Modest Mouse

Strangers to Ourselves

Columbia

Pop/Rock

After a long hiatus, Modest Mouse returns with a sprawling record that's sometimes weird but always accomplished.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Twin Shadow

Eclipse

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

George Lewis, Jr.'s unabashedly epic major-label debut borrows from '80s power ballads and 2010s dance and R&B without missing a beat.

— Heather Phares

Mark Knopfler

Tracker

Verve

Pop/Rock

An understated, resonant interweaving of Knopfler's past and present anchored in pub rock and accentuated by British folk.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

MARINA / Marina and the Diamonds

Froot

Atlantic / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

The Welsh pop singer/songwriter comes into her own on her sophisticated and deeply layered third album.

— Matt Collar

Allison Moorer

Down to Believing

Entertainment One

Country, Pop/Rock

The songwriter reunites with producer Kenny Greenberg to deliver the most confessional, searing, and artful record of her career.

— Thom Jurek

Marcus Miller

Afrodeezia

Blue Note

Jazz, International

With an all-star international cast, the bassist creates massive grooves and infectious melodies to link the past to the future.

— Thom Jurek

Connie Converse

How Sad, How Lovely

Omnian / Squirrel Thing

Folk

Strange and beautiful archival recordings from this early folksinger who disappeared without notice in 1974.

— Fred Thomas

Nic Hessler

Soft Connections

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

Long-awaited debut from former Catwalk leader is a near-perfect indie pop album.

— Tim Sendra

Wand

Golem

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

The band's second album goes easy on the psych but heavy on the metal, sounding more Sabbath than Elevators, but still really good.

— Tim Sendra

Game Theory

Real Nighttime [Deluxe Edition]

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

First masterpiece from the indie pop cult favorites, a bittersweet song cycle produced by Mitch Easter.

— Mark Deming

Seth Avett / Jessica Lea Mayfield

Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith

Ramseur Records

Pop/Rock, Folk

The progressive folk and indie rock duo fashions tasteful, reverent covers from across the songwriter's deeply moving discography.

— Marcy Donelson

Simon Joyner

Grass, Branch & Bone

Woodsist

Pop/Rock

The influential Omaha singer/songwriter delivers a set of late-nights songs from the heart in spare but powerful fashion.

— Mark Deming

The Wave Pictures

Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon

Moshi Moshi Records

Pop/Rock

The prolific London trio flourishes on this scrappy, poignant collaboration with longtime hero Billy Childish.

— Heather Phares

The Monochrome Set

Spaces Everywhere

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

On its excellent 12th album, the U.K. crew takes on prog rock, Hollywood, and the absurdity of it all.

— David Jeffries

Charles Howl

Sir Vices

Ample Play

Pop/Rock

A heady trip through the psychedelic days of yore (and more recent times) by a duo who also play with the Proper Ornaments.

— Tim Sendra

Zak Appleby / Shane Cody / Houndmouth / Matt Myers / Katie Toupin

Little Neon Limelight

Rough Trade

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

Second full album from this Indiana quartet merges past and present, though not quite in the way you hoped.

— Mark Deming

Tobias Jesso, Jr.

Goon

True Panther Sounds

Pop/Rock

Earnest snapshots of heartache and relationships govern this simple but surprising debut from the eerily '70s singer/songwriter-evoking Canadian.

— Marcy Donelson

Inventions

Maze of Woods

Temporary Residence

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Quickly realized second album from this abstract ambient duo focuses on samples derived from the human voice.

— Fred Thomas

San Cisco

Gracetown

Island City Records

Pop/Rock

The band's second album shows some welcome musical and emotional growth while still being super-catchy and very, very poppy.

— Tim Sendra

Xavier Rudd / Xavier Rudd & the United Nations

Nanna

Nettwerk

Pop/Rock

With an international nonet, the Australian songwriter deals out a killer mix of Aboriginal reggae, mixed by Errol Brown.

