Frankie Cosmos

Vessel

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Songwriter Greta Kline delivers another set of disarming indie pop gems on the project's Sub Pop debut and first release as a band.

— Marcy Donelson

Kacey Musgraves

Golden Hour

MCA / MCA Nashville

Country

An emotionally candid, blissfully soft blend of classic country composition and modern pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Orquesta Akokán

Orquesta Akokán

Daptone

Latin

Recorded live to tape at Havana's legendary Areito Studios, this cooking multi-generational big band pays homage to the mambo with passion and innovation.

— Thom Jurek

Lindi Ortega

Liberty

Shadowbox Records / Soundly Music

Pop/Rock, Country

The Canadian singer/songwriter shifts gears with a cinematic concept record inspired by life events, Ennio Morricone, and Quentin Tarantino.

— Thom Jurek

Amen Dunes

Freedom

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Working with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and electronic artist Panoram, Damon McMahon delivers his richest and most accessible music to date.

— Heather Phares

The Voidz

Virtue

Cult Records / RCA

Pop/Rock

The band's second album brings a little more clarity to their anything-goes music and political outrage.

— Heather Phares

Ben Harper / Charlie Musselwhite

No Mercy in This Land

Anti-

Blues, Pop/Rock

Five years after their Grammy-winning Get Up!, the songwriter/guitarist and blues harmonica giant re-team and deliver.

— Thom Jurek

Chris Carter

Chemistry Lessons, Vol. 1

Mute

Electronic

Playful abstractions from Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey, making extensive usage of alien-sounding synthetic vocals.

— Paul Simpson

Major Murphy

No. 1

Winspear

Pop/Rock

The Grand Rapids, Michigan trio's debut, marked by laid-back psychedelic pop with vivid tone and chord colors.

— Marcy Donelson

Holy Wave

Adult Fear

Reverberation Appreciation Society

Pop/Rock

Third album of sneaky-good, coolly understated psychedelia from the Texas quintet, this time with a spooky lo-fi feel.

— Tim Sendra

Jukebox the Ghost

Off to the Races

Caroline / Jukebox the Ghost, Llc / Priority Records

Pop/Rock

A taut, ten-track set of meticulously crafted and radio-ready confections that would eat through the wrapper in lesser hands.

— James Christopher Monger

Facs

Negative Houses

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Formed from the ashes of Disappears, the trio's debut is even starker and darker.

— Heather Phares

The Cars

Heartbeat City [Expanded Edition]

Elektra / Rhino

Pop/Rock

A brilliant modern pop reboot that's loaded with timeless songs and features Mutt Lange's genius production.

— Tim Sendra

Daphne & Celeste

Daphne & Celeste Save the World

Balatonic

Pop/Rock

Delightfully cheerful and weird outing from the failed turn-of-the-century teen pop duo and eccentric electronic whiz Max Tundra.

— Tim Sendra

The Cars

Shake It Up [Expanded Edition]

Elektra / Rhino

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album was recorded in its newly built studio and features smash hits "Since You're Gone" and the title track.

— Tim Sendra

Datarock

Face the Brutality

Young Aspiring Professionals

Pop/Rock

A hooky and generally lighthearted third studio effort from the tracksuit-clad Norwegian dance rockers.

— Timothy Monger

Naked Giants

Sluff

New West

Pop/Rock

The Seattle-based power trio's New West Records debut is a fiery amalgam of seismic Pacific Northwest garage-punk, gnarly bubblegum blues, and fiery psych-rock.

— James Christopher Monger

Donovan Wolfington

Waves

Top Shelf Records

Pop/Rock

Going out on top, the third and final album from the New Orleans indie punk band is also their finest.

— Neil Z. Yeung

No Joy / Sonic Boom

No Joy/Sonic Boom

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

Shimmering electronic pop and techno shoegaze that melds the old-school and new school of noise pop.

— Tim Sendra

Kim Richey

Edgeland

Yep Roc

Country, Pop/Rock

A sharply rendered album that navigates the distance between the city and country.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Media Jeweler

1-800-SUCCEED

Fire Talk

Pop/Rock

The California semi-instrumental art rock combo have a darker tone on their spiky, subversive second effort.

