Little Big Town

The Breaker

Capitol / Decca

Country

Little Big Town doubles down on Southern Californian soft rock on The Breaker.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rhiannon Giddens

Freedom Highway

Nonesuch

Folk, Country, Blues

Rhiannon Giddens digs deep into American folklore on her second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Thundercat

Drunk

Brainfeeder

R&B

Filled with star appearances, this is nonetheless powered by the headliner's tremulous basslines and aching falsetto.

— Andy Kellman

José James

Love in a Time of Madness

Blue Note

R&B

On his fourth Blue Note album, the singer embraces commercial R&B and also branches out with Mali Music and Oleta Adams collaborations.

— Andy Kellman

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

Flying Microtonal Banana

ATO

Pop/Rock

Using microtuned instruments and Turkish horns, the psychedelic explorers stake out new territory in an exciting, inspiring fashion.

— Tim Sendra

Old 97's

Graveyard Whistling

ATO

Pop/Rock, Country

The Texas alt-country veterans sound a bit darker and more contemplative on their 11th studio album, but as engaged as ever.

— Mark Deming

Alasdair Roberts

Pangs

Drag City

Folk

Recorded with a band in Northern Ireland, the Scottish eccentric's ninth album is another peculiarly charming entry in his sterling catalog.

— Timothy Monger

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Don't Get Lost

A

Pop/Rock

The cerebral psych warehouse delivers its second full-length in a four-month span.

— Timothy Monger

The Feelies

In Between

Bar/None Records

Pop/Rock

The New Jersey indie icons turn down the volume on their sixth album, but the music is still strong and absorbing.

— Mark Deming

Crystal Fairy

Crystal Fairy

Ipecac

Pop/Rock

The debut album from the alt-sludge supergroup featuring members of the Melvins, At the Drive-In, and Le Butcherettes will eat your face off.

— James Christopher Monger

Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors

Domino

Pop/Rock

David Longstreth crafts a breakup album all his own, diving deep into electronics as he bares his broken heart to the world.

— Mark Deming

Dude York

Sincerely

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

The band's excellent second album is packed with smile-inducing pop songs, wall-shaking rockers, and a strong Weezer influence.

— Tim Sendra

Sun Kil Moon

Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood

Caldo Verde Records

Pop/Rock

Mark Kozelek offers more pointed social commentary on this ambitious double CD recorded with drummer Steve Shelley.

— Paul Simpson

Entrance

Book of Changes

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

After a decade away, Guy Blakeslee returns to his solo moniker with expressive, more expansive indie folk-pop and a focus on songcraft.

— Marcy Donelson

Sherwood & Pinch

Man vs. Sofa

On-U Sound

Electronic, Reggae

Two pioneers of U.K. bass music culture team up for their second full-length, a truly remarkable album of tense, heavy, futuristic dub.

— Paul Simpson

Acceptance

Colliding by Design

Rise Records

Pop/Rock

The Seattle quintet return after a decade away with a sparkling, urgent sophomore set that incorporates arena pop/rock into their original emo sound.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Six Organs of Admittance

Burning the Threshold

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Ben Chasny returns to more traditional song structures on this pastoral folk-based LP.

— Timothy Monger

Xiu Xiu

Forget

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The band follows the harrowing Angel Guts Red Classroom with softly devastating songs that embrace -- and redefine -- pop.

— Heather Phares

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The Tourist

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Pop/Rock

The band's fifth studio album of arty, poetic rock and first with singer/songwriter Alec Ounsworth as the sole remaining member.

— Matt Collar

Vagabon

Infinite Worlds

Father/Daughter Records

Pop/Rock

Diverse set of intimate, indie rock-based songs that shows great promise for the young singer/songwriter Laetitia Tamko.

— Tim Sendra

Wesley Stace

Wesley Stace's John Wesley Harding

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock, Folk

The artist's second album as Wesley Stace shows he's lost nothing and gained a good bit since his days as John Wesley Harding.

— Mark Deming

Chano Domínguez

Over the Rainbow

Sunnyside Communications

Jazz, Vocal, International

An elegant, deeply felt solo piano album featuring some of Dominguez's most beloved American and Latin American standards.

— Matt Collar

Karriem Riggins

Headnod Suite

Stones Throw

Rap

Second delightfully distorted batch of crate-digging finds from the accomplished drummer and producer.

— Andy Kellman

Children of Alice

Children of Alice

Warp

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The group's debut features fascinating sound collages that explore growth and rebirth and pay tribute to late Broadcast singer Trish Keenan.

