Bradley Cooper / Lady Gaga

A Star Is Born [2018] [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Interscope

Stage & Screen, Pop/Rock

The soundtrack to the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga remake of the Hollywood classic is filled with expertly executed music.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Twenty One Pilots

Trench

Atlantic / Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock, Rap

Immersive follow-up to their breakthrough that delves into darker and ultimately more hopeful themes.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Eric Church

Desperate Man

EMI

Country

An assured, comfortable, and subtly adventurous album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cat Power

Wanderer

Domino

Pop/Rock

Forged by personal and creative struggles, the singer/songwriter's tenth album is some of her most tender and uncompromising music.

— Heather Phares

Fucked Up

Dose Your Dreams

Merge

Pop/Rock

The Canadian punk iconoclasts throw musical boundaries to the wind on a sprawling and strikingly accomplished concept album.

— Mark Deming

Steve Perry

Traces

Fantasy

Pop/Rock

A surprisingly soulful and moving comeback from the Journey singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Echo & the Bunnymen

The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon

BMG

Pop/Rock

New versions of classic Echo songs -- some with strings, some in small band arrangements -- showcase Ian McCulloch's older and wiser vocals.

— Tim Sendra

KT Tunstall

WAX

Rostrum

Pop/Rock

Scottish singer/songwriter/guitarist rekindles her fire on a viscerally charged triumph of a sixth album.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Coheed and Cambria

Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures

Roadrunner / Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

On its Roadrunner debut, the quartet expertly revive the Amory Wars concept appealing to longtime fans while drawing new ones.

— Thom Jurek

Swearin'

Fall into the Sun

Merge

Pop/Rock

Third album from recently reunited indie punks is their first new material in five years and easily their most mature and confident.

— Fred Thomas

Adrianne Lenker

abysskiss

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

A hushed, spare, engrossing set of solo songs from the Big Thief leader with production by Luke Temple.

— Marcy Donelson

Kristin Hersh

Possible Dust Clouds

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's tenth studio album delivers some of her most fiery and formidable rock in years.

— Heather Phares

Tunde Olaniran

Stranger

QPM

Pop/Rock

Third full-length album from the Michigan-based rapper and singer is full of sound advice and sleek, spare grooves.

— Mark Deming

Donny McCaslin

Blow.

Motéma Music

Pop/Rock

The New York-based saxophonist leaves jazz behind on a date that uses his quartet, singers, and guest players to successfully wed indie and art rock.

— Thom Jurek

Wolfgang Muthspiel

Where the River Goes

ECM

Jazz

Most of the quintet from the guitarist's Rising Grace returns -- with Eric Harland on drums -- delivering original tunes in deeply intuitive interplay.

— Thom Jurek

Jakob Bro

Bay of Rainbows

ECM

Jazz

Cut live at New York's Jazz Standard, the guitarist's Streams trio quietly astonishes with fluid, spectral improvisation.

— Thom Jurek

Marie Davidson

Working Class Woman

Ninja Tune

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Marie Davidson's fourth solo album is her most introspective but playful work yet, as well as her most sonically daring.

— Paul Simpson

Kikagaku Moyo

Masana Temples

Guruguru Brain

Pop/Rock

The Japanese band's fifth album is less unpredictable and wild than previous efforts, but balances that by being more tuneful and unified.

— Tim Sendra

Peel Dream Magazine

Modern Meta Physic

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The New York band's debut faithfully recalls the stylish hypnotic tones of Stereolab and other psych-indebted early-'90s indie pop.

— Timothy Monger

Windhand

Eternal Return

Relapse Records

Pop/Rock

The Richmond, Virginia-based doom metallers' fifth full-length effort delivers a nuanced and ethereal take on the style.

— James Christopher Monger

High on Fire

Electric Messiah

eOne

Pop/Rock

Back for another round of bludgeoning stoner thrash, High on Fire unleash a brass-knuckled haymaker on their eighth studio effort.

— James Christopher Monger

Gregor

Silver Drop

Chapter Music

Pop/Rock

The Australian lo-fi bedroom pop oddball offers an engaging debut full of oblique humor and an unexpected sweetness.

— Timothy Monger

Jim James

Uniform Clarity

ATO

Pop/Rock

The My Morning Jacket frontman delivers a solo acoustic version of his Uniform Distortion album with bonus material.

— Thom Jurek

Phosphorescent

C'est La Vie

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Seventh album from this country-informed songwriter finds him moving away from a fiery youth into a reflective adulthood.

— Fred Thomas

Ron Gallo

Stardust Birthday Party

New West

Pop/Rock

On the second album from his eponymous band, Gallo's music hits harder while his lyrics dig deeper into life's big questions.

— Mark Deming

Kero Kero Bonito

Time 'n' Place

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The trio's eclectic second album transforms heartache into cathartic rock and imaginative synth pop.

