Featured New Album Releases

MGMT

Little Dark Age

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The duo's fourth album walks the line between psychedelic weirdness and slightly woozy modern pop.

— Tim Sendra

Dashboard Confessional

Crooked Shadows

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

Chris Carrabba gets mature in his first Dashboard Confessional album in eight years.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Franz Ferdinand

Always Ascending

Domino

Pop/Rock

With the help of new keyboardist Julian Corrie and producer Philippe Zdar, the band gives its dance-punk a gleaming synth pop makeover.

— Heather Phares

Ezra Furman

Transangelic Exodus

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

As confrontational as it is confessional, combining experiences from the singer's own past with a fictional dystopian narrative.

— Thom Jurek

Joan as Police Woman

Damned Devotion

PIAS

Pop/Rock

Equally vulnerable and challenging, the singer/songwriter's sixth album is one of the most complete portraits of her artistry.

— Heather Phares

Son Lux

Brighter Wounds

City Slang

Pop/Rock

The idiosyncratic project's poignant fifth album and City Slang debut is informed by loss, fatherhood, and the 2016 election.

— Marcy Donelson

The Monochrome Set

The Maisieworld

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

The long-running band craft another witty and fun album that compares favorably with the classic records of their younger days.

— Tim Sendra

Très Oui

Poised to Flourish

Shrimper

Pop/Rock

Members of Literature dial up the '80s new wave/sophisti-pop influence on a bouncy, inviting debut.

— Marcy Donelson

Niklas Paschburg

Oceanic

7K!

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock, Classical

German pianist and composer transposes the drama of the sea into deeply satisfying electro-acoustic meditations.

— Timothy Monger

Kendrick Lamar

Black Panther: The Album [Music from and Inspired By]

Interscope

Stage & Screen, Rap

Powered by Kendrick Lamar, the soundtrack to the culturally momentous Marvel Studios film features SZA, Future, and several South African artists.

— Andy Kellman

John Tejada

Dead Start Program

Kompakt

Electronic

Prolific techno producer John Tejada shows no sign of exhausting his creativity on his fourth full-length for Kompakt.

— Paul Simpson

Legend of the Seagullmen

Dine Alone

Pop/Rock

The nautical hard rock supergroup featuring members of Tool, Mastodon, and Dethklok deliver the thrills of a big-budget B-movie with the might of a broadside cannon.

— James Christopher Monger

Nina Simone

Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles

Bethlehem Records

Jazz, Vocal

The jazz icon's debut recordings, as originally released on a series of 45s; dazzling in imagination and execution.

— Mark Deming

Holy Motors

Slow Sundown

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock

The Estonian dream-poppers deliver a debut album full of twangy drama and sleepy allure.

— Heather Phares

Lacuna Coil

Presence of the Past

Century Media

Pop/Rock

Italian dark metal icons issue a lushly presented 13-disc box commemorating their first two decades.

— Thom Jurek

The Wombats

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life

The Wombats

Pop/Rock

The Liverpool outfit's fourth album is a literate, psych-infused mix of '90s-style Brit-pop.

— Matt Collar

Brian Fallon

Sleepwalkers

Island

Pop/Rock

The sophomore solo outing from the Gaslight Anthem frontman delivers a heartfelt rendering of classic rock, Motown, R&B, and soul.

— James Christopher Monger

Hockey Dad

Blend Inn

Euro / Kanine Records / Lab Records / Owl / World

Pop/Rock

The Australian indie rock duo add a bit more angst on their grungier second album.

— Timothy Monger

Palm

Rock Island

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock

The ever restless four-piece continue to bend rock music to their own will on their second full-length outing.

The Monochrome Set

1979-1985 Complete Recordings

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

A fine set that collects all the recordings made during the long-running pop band's first incarnation.

— Tim Sendra

PBR Streetgang

Late Night Party Line

BMG / Skint Records

Electronic

Unexpectedly reflective full-length debut from Leeds-based neo-disco/tech-house duo PBR Streetgang.

— Paul Simpson

Chris Hillman

The Asylum Years

Omnivore

Country

A two-fer containing the two albums Hillman recorded for Asylum: 1976's Slippin' Away and 1977's Clear Sailin'.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

GoGo Penguin

A Humdrum Star

Blue Note / Decca

Jazz, Pop/Rock

The British trio's second Blue Note album finds them diving even deeper into a flowing, atmospheric, electronic-influenced sound.

— Matt Collar

Chemtrails

Calf of the Sacred Cow

PNKSLM

Pop/Rock

The noise-pop quintet's full-length debut presents a solid song base under a mix of grimy rock, catchy retro-pop, and murky lo-fi.

— Marcy Donelson

Doc Watson

Live at Club 47

Yep Roc

Folk, Country

Warm, intimate, and engaging document of the folk music legend near the start of his solo career.

— Mark Deming

Melody Gardot

Live in Europe

Decca / Verve

Jazz

A warmly produced set of live performances from the vocalist and her band, captured between 2012 and 2016.

— Matt Collar

B. Fleischmann

Stop Making Fans

Morr Music

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Ambitious, eclectic album from the Morr Music mainstay, balancing accessibility with experimentation, and laced with wry humor.

— Paul Simpson

Vessels

Bathed in Sun

Innerstrength Records

Pop/Rock

Fourth EP and first for Innerstrength Records from the Pacific Northwest hardcore quintet.

— Neil Z. Yeung

The Times

Go! With the Times

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

Early album by the mod-loving group led by Edward Ball, recorded as he was leaving the Television Personalities.

— Tim Sendra

The Times

This Is London

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

Two eras of mod collide as London mockers ape the classic '60s sound and make (gentle) fun of their mid-'80s contemporaries at the same time.

— Tim Sendra

Jordi Savall / Hespèrion XXI

Venezia Millenaria 700-1797

Alia Vox

Classical

One of Jordi Savall's most ambitious concepts, this deluxe package covers the millennium of the history of the city of Venice.

— James Manheim

Bjarte Engeset / Royal Norwegian Navy Band

Percy Grainger: Complete Music for Wind Band, Vol. 1

Naxos

Classical

There is not a dull moment anywhere on this disc of rare wind band pieces by Percy Grainger.

— James Manheim

Ralph van Raat

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Debussy: La Mer

Naxos

Classical

Virtuoso pianist Ralph van Raat performs solo piano transcriptions of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps and Debussy's La Mer.

— Blair Sanderson

Arthur Schoonderwoerd / Cristofori / Ensemble Cristofori / Gesualdo Consort

Mozart: Missa da Requiem

Accent

Classical

Arthur Schoonderwoerd leads the Gesualdo Consort and Cristofori in a re-creation of Mozart's Requiem with additional Gregorian chants and other music.

— Blair Sanderson