— Heather Phares

A / All Them Witches

Sleeping Through the War

New West

Pop/Rock

A sprawling yet focused effort that takes the band's exploratory, often spliced-together work ethic in a more stridently song-oriented direction.

— James Christopher Monger

Los Campesinos!

Sick Scenes

Wichita

Pop/Rock

The band's sixth album finds them recapturing some of the fire and energy of their early work, with some life experience and wisdom added.

— Tim Sendra

Pissed Jeans

Why Love Now

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The band's usual barrage of crusty, atonal punk racket is lent some serious heft by producers Arthur Rizk and no wave legend Lydia Lunch.

— James Christopher Monger

Sarah Bethe Nelson

Oh, Evolution

Burger Records

Pop/Rock

Her second LP follows up with more warm, sauntering indie pop that takes on matters of the heart with a subtle but healthy dose of attitude.

— Marcy Donelson

Scott H. Biram

The Bad Testament

Bloodshot

Pop/Rock

More rough-hewn, gut-level songs of sin and (hopeful) salvation from this raw and rollicking one-man band.

— Mark Deming

Shadow Band

Wilderness of Love

Mexican Summer

Pop/Rock

This full-length debut digs deep into late-'60s psychedelia for a murky, home-recorded set committed to minor keys and smoky gatherings.

— Marcy Donelson

Born of Osiris

The Eternal Reign

Sumerian Records

Pop/Rock

Newly recorded version of the deathcore outfit's pummeling 2007 debut that features improved production and new track "Glorious Day."

— Neil Z. Yeung

Brokeback

Illinois River Valley Blues

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

The fifth album from Tortoise co-founder Douglas McCombs' group Brokeback is one of its warmest, earthiest recordings yet.

— Paul Simpson

Ani Cordero

Querido Mundo

Ani Cordero

Pop/Rock, Latin

An elegantly arranged set of Latin rock protest and love songs from the engaging Puerto Rican-American songstress.

— Timothy Monger

Aseethe

Hopes of Failure

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

The Iowa City-based doom metal group's first album for Thrill Jockey is their most straightforward, focused effort yet.

— Paul Simpson

Blank Square

Animal I

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

The band's debut reunites punk with the saxophone, with potent and surprisingly eclectic results.

— Heather Phares

Kingdom

Tears in the Club

Fade to Mind

Electronic, R&B

Hypnotic debut full-length from the Los Angeles-based electronic producer that boasts alluring R&B vocals by SZA and Syd tha Kid.

— Neil Z. Yeung

NE-HI

Offers

Grand Jury

Pop/Rock

Bracing, bouncing indie rock with a tight dual-guitar attack and lots of catchy tunes.

— Tim Sendra

Sundays & Cybele

Chaos & Systems

Beyond Beyond Is Beyond

Pop/Rock

Swirling, ecstatic Japanese psychedelia influenced by Krautrock, dub, and folk-rock.

— Paul Simpson

The Koreatown Oddity

Finna Be Past Tense [Download Card]

Stones Throw

Rap

Los Angeles-based abstract hip-hop artist Dominique Purdy makes his Stones Throw debut, with the help of producer Vex Ruffin.

— Paul Simpson

Modern English

Take Me to the Trees

Inkind

Pop/Rock

Featuring the majority of the post-punk band's early lineup, a nervy return produced with fellow 4AD alum Martyn Young.

— Andy Kellman

Barbara Kortmann

Inner Lights

Genuin

Classical

Flutist Barbara Kortmann's debut recording on Genuin presents delightful works by Vivaldi, Marais, Handel, J.S. Bach, and C.P.E. Bach.

— Blair Sanderson

Dan Laurin / Anna Paradiso / Höör Barock

Telemann, Corelli, Bach

BIS

Classical

The Swedish period instrument group Höör Barock presents showpieces by Telemann, Corelli, and Bach on this BIS release.

— Blair Sanderson

Ivor Bolton / Salzburg Mozart Soloists / Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra

Bruckner: Symphony No. 2, 1872 Version

Oehms Classics

Classical

Ivor Bolton and the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 2 in the original 1872 version.

— Blair Sanderson

Víkingur Ólafsson

Philip Glass: Piano Works

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical, Avant-Garde

This is a very fine Glass recording, beautifully engineered.

— James Manheim

Gábor Farkas

Liszt: Opera and Song for Solo Piano

Steinway & Sons

Classical

Liszt's Totentanz is a flashy showpiece, but the inward side of his operatic paraphrases and song arrangements is explored by Gábor Farkas.

— Blair Sanderson

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