Featured New Album Releases

Dinosaur Jr.

Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

A vital, oversaturated album that ranks among Dinosaur Jr.'s very best.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Russian Circles

Guidance

Sargent House

Pop/Rock

The Chicago-based heavy instrumental rock trio go with their instincts on their impressive-as-ever sixth full-length.

— Paul Simpson

Gov't Mule

The Tel-Star Sessions

Evil Teen

Pop/Rock

These remixed 1994 demo sessions offer powerful and convincing evidence of this power trio's creative potential.

— Thom Jurek

Wild Beasts

Boy King

Domino

Pop/Rock

Working with producer John Congleton, on their fifth album the band lays its music -- and meditations on sex and power -- bare.

— Heather Phares

Haley Bonar

Impossible Dream

Gndwire Records

Pop/Rock

Sticking with the more robust, indie rock sound of 2014's Last War, the songwriter's world-weary sixth LP delivers more well-crafted, catchy gems.

— Marcy Donelson

Blues Pills

Lady in Gold

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

The international quartet's second studio offering adds psychedelic soul, R&B, and gospel to its hard-rocking attack and delivers a winner.

— Thom Jurek

Skillet

Unleashed

Atlantic

Religious, Pop/Rock

Two decades into their existence, the Christian rockers release their most bombastic, furiously addictive album to date.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Cheena

Spend the Night With…

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

The band's first full-length adds modern sludge to '70s punk and glam.

— Heather Phares

Creative Adult

Fear of Life

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

Taking inspiration from the Smiths, Oasis, and conversations with strangers, the band's second album balances cleaner sonics with turbulent emotions.

— Heather Phares

Original Soundtrack

Suicide Squad: The Album

Atlantic

Stage & Screen, Pop/Rock, Rap

An appropriately aggressive accompanying album to the DC superhero franchise.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Nao

For All We Know

RCA / Sony Music

R&B

Off-center pop-funk debut from a U.K. artist with a dynamic voice.

— Andy Kellman

Andrew Leahey / Andrew Leahey & the Homestead

Skyline in Central Time

Andrew Leahey Music / Thirty Tigers

Pop/Rock

A brush with mortality hasn't dimmed the Virginia native's spirit on his big-hearted, finely crafted sophomore LP.

— Timothy Monger

Hieroglyphic Being

The Disco's of Imhotep

Technicolour

Electronic

A brief, highly potent entry point into the vast, often brilliant discography of experimental Chicago house producer Jamal Moss.

— Paul Simpson

Holy Balm

Activity

Chapter Music

Pop/Rock

The Australian indie dance trio's sophomore full-length is an impressive leap forward from their 2012 debut.

— Paul Simpson

Mats Eilertsen

Rubicon

ECM

Jazz

On his ECM leader debut, the Norwegian bassist surrounds himself with friends to deliver a set of intimate, smart, expansive compositions.

— Thom Jurek

O'Connor Band / Mark O'Connor

Coming Home

Rounder / Rounder Records

Country

Mark O'Connor debuts his family band with a satisfying and beautifully performed set of contemporary bluegrass.

— Mark Deming

Tig Notaro

Boyish Girl Interrupted

Bentzen Ball Records / Secretly Canadian

Comedy/Spoken

The comedian's first HBO standup special offers her unique take -- and pace -- on health ordeals, life on the road, and strange encounters.

— Marcy Donelson

Sonna

Keep It Together

Temporary Residence

Pop/Rock

Collection of non-LP material by a short-lived Baltimore-based post-rock group that included Temporary Residence founder Jeremy DeVine.

— Paul Simpson

Garden Gate

Dark Harvest

Golden Brown

Pop/Rock

Debut album of bewitching neo-psych-pop with vintage electronic underpinnings from former Brown Recluse leader.

