Father John Misty

Pure Comedy

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Father John Misty streamlines and expands his music on this grand, comical album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Future Islands

The Far Field

4AD

Pop/Rock

Working with producer John Congleton, the band adds a layer of slickness to its sound while vocalist Samuel T. Herring does his best to tear it all away.

— Tim Sendra

The New Pornographers

Whiteout Conditions

Concord

Pop/Rock

This uncommonly smart pop group just keeps getting brighter and more satisfying on its seventh album.

— Mark Deming

Jamiroquai

Automaton

Virgin / Virgin EMI

R&B

The soulful British outfit digs into synthy, Giorgio Moroder-style disco-funk on its eighth studio album.

— Matt Collar

Diet Cig

Swear I'm Good at This

Frenchkiss Records

Pop/Rock

A brief debut that nonetheless bursts with personality.

— Liam Martin

Arca

Arca

XL

Electronic

The producer's vulnerable third album puts her voice and the beauty of her music at the forefront in moving, exciting ways.

— Heather Phares

White Reaper

The World's Best American Band

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Replacing the garage rock clatter with a slick, nothing-but-fun AOR approach, the band's second album is a rockin' good time.

— Tim Sendra

Michelle Branch

Hopeless Romantic

Verve

Pop/Rock

Michelle Branch returns after an extended hiatus with a moody set of retro-electropop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Guided by Voices

August by Cake

Guided by Voices, Inc.

Pop/Rock

Robert Pollard introduces a new lineup of his venerable indie pop band on one of their most lively albums in years.

— Mark Deming

Happyness

Write In

Bar/None Records

Pop/Rock

The English trio gets a little more serious on LP two, which offers an offbeat blend of '90s jangle, British Invasion, and dreamy guitar pop.

— Marcy Donelson

San Fermin

Belong

Downtown / Interscope

Pop/Rock

The N.Y.C. group's third LP strikes a nice balance between their musical theater/experimental rock predilections and their emerging pop ambitions.

— James Christopher Monger

Suhail Yusuf Khan / Jon Thorne / James Yorkston

Neuk Wight Delhi All-Stars

Domino

Folk, Avant-Garde

The unconventional U.K. folk/jazz/Indian trio continue to bear fruit on the excellent follow-up to their 2016 debut.

— Timothy Monger

Ulver

The Assassination of Julius Caesar

House of Mythology

Electronic, Pop/Rock

In another radical change of direction, the band completely embraces 1980s synth pop as a creative force in this set of gorgeously crafted new songs.

— Thom Jurek

Timber Timbre

Sincerely, Future Pollution

City Slang

Pop/Rock

Equally poetic and political, the group's fourth album transforms the sounds of the '80s into ultra-smooth sketches of corruption.

— Heather Phares

Paul Benson / Andrew Dorsett / Ashley Eriksson / LAKE / Markly Morrison

Forever or Never

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

The group's seventh album is its richest, most fully realized effort yet, packed with lovely singing and warm harmonies reminiscent of the Free Design.

— Tim Sendra

Fujiya & Miyagi

Fujiya & Miyagi

Impossible Objects of Desire

Pop/Rock

The sixth LP by the Krautrock/post-punk aficionados sounds reinvigorated by a new rhythm section.

— Marcy Donelson

JC Brooks

The Neon Jungle

Rock Ridge Music

R&B

After shortening their name, changing labels, and enlisting new members, this outfit melds funk, disco, pop, and even post-punk.

— Thom Jurek

Jeb Loy Nichols

Country Hustle

City Country City / Inkind

Pop/Rock

The Wales-dwelling singer/songwriter collaborates with Andrew Hale, Distance, St. Francis Hotel, and Ben Lamdin to deliver his most ambitious set to date.

— Thom Jurek

Andrew Combs

Canyons of My Mind

New West

Pop/Rock

Dexterously weaves together the warmth of classic '70s singer/songwriters like Ian Matthews and Don McLean with the cordial indie folk-rock of the Avett Brothers.

— James Christopher Monger

Clark

Death Peak

Warp

Electronic

Clark's vibrant eighth album is also one of his most eclectic, spanning dance and choral influences on tracks that range from playful to political.

— Heather Phares

Deep Purple

InFinite

Ear Music

Pop/Rock

Re-teaming with producer Bob Exin, the proto metal legends retain their energetic and creative momentum to deliver their heaviest album in a decade.

— Thom Jurek

Cold War Kids

L.A. Divine

Capitol / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Inspired by its hometown, the band explores commitment on a set of songs that tussle between bravado and vulnerability.

