Father John Misty

God's Favorite Customer

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

God's Favorite Customer is designed to be the digestif after the multi-course feast of Pure Comedy.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kanye West

Ye

G.O.O.D. Music

Rap

The outspoken rapper's complicated eighth set orbits around mental health and a difficult period of personal struggle.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Neko Case

Hell-On

Anti-

Pop/Rock

Lush but intimate, the Canadian vocalist and songwriter delivers a grand-scale triumph with her first solo effort in five years.

— Mark Deming

Natalie Prass

The Future and the Past

ATO

Pop/Rock

A colorful, soulful album that finds Natalie Prass on the precipice of the past and present.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Oneohtrix Point Never

Age Of

Warp

Electronic

The producer scorns existing musical genres and invents android folk, mutant R&B, and futuristic opera along the way.

— Heather Phares

Mazzy Star

Still

Rhymes of an Hour Records

Pop/Rock

Transitional EP comprising two new songs, a remake of a live favorite, and an alternate take of a 1993 song.

— Tim Sendra

Scarlett Johansson / Pete Yorn

Apart

Capitol

Pop/Rock

A moody sequel to the Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson album Break Up.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ghost

Prequelle [Deluxe Edition]

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

After a tumultuous 2017, the Swedish ghouls emerge with new personnel, a new fictional frontman, and the best music of their career thus far.

— Thom Jurek

Paul Simon

Graceland: The Remixes

Legacy

Pop/Rock

Paul Simon's worldbeat classic gets an EDM makeover.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Roger Daltrey

As Long as I Have You

Republic

Pop/Rock

A soulful collection of (largely) R&B and rock covers featuring Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Joan of Arc

1984

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

A collection of Scout Finch-like autobiographical vignettes by Melina Ausikaitis with ambient rock accompaniment by Tim Kinsella and band.

— Marcy Donelson

Emmylou Harris

The Ballad of Sally Rose [Expanded Edition]

Rhino / WB Records

Country, Pop/Rock

Expanded reissue of the 1985 concept album where the great country singer stepped forward as a songwriter.

— Mark Deming

Cheap Trick

The Epic Archive, Vol. 2 (1980-1983)

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

More rare tracks and demos from the group's archives, this time focusing on their work in the early '80s.

— Mark Deming

Def Leppard

The CD Collection, Vol. 1

Caroline

Pop/Rock

A collection of the band's pop-metal albums from the '80s, plus an early EP, a live set from 1983, and a disc of B-sides and single mixes.

— Tim Sendra

Express Rising

Fixed Rope 2

Numero

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Express Rising's second release as a trio is another sparse, airy set of downcast instrumentals.

— Paul Simpson

The Flaming Lips

Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

Rhino / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

A remastered three-disc set of standout tracks and rarities that manages to cater to all levels of Lips fans.

— Heather Phares

The Gift Band / Eliza Carthy / Norma Waterson

Anchor

Topic Records

Folk

The second release from the iconic U.K. folk mother-daughter duo is a poignant, playful, and gorgeously captured set from a nimble ensemble.

— Timothy Monger

The Quick

Mondo Deco [Expanded Edition]

Mercury Records / Real Gone Music / Universal Music

Pop/Rock

One and only album by an L.A. band that flavored its glittering and weird power pop with a big dollop of glam.

— Tim Sendra

Vital Idles

Left Hand

Upset the Rhythm

Pop/Rock

Frequently charming debut album from a Scottish quartet channeling the raw, nervous spirit of early U.K. post-punk.

— Paul Simpson

Beach Skulls

Las Dunas

PNKSLM

Pop/Rock

The still moody surf- and garage-influenced U.K. trio's second album raises the stakes by lowering the production values.

— Tim Sendra

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

Something Else

A Recordings

Pop/Rock

The veteran psych band's late-career bounty continues with a pleasantly jangly, back-to-basics rock record.

— Timothy Monger

Nicki Bluhm

To Rise You Gotta Fall

Compass

Pop/Rock

Former Gramblers vocalist gets divorced, goes solo, and has plenty to say about it on this strong, impressive album.

— Mark Deming

Tancred

Nightstand

Hand in Hive / Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

A more vulnerable, nuanced fourth LP from Jess Abbott's alt-rock-influenced solo project.

— Marcy Donelson

Ben Howard

Noonday Dream

Republic

Pop/Rock

Widescreen ambient pop that demands both patience and, if available, a quality set of headphones.

— James Christopher Monger

Ruen Brothers

All My Shades of Blue

Ramseur Records

Pop/Rock

The British duo combine twangy '50s rock, Everly Brothers harmonies, and Scott Walker-esque theatricality on their Rick Rubin-produced debut.

— Matt Collar

Sam Evian

You, Forever

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

A second album of soft-focus, '60s-inspired country-rock by recording engineer and Celestial Shore frontman Sam Owens.

— Marcy Donelson

Sami Baha

Free for All

Planet Mu

Electronic, Rap

Fascinating, innovative debut album from Turkish beatmaker Sami Baha, offering a global perspective on the trap phenomenon.

— Paul Simpson

Keely Smith

Sings the John Lennon-Paul McCartney Songbook

Real Gone Music

Vocal

The singer's ebullient celebration of the Beatles' early songs, reworked here as swinging, traditional pop.

— Matt Collar

Maps & Atlases

Lightlessness Is Nothing New

Barsuk

Pop/Rock

On its first effort in six years, the Midwestern indie rock trio debuts a reinvigorated, pop-friendly approach.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Clay Hips

Happily Ever After

Annika Ediciones

Pop/Rock

Former members of the Fairways offer a lovingly arranged, acoustic-oriented indie pop debut.

— Timothy Monger

Various Artists

African Scream Contest, Vol. 2

Analog Africa

International, R&B

A decade after the popular first volume, Analog Africa presents another set of electrifying Afro-funk from Benin.

— Paul Simpson

Warmduscher

Whale City

Leaf / The Leaf Label

Pop/Rock

London's errant rock & rollers return with a record that is weirdly wild, yet hugely approachable.

Augusta McKay Lodge

Beyond Bach and Vivaldi: Rare unaccompanied works for the Baroque violin

Naxos

Classical

For her album Beyond Bach and Vivaldi, Augusta McKay Lodge plays Baroque works for unaccompanied violin that have long been neglected.

— Blair Sanderson

Belcea Quartet / Piotr Anderszewski

Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3; Quintet

Alpha

Classical

Superb Shostakovich recordings of deep emotional sensitivity.

— James Manheim

The Cardinall's Musick / Andrew Carwood

Tallis: The Votive Antiphons

Hyperion

Classical

This 2018 Hyperion compilation brings together Tallis' seven votive antiphons, as performed by Andrew Carwood and The Cardinall's Musick

— Blair Sanderson

Lawrence Power / Andrew Manze / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Berlioz: Harold in Italy; Weber: Aufforderung zum Tanz; Andante und Rondo Ungarese

Hyperion

Classical

Hector Berlioz and Carl Maria von Weber share the program of this Hyperion release by Andrew Manze and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

— Blair Sanderson

François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles

Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Shéhérazade, ouverture de féerie

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles present orchestral music by Maurice Ravel in period instrumentation that sparkles with distinctive sonorities.

— Blair Sanderson

Vyacheslav Gryaznov

Russian Transcriptions

Steinway & Sons

Classical

This rising Russian pianist revives a lost tradition for an American label specializing in such revivals.

— James Manheim

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