Featured New Album Releases

Migos

Culture II

Quality Control / Virgin EMI

Rap

The sequel to the trio's 2017 triplet-trap breakthrough features an all-star guest list spanning 24 tracks.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Ty Segall

Freedom's Goblin

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Broad, expansive album is an eclectic vision of rock's past and present as seen through the eyes of the garage punk hero.

— Mark Deming

Django Django

Marble Skies

Ribbon Music

Pop/Rock

The U.K. art-pop architects turn in a more focused though still exploratory third effort.

— Timothy Monger

Mary Gauthier

Rifles and Rosary Beads

In The Black Records / Thirty Tigers

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

On her tenth album, the singer/songwriter collaborates with military veterans and their care givers in relating their poignant experiences.

— Thom Jurek

No Age

Snares Like a Haircut

Drag City

Pop/Rock

A new label doesn't change much for the L.A. duo, and this is another thrilling blast of noise rock and shoegaze thrills.

— Tim Sendra

Calexico

The Thread That Keeps Us

Anti- / Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The band's trip to Northern California results in songs that are by turns gentle and bold, traditional and boundary-pushing.

— Heather Phares

Mind Spiders

Furies

Dirtnap Records

Pop/Rock

Synth punk band strips down its sound, ups the sonic impact of its songs, and releases its strongest work to date.

— Mark Deming

Television Personalities

Beautiful Despair

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Recorded at home in 1990 with bandmate Jowe Head, this batch of Daniel Treacy demos shows the eccentric genius at his oddly affecting best.

— Tim Sendra

The Spook School

Could It Be Different?

Alcopop! / Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The group's third album ups the sonic power and hook quotient while staying true to their emotional truth and noise pop roots.

— Tim Sendra

Joe Bonamassa / Beth Hart

Black Coffee

J&R Adventures

Pop/Rock, Blues

Hart & Bonamassa's third album together showcases their easy chemistry and classic soul roots.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Chris Dave / Chris Dave and the Drumhedz

Chris Dave and the Drumhedz

Blue Note

R&B

The drummer and composer's fiery first album as a leader, featuring lead turns from Bilal, Tweet, Phonte, and Anderson Paak.

— Andy Kellman

Bert Jansch

A Man I’d Rather Be, Pt. 1

Earth Records

Pop/Rock, Folk

A handsomely packaged box of the guitarist and songwriter's first four albums, with new (and original) liner notes and previously unseen photos.

— Thom Jurek

Hollie Cook

Vessel of Love

Merge

Reggae, Pop/Rock

British reggae singer and former Slits member Hollie Cook turns in her strongest album yet, with the help of super-producer Youth.

— Paul Simpson

Nightmares on Wax

Shape the Future

Warp

Electronic

Featuring contributions from Kenny Dope and relative newcomers Jordan Rakei and Sadie Walker, this is an optimistic, easygoing mix of soul, reggae, and downtempo.

— Andy Kellman

Johnny Jewel

Digital Rain

Italians Do It Better

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The Italians Do It Better mastermind delivers shimmering, evocative instrumentals perfect for a rainy night.

— Heather Phares

Club 8

Golden Island

Labrador

Pop/Rock

Another sonic shift for the always-evolving band that eschews the synth pop of recent years for something understated and ghostly, while remaining warmly melodic.

— Tim Sendra

Jamison Ross

All for One

Concord / Concord Jazz

Jazz

An exuberant, deeply felt sophomore album of genre-bending jazz, gospel, and R&B from the award-winning vocalist and drummer.

— Matt Collar

Steep Canyon Rangers

Out in the Open

Ramseur Records

Country

The Grammy-winning bluegrass outfit deliver a spirited, no-frills set of homespun country-folk/bluegrass originals.

— James Christopher Monger

Khruangbin

Con Todo el Mundo

Dead Oceans / Night Time Stories

Pop/Rock, R&B

Second album from a jet-setting Texan trio who effortlessly combine countless influences into a smooth, lounge-friendly blend.