— Timothy Monger

Bettye LaVette

Things Have Changed

Verve

R&B

The soul diva interprets 12 songs from the Bob Dylan songbook, in an inspired matching of vocalist and material.

— Mark Deming

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Sometimes Just the Sky

Lambent Light Records / Thirty Tigers

Folk, Pop/Rock, Country

The singer/songwriter reimagines 12 selections from her songbook in reflective, evocative form.

— Mark Deming

Czarface / MF Doom

Czarface Meets Metal Face

Silver Age

Rap

Fun, somewhat casual sparring match between superhero Czarface (7L & Esoteric and Inspectah Deck) and villan MF Doom.

— Paul Simpson

D.A. Stern

Aloha Hola

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The Sanctuaries frontman evokes the college rock of Crenshaw and Costello on a playful solo debut with more than its fair share of earworms.

— Marcy Donelson

The Vaccines

Combat Sports

Columbia

Pop/Rock

With a new rhythm section in tow, the Vaccines bridge the gap between their early records and the flashy English Graffiti.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Barbarossa

Lier

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

An atmospheric, deeply emotive album influenced by singer James Mathé's move to the seaside town of Margate.

— Matt Collar

Cabbage

Nihilistic Glamour Shots

BMG / Infectious Music

Pop/Rock

Official full-length debut from the raucous Manchester, England psych-punk upstarts.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Queen of Jeans

Dig Yourself

Top Shelf Records

Pop/Rock

A sonically ambitious debut that also manages to be intimate and catchy as it wrangles surf rock, dream pop, and psychedelic influences.

— Marcy Donelson

Sons of Kemet

Your Queen Is a Reptile

Impulse!

Jazz

The ensemble led by Shabaka Hutchings debuts on Impulse! with a political album that sounds like a street party in the making.

— Thom Jurek

Dead Meadow

The Nothing They Need

Xemu Records

Pop/Rock

This band's gargantuan stomp is as satisfying as ever on this album, which features all past and present members.

— Mark Deming

Geoff Muldaur / Geoff & Maria Muldaur / Maria Muldaur

Pottery Pie

Omnivore

Folk, Pop/Rock

Witty, charming, and eclectic blend of folk, blues, and jazz influences from the former Jim Kweskin collaborators.

— Mark Deming

Will Saul

Inside Out, Vol. 1

Aus Music

Electronic

Aus Music co-founder Will Saul presents the first volume of a mix series containing freshly commissioned material.

— Paul Simpson

Hayley Kiyoko

Expectations

Atlantic

Pop/Rock

Shimmering, synth-washed debut from the California pop singer with an honest, sex-positive perspective.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Sorority Noise

YNAAYT

Big Scary Monsters

Pop/Rock

The Connecticut emo revivalists offer an alternate acoustic reimagining of their third LP.

— Timothy Monger

The Manhattan Transfer

The Junction

BMG / BMG

Vocal, Jazz

The popular vocal ensemble's first album since the death of founder Tim Hauser is a crisp, buoyant set.

— Matt Collar

Piotr Anderszewski / Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Mozart: Piano Concertos 25 & 27

Warner Classics

Classical

This standout recording of late Mozart piano concertos features Piotr Anderszewski at the keyboard and conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

— James Manheim

Voces8

Equinox

VCM

Classical

The programming concepts of the English choral group Voces8 are inventive and manage to teach while they entertain.

— James Manheim

London Symphony Orchestra / Simon Rattle

Haydn: An Imaginary Orchestral Journey

LSO Live

Classical

Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra explore the experimental side of Haydn in movements from his symphonies.

— James Manheim

Joseph Calleja

Verdi

Decca

Classical

Malta's Joseph Calleja shows strong signs of breaking out from the large crop of tenors with this Verdi recital.

— James Manheim

Philippe Entremont

Schubert: Sonata No. 21 D. 960; Fantasie D. 940; Marche Militaire No. 1

Solo Musica

Classical

After letting it gestate for years, Philippe Entremont has finally recorded his interpretation of Schubert's Sonata, D. 960 for Solo Musica.

— Blair Sanderson

Lisa Batiashvili / Yannick Nézet-Séguin / Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Visions of Prokofiev

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Violinist Lisa Batiashvili draws on a long tradition reaching back to Prokofiev through her teacher and her father.

— James Manheim

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