretations of songs from his previous albums.

— Timothy Monger

Nedelle Torrisi

Advice from Paradise

Drag City / Ethereal Sequence

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's first album under her own name is a lovely update of classic soft rock sounds done in collaboration with Kenny Gilmore.

— Tim Sendra

Zubin Mehta / Wiener Philharmoniker

New Year's Concert 2015

Sony Classical

Classical

This 2015 concert includes five works never played at the concert before and is one of the highlights of this series.

— James Manheim

Rachel Barton Pine

Mozart: Complete Violin Concertos; Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364

Avie

Classical

This is one of those rare performances where soloist and conductor delightfully emerge as distinct personalities. A strong entry in Barton Pine's catalog.

— James Manheim