— Paul Simpson

Craig David

The Time Is Now

Insanity

R&B

The singer quickly follows his return to the top of the U.K. pop chart with a set dominated by sprightly tropical house productions.

— Andy Kellman

Dream Wife

Lucky Number

Pop/Rock

Fiercely potent debut from the Icelandic-English trio that channels early-aughts angular groove and '90s riot grrrl power.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Dommengang

Love Jail

Thrill Jockey

Pop/Rock

The Brooklyn power trio relocates to Los Angele and records in the desert to create a richly atmospheric, dirty, soulful brand of hard rock.

— Thom Jurek

Turin Brakes

Invisible Storm

Cooking Vinyl

Pop/Rock

Ninth album from the U.K. indie rockers finds them in a more upbeat mood than usual, while showing mastery of their trademark style.

— Mark Deming

Rick Springfield

The Snake King

Frontiers Music / Frontiers Records

Pop/Rock

Springfield gets hard, heavy, and bluesy on a record filled with satire, commentary, and odes to Dylan.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Nils Frahm

All Melody

Erased Tapes Records

Avant-Garde

German composer/musician Nils Frahm produces some of his richest, most ambitious work on the first album recorded in his custom-built studio.

— Paul Simpson

Psychic TV

Kondole/Dead Cat

Cold Spring Records

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Expanded edition of Psychic TV's Kondole album, including the Dead Cat film and an extended version of its soundtrack.

— Paul Simpson

Math and Physics Club

Lived Here Before

Matinée

Pop/Rock

The long-running indie pop band has never sounded more muscular or melodic, making this the group's best record yet.

— Tim Sendra

Sin Fang / Örvar Smárason / Sóley / Sóley Stefánsdóttir

Team Dreams

Morr Music

Pop/Rock

The sophisticated results of a monthly collaboration with self-imposed deadlines sound far from rushed or rote.

— Marcy Donelson

The Yearning

Take Me All Over the World

Elefant

Pop/Rock

An immaculate six-song outing by musician/producer Joe Moore and singer Maddie Dobie, who use Brill Building pop as their launching pad.

— Marcy Donelson

The Dangerous Summer

Hopeless Records

Pop/Rock

The Maryland-based emo-pop band ages into adult rock introspection on their fourth outing.

— Timothy Monger

The Ben Miller Band / Ben Miller

Choke Cherry Tree

New West

Country, Folk, Blues

Eclectic and ambitious album from the Missouri songwriter is a spicy, satisfying mélange of sounds and ideas.

— Mark Deming

Handsome Ghost

Welcome Back

Photo Finish Records

Pop/Rock

The buoyant, yearningly romantic full-length debut album from the Boston electro-acoustic outfit.

— Matt Collar

HOLY

All These Worlds Are Yours

PNKSLM

Pop/Rock

Trading lo-fi garage punk for heavy psych-pop, the Swedish artist returns with a concept album about alienation.

— Timothy Monger

Mimicking Birds

Layers of Us

Glacial Pace Recordings

Pop/Rock

The Oregon trio's third LP sparkles to life with warmth and vigor for their most engaging effort to date.

— Neil Z. Yeung

NADINE

Oh My

Father/Daughter Records

Pop/Rock

A skillful debut of jazz-rock-inflected indie pop from singer Nadia Hulett and Ava Luna's Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader.

— Marcy Donelson

The Octopus Project

Hello, Avalanche

Peek-a-Boo

Pop/Rock

Smart, playful, and dance-friendly electronic pop from this talented Texas trio.

— Mark Deming

Beechwood

Songs from the Land of Nod

Alive Naturalsound Records / Alive Records

Pop/Rock

Rocking but languid New York Trio plays streetwise rock & roll that manages to be dirty yet refined.

— Mark Deming

Philip H. Anselmo / Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals

Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue

Housecore

Pop/Rock

The Illegals have crafted another divisive collection of aural hate mail that will please longtime Anselmo enthusiasts and induce apoplexy in his detractors.

— James Christopher Monger