— Tim Sendra

Arve Henriksen / Sinikka Langeland / Trio Mediaeval

The Magical Forest

ECM

Folk, International, Jazz

Enlisting Trio Medieval and her Starflowers quintet, the Finnskogen musicologist, composer, and singer delivers songs about the mythological "world tree."

— Thom Jurek

Wye Oak

Tween

Merge

Pop/Rock

A collection of stylistically diverse songs recorded by the duo between the Civilian and Shriek albums.

— Tim Sendra

The Cadillac Three

Bury Me in My Boots

Big Machine Records

Country

Muddled blend of southern rock, beach party tunes, and bro country.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The B-52s

Live! 8-24-1979

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

Rescued from the vaults, a rambunctious, fun-filled live set recorded in 1979, six weeks after their first album was released.

— Tim Sendra

David West

Peace or Love

Tough Love

Pop/Rock

Off-kilter disco, blown-out noise and jangling pop make up the Australian musical chameleon's debut album under his own name.

— Tim Sendra

Batteries

The Finishing Line

Do Yourself In

Pop/Rock

Another blast of razor-sharp synth rock from the bis member, this time more abrasive and '90s-influenced.

— Tim Sendra

Ghost Wave

Radio Norfolk

Flying Nun

Pop/Rock

The Kiwi duo expands the palette of its debut, adding more psych, Krautrock, and dub-like elements into the mix.

— Timothy Monger

Health&Beauty

No Scare

Wichita

Pop/Rock

Several LPs in, Ryley Walker sideman Brian Sulpizio's experimental rock outfit debuts as a trio with keyboardist Ben Boye and drummer Frank Rosaly.

— Marcy Donelson

Delroy Edwards

Hangin' at the Beach

L.A. Club Resource

Electronic

Sprawling 30-track collection of lo-fi tunes and experiments from the founder of the L.A. Club Resource label.

— Paul Simpson

Field Mouse

Episodic

Top Shelf Records

Pop/Rock

The group's sophomore LP takes a further step away from early shoegaze influences toward lush indie rock.

— Marcy Donelson

Angie Stone

Covered in Soul

Goldenlane

R&B

A casual all-covers set that lacks the depth of the R&B great's previous studio recordings.

— Andy Kellman

Arkells

Morning Report

eOne Music Third Party / Last Gang Records

Pop/Rock

The Juno-collecting alt-rockers offer up a highly enjoyable, playful pop mishmash helmed by four different producers.

— Timothy Monger

David Fair / Jad Fair

Shake, Cackle and Squall

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The sibling co-founders of Half Japanese hark back to that band's early days with a wild and chaotic duo set.

— Mark Deming

Jonah Tolchin

Thousand Mile Night

Yep Roc

Folk, Country

The New Jersey native's more subdued Yep Roc follow-up was recorded at Muscle Shoals legendary FAME studios.

— Timothy Monger

Kat DeLuna

Loading

eOne

Pop/Rock

The vocalist's second stateside album is a dance-pop patchwork that includes three songs released as singles during 2011-2012.

— Andy Kellman

Kllo

Well Worn

Ghostly International

Electronic

Second five-track EP from an Australian electro-pop duo inspired by 2-step garage and low-key contemporary R&B.

— Andy Kellman

Rival Consoles

Night Melody

Erased Tapes Records

Electronic

Dark yet hopeful mini-album from British electronic artist Ryan Lee West, following the breakup of a 13-year relationship.

— Paul Simpson

Moose Blood

Blush

Hopeless Records

Pop/Rock

Sophomore set from the British emo-punk revivalists is their graduation to the big leagues, both in lyrical depth and sonic delivery.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Nonkeen

Oddments of the Gamble

R&S

Electronic

Second helping of collage-like studio improvisations from the Berlin-based electronic trio that includes composer Nils Frahm.

— Paul Simpson

O.A.R.

XX

Vanguard

Pop/Rock

A celebration of the veteran alt-rockers' 20th anniversary as a band offers up a career-spanning collection of their biggest hits and most vital live performances.

— James Christopher Monger