Weezer

Pacific Daydream

Atlantic / Crush Music

Pop/Rock

Weezer abandon their throwback phase and dive headfirst into every modern pop style.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kelly Clarkson

Meaning of Life

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

Kelly Clarkson gets soulful.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Big K.R.I.T.

4eva Is a Mighty Long Time

Multi Alumni

Rap

Big K.R.I.T.'s first proper full-length since leaving Def Jam is an ambitious, soul-searching double album.

— Paul Simpson

The Who

Maximum A's & B's

MCA / Polydor

Pop/Rock

Excellent career-spanning compilation highlighted by rare B-sides and non-LP singles.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kenny Chesney

Live In No Shoes Nation

Blue Chair Records / Columbia

Country

A double-disc live album that sums up Kenny Chesney's 21st century to date.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lee Ann Womack

The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone

ATO

Country

Three years after her comeback, the singer/songwriter delivers an album saturated with the influence of East Texas country, blues, and soul.

— Thom Jurek

Gregory Porter

Nat King Cole & Me

Blue Note / Decca

Jazz

A lovingly crafted tribute to one of Porter's biggest influences featuring lush orchestral arrangements from Vince Mendoza.

— Matt Collar

Ty Dolla $ign

Beach House III

Atlantic

R&B

The multi-platinum singer/rapper's second proper album offers hedonistic slow jams by the bushel.

— Andy Kellman

Julien Baker

Turn Out the Lights

Matador

Pop/Rock

Her Matador debut and much-anticipated follow-up to 2015's Sprained Ankle attempts to amplify Baker's ferocious intimacy with swelling arrangements.

— Marcy Donelson

Daniele Luppi / Parquet Courts

Milano

30th Century Records / Columbia

Pop/Rock

Fun art-punk collaboration between the Italian arranger and Brooklyn band, with some inspired support from Karen O.

— Tim Sendra

Yo Gotti

I Still Am

Epic

Rap

Highlighted by a couple street-prowling anthems, an adequate addition to the Memphis rapper's discography.

— Andy Kellman

Bootsy Collins

World Wide Funk

Mascot Music

R&B

Featuring enough guests to pack the mothership, an inspired, typically high-spirited set of funk from one of the form's innovators.

— Andy Kellman

Courtney Pine

Black Notes from the Deep

Freestyle Records / Virtual Label

Jazz, R&B

For the first time in 12 years the British jazzman returns to his tenor, backed by his rhythm section and guest soulman Omar Lye-Fook.

— Thom Jurek

Curtis Harding

Face Your Fear

Anti-

Pop/Rock, R&B

Second album from the retro-soul artist tops his fine debut, adding a psychedelic edge to his solid songs and powerful vocals.

— Mark Deming

Willie Nelson

Teatro: The Complete Sessions

Modern Classics

Country, Pop/Rock

This deluxe reissue contains a remastered version of the four-day session, seven unreleased songs, and Wim Wenders film as a bonus disc.

— Thom Jurek

The Used

The Canyon

Hopeless Records

Pop/Rock

The Utah post-hardcore outfit delivers an ambitious, mature, and ultimately triumphant double album that explores mortality and the big picture.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Theory of a Deadman

Wake Up Call

Atlantic / Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

The Canadian bro-rockers sixth studio long-player delivers a streamlined set of radio-friendly pop songs that favors genuine emotion over frat boy misogyny.

— James Christopher Monger

Yelawolf

Trial by Fire

Interscope / Polydor / Shady / Slumerican

Rap

The Alabama rapper embraces his Southern roots with a country, rock, and hip-hop mix that's more Kid Rock than Eminem.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Rachel Platten

Waves

Columbia / Columbia Records / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The "Fight Song" singer/songwriter leaves her signature song behind.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Charles Howl

My Idol Family

Oh Many Records

Pop/Rock

The band's second album strips away the psychedelic guitar jangle in favor of autumnal arrangements that serve the moody songs well.

— Tim Sendra

Hollywood Undead

Five

BMG

Pop/Rock

The veteran rap-rock unit's fifth studio long-player and the follow-up to 2015's Day of the Dead delivers.

— James Christopher Monger

John Maus

Screen Memories

Ribbon Music

Pop/Rock

Six years after his last studio album, the Minnesotan returns wielding a custom set of modular synths.

— Marcy Donelson

Peter Case

On the Way Downtown: Recorded Live on FolkScene

Omnivore

Folk, Pop/Rock

Acoustic sets recorded for radio broadcast in 1998 and 2000 demonstrate the artist's strength as a songwriter and performer.

— Mark Deming

Phil Selway

Let Me Go [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Bella Union

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

A moody, evocative soundtrack to the Polly Steele film.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Adrian Crowley

Dark Eyed Messenger

Chemikal Underground

Pop/Rock

On his eighth album, Galway's favorite songwriter teams with producer Doveman to deliver his most intimate and tender album yet.

— Thom Jurek

Battleme

Cult Psychotica

El Camino Records / Warner Music

Pop/Rock

A swaggering set of fuzzed-out garage rock anthems from the Portland-based outfit.

— Matt Collar

Baxter Dury

Prince of Tears

Le Label

Pop/Rock

A lean, confident album that's one of Baxter Dury's best.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Darlene Shrugg

Darlene Shrugg

Upset the Rhythm

Pop/Rock

A rock & roll dynamo of glam, punk, metal, and electro-pop from this Toronto indie super-ensemble.

— Timothy Monger

Maston

Tulips

Phonoscope

Pop/Rock

Frank Maston's second solo LP takes inspiration from the instrumental film music of Morricone and the French New Wave.

— Marcy Donelson

Ne Obliviscaris

Urn

Season of Mist

Pop/Rock

The Aussie metallers deliver a lethal blend of blastbeats and soaring melodies that invoke Dimmu Borgir by way of Dream Theater.

— James Christopher Monger

SAVAK

Cut-Ups

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

Sophomore album from this Brooklyn indie rock supergroup is subtle, strong, and smart.

— Mark Deming

The Sound of Arrows

Stay Free

Pop/Rock

The Swedish duo's second album that trades light and spacy synth pop for earthbound and down modern sounds and upfront vocals.

— Tim Sendra

Mari Samuelsen / Håkon Samuelsen / Trondheim Soloists (TrondheimSolistene)

Nordic Noir

Decca

Classical

Much of this music will be unfamiliar to audiences outside Scandinavia, but it's a rewarding listen, if only intermittently noir.

— James Manheim

Elizabeth Hainen

Home: Works for Solo Harp

Avie

Classical

Harpist Elizabeth Hainen presents a program of her favorite pieces to play at home, by herself and with her husband, percussionist David DePeters.

— Blair Sanderson

Vladimir Jurowski / Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Mahler: Totenfeier

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Vladimir Jurowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin present an audiophile showcase of works by Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler.

— Blair Sanderson

Matthias Goerne / Freiburger Barockorchester

Bach: Cantatas for Bass

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

German baritone Matthias Goerne has never sounded more like his teacher Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau than he does here.

— James Manheim

Teddy Abrams / Louisville Orchestra

All In

Decca Gold

Classical

Classical and popular selections flow naturally, and one is eager to hear further experiments from Abrams in this vein.

— James Manheim

Nemanja Radulovic / Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Rococo Variations

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Radulovic promises a personal approach to one of the warhorses of the repertory for his second Deutsche Grammophon release.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week