— Thom Jurek

Jennie Benford / Rob Bochnick / Justin Carroll / Glen Hansard / Jeff Panall / Rob Sullivan

It Was Triumph We Once Proposed: Songs of Jason Molina

Overcoat Recordings

Pop/Rock

The Irish singer and songwriter pays powerfully emotional tribute to the late founder of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.

— Mark Deming

Jakob Bro / Jon Christensen / Thomas Morgan

Gefion

ECM

Jazz

The ECM debut of this Danish guitarist with bassist Thomas Morgan and a drummer is remarkable for its understated ideas.

— Thom Jurek

The Notations

Still Here: 1967-1973

Numero

R&B

A spin-off of the Numero label's Twinight's Lunar Rotation compilation includes a Top 30 soul hit from 1970.

— Andy Kellman

Lilacs & Champagne

Midnight Features, Vol. 2: Made Flesh

Temporary Residence

Electronic, Pop/Rock, Rap

Third album from Portland experimental beat rockers sees them using more space and finding more cohesive results.

— Fred Thomas

Liz Longley

Liz Longley

Sugar Hill

Country, Pop/Rock

This fan-funded Sugar Hill debut ups the ante on the songwriter's previous work, revealing mature craft and constant inspiration.

— Thom Jurek

Aloa Input

Mars Etc.

Morr Music

Pop/Rock

The German trio's sophomore album of infectious, surrealistic, and often psychedelic pop.

— Matt Collar

AWOLNATION / Aaron Bruno

Run

Red Bull Records

Pop/Rock

The band's sophomore long-player is a schizoid grab bag filled with huge arena choruses, bucolic harmonies, and meaty dance beats.

— James Christopher Monger

Aidan Moffat / Bill Wells

The Most Important Place in the World

Chemikal Underground / Chemikal Underground Records

Pop/Rock

The Scottish duo's second go-round deftly juggles moody chamber pop, beat poetry, and Tom Waits-ian gutter balladry.

— James Christopher Monger

Sleeping with Sirens

Madness

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth outing leans more toward the pop end of the hardcore spectrum, but does little to dampen their combustible core.

— James Christopher Monger

Various Artists

Ho-Dad Hootenanny, Too!

Crypt

Pop/Rock

32 crazed frat rock singles are rescued from obscurity on this collection suitable for dancing and drinking.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns, Vols. 1-2

Crypt

Pop/Rock

More rare (and in some cases unreleased) garage rock gems are uncovered in this solid collection.

— Mark Deming

Ferruccio Furlanetto / Valery Gergiev / Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater Orchestra

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition; Songs and Dances of Death; Night on Bare Mountain

Mariinsky

Classical

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra offer three of Modest Mussorgsky's works in a brilliant audiophile showcase.

— Blair Sanderson

Emmanuelle Bertrand / Pascal Amoyel

Chopin: 1846, dernière année à Nohant

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

The performances here are very fine. Bertrand and Amoyel deliver a deceptively laid-back performance of the sonata, bringing out the structure of the first movement.

— James Manheim

Stefan Blunier / Beethoven Orchester Bonn

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8

MDG

Classical

The finale of the Symphony No. 8 is masterful on this extremely engaging and intelligent Beethoven release.

— James Manheim

Daniel Raiskin

Mahler: Symphony No. 3

CAvi-music

Classical

Daniel Raiskin's measured approach to Mahler's Third gives it an almost otherworldly feeling of timelessness that makes it seem transcendent.

— Blair Sanderson

Simone Dinnerstein / Kristjan Järvi / MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra

Broadway-Lafayette: Ravel, Lasser, Gershwin

Sony Classical

Classical

This, if not a major release in the Dinnerstein canon, is a more-than-solid performance of two major 20th century piano concertos.

— James Manheim

The Sixteen / Harry Christophers

Flight of Angels: Francisco Guerrero, Alonso Lobo

Coro

Classical

The music of both composers is worth hearing anew, and British choir the Sixteen under longtime director Christophers, makes an excellent vehicle.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week