— Heather Phares

Gonjasufi

Mandela Effect

Warp

Electronic, Rap

Gonjasufi follows his bleak, challenging 2016 album Callus with a set of remixes, covers, and collaborations.

— Paul Simpson

Joey Bada$$

All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ [With Book]

Cinematic Music Group

Rap

Urgent sophomore set from the Brooklyn MC that honors the sounds of the golden era and takes aim at America's injustices.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Karen Elson

Double Roses

Hot Records

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's second album delivers portraits of sorrow and strength that evoke confessional British folk and Laurel Canyon artists.

— Heather Phares

Feature

Banishing Ritual

Upset the Rhythm

Pop/Rock

Poppy, energetic, and deceptively simple noise punk from a London-based trio that includes a member of Sauna Youth.

— Tim Sendra

Saint Pé

Fixed Focus

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

Debut album from the former Black Lips guitarist's new band is smarter and more subtle, but still rocks the house.

— Mark Deming

Sun Ra

Thunder of the Gods

Modern Harmonic / Sun Ra LLC / Sundazed

Jazz, Avant-Garde

An album of previously unreleased Sun Ra recordings, including an excellent live performance and a pair of Strange Strings-era improvisations.

— Paul Simpson

Vex Ruffin

Conveyor

Stones Throw

Pop/Rock

The Stones Throw producer's second album is a fractured, paranoid mix of dub, disco, post-punk, and old-school rap.

— Paul Simpson

Sean Rowe

New Lore

Anti-

Pop/Rock

The earthy alt-folk bard heads to a legendary Memphis studio to capture this heartfelt outing.

— Timothy Monger

feedtime

Gas

In the Red Records

Pop/Rock

First album in 21 years from the Sydney, Australia noisemakers is a loving re-creation of their thick, assaultive attack.

— Mark Deming

Cory Branan

Adios

Bloodshot / Bureau B

Pop/Rock

The wry Mississippi songman turns in another cleverly crafted set that dabbles in country, punk, Americana, and indie rock.

— Timothy Monger

Darden Smith

Everything

Compass

Country, Pop/Rock

A relaxed, intimate, sensitive, and probing record from the Texas singer/songwriter.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kreidler

European Song

Bureau B

Electronic

Kreidler's fourth album for Bureau B is a set of focused improvisations recorded the day after the 2016 American presidential election.

— Paul Simpson

Tashaki Miyaki

The Dream

Metropolis

Pop/Rock

The L.A. band's proper full-length debut offers a winning mix of dream pop and coarser noise pop with a sunny, affectionate disposition.

— Marcy Donelson

Tech N9ne / Tech N9ne Collabos

Dominion [Deluxe]

Strange Music

Rap

On the tenth anniversary of the first Collabos effort, rapper Tech N9ne and his Strange Music family return with their seventh set.

— Neil Z. Yeung

The Megaphonic Thrift

Få Meg Til Verden i Tide

Old Flame Records

Pop/Rock

A more experimental fourth full-length from the Bergen, Norway quartet is lush with gauzy, metallic, and percussive textures.

— Marcy Donelson

Falling in Reverse

Coming Home [Bonus Tracks]

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

A shift in trajectory for Ronnie Radke and his band leads to a mature and cohesive fourth set that balances attitude with production.

— Neil Z. Yeung

B.J. Thomas

New Looks from an Old Lover: The Complete Columbia Singles

Real Gone Music

Country, Pop/Rock

Thorough overview of B.J. Thomas' '80s secular comeback.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

John Eliot Gardiner / London Symphony Orchestra / Monteverdi Choir

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream

LSO Live

Classical

Gardiner has emerged as a conductor of the gossamer Mendelssohn with more than satisfactory results.

— James Manheim

Antoni Wit / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra

Stanisław Moniuszko: Ballet Music - Hrabina, Hlaka, The Haunted Manor

Naxos

Classical

The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Antoni Wit have performed a great service by unearthing this music for audiences beyond Poland.

— James Manheim

Mark Bebbington

The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams

Somm

Classical

Given the fluency of the piano writing here, it's a little hard to understand why Vaughan Williams neglected the instrument.

— James Manheim

Theatre of the Ayre / Elizabeth Kenny

The Masque of Moments

Linn Records

Classical

Recommended for anyone who has ever heard the term "masque" and been curious about what it sounded like.

— James Manheim

London Symphony Orchestra

Thomas Adès: Asyla; Tevot; Polaris

LSO Live

Classical

Three large orchestral works seem to flow one into the other, with the LSO sounding highly energized.

— James Manheim

Grigory Sokolov

Mozart, Rachmaninov: Concertos; A Conversation That Never Was

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

This is a landmark performance in the grand Russian tradition.

— James Manheim

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