— Heather Phares

Hellogoodbye

S'Only Natural

Old Friends / URP Music Distribution

Pop/Rock, R&B

On its first record in five years, the band adds smooth disco, pleading modern R&B, show tunes, and introspective folk to its already full CV.

— Tim Sendra

Lindsey Buckingham

Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham

Rhino

Pop/Rock

A lavish, lengthy anthology that paints a rich picture of a true pop eccentric.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cursive

Vitriola

15 Passenger

Pop/Rock

On their first album since 2012, longstanding emo-punk group drop their tendency for concept records and hone in on seething political rage.

— Fred Thomas

Electric Six

Bride of the Devil

Metropolis / Metropolis Records

Pop/Rock

Detroit's indefatigable party rockers turn up the guitars and let the devil have tomorrow on their 14th studio album.

— Mark Deming

David Nance Group / David Nance

Peaced and Slightly Pulverized

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The lo-fi cult hero demonstrates his knack for guitar heroics in this loosely tight exercise in boomy hard rock.

— Mark Deming

Doyle Bramhall II

Shades

Mascot / Provogue

Blues, Pop/Rock

A loose and soulful record that captures the blues-rock guitarist at his most immediate.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Atmosphere

Mi Vida Local

Rhymesayers Entertainment

Rap

On their ninth album, the Minneapolis hip-hop duo continue to reflect on middle-aged life.

— Paul Simpson

Petite Noir

La Maison Noir/The Black House

Redeye Music Distribution

Pop/Rock

The project's dynamic third mini-album broadens its scope and brings its African influences to the fore.

— Heather Phares

Gregory Alan Isakov

Evening Machines

Dualtone Music

Pop/Rock

A dark gem of a record that filters American folk music through the wide-open vistas of his frontier homeland.

— James Christopher Monger

Joe Simon

Step by Step: The Complete Pop Hits

Real Gone Music

R&B

A double-disc set of big hits that's the best Joe Simon compilation released to date.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

LANY

Malibu Nights

Interscope

Pop/Rock

Wallowing in heartbreak, the synth pop trio processes a tough breakup in dramatic, gossamer fashion.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Madeline Kenney

Perfect Shapes

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock

Following her dreamy, textured debut by about a year, this more explorative follow-up features production by Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner.

— Marcy Donelson

Matt Nathanson

Sings His Sad Heart

Acrobat / Acrobat Music / Crush Music

Pop/Rock

A dichotomously buoyant break-up album featuring Nathanson's hooky, if still heartbreak-inspired songs.

— Matt Collar

Mike Simonetti

Solipsism: Collected Works 2006-2013

2MR

Electronic, Pop/Rock

A collection of suspenseful cinematic pieces and synth-disco tracks from Italians Do It Better co-founder Mike Simonetti.

— Paul Simpson

Molly Burch

First Flower

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

Burch charms with more of her debut's yearning, highly stylized vintage pop.

— Marcy Donelson

Sundays & Cybele

On the Grass

Guruguru Brain

Pop/Rock

Japanese psych group Sundays & Cybele pay homage to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.

— Paul Simpson

Tall Heights

Pretty Colors for Your Actions

Masterworks

Pop/Rock

Presenting deceptively complex soundscapes, the folk-turned-indie-pop duo's third LP returns Neptune producers Oliver Hill and Steve Wall.

— Marcy Donelson

The Four Tops

The Complete ABC/Dunhill Singles

Real Gone Music

R&B

The most comprehensive overview of the Four Tops' time at ABC/Dunhill in the 1970s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Will Hoge

My American Dream

Cumberland / Edlo Records

Pop/Rock

A politically impassioned howl of protest.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Mythic Sunship

Another Shape of Psychedelic Music

El Paraiso

Pop/Rock

This sprawling collection looks to both the spiritual searching of free jazz and the abandon of doom metal with compelling results.

— Fred Thomas

Eric Copeland

Trogg Modal, Vol. 1

DFA

Electronic

Typically spontaneous and playful, Trogg Modal, Vol. 1 is slightly closer to straightforward dance music than other Eric Copeland releases.

— Paul Simpson

Jordi Savall / La Capella Reial de Catalunya / Hespèrion XXI / Tembembe Ensamble Continuo

Bailar Cantando: Fiesta Mestiza en el Peru

Alia Vox

Classical

An extraordinary realization of music from an 18th century Peruvian codex, encompassing European, Amerind, and African influences.

— James Manheim

Thomas Hampson / Kuang-Hao Huang

Songs from Chicago

Cedille Records

Classical

A fine collection of Windy City art songs from the star baritone.

— James Manheim

Martyn Brabbins / BBC Symphony Orchestra

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

Hyperion

Classical

Martyn Brabbins leads the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a stirring performance of Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony.

— Blair Sanderson

Steven Isserlis / Dénes Várjon

Chopin: Cello Sonata; Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata

Hyperion

Classical

Detailed readings of Chopin's cello sonata and Schubert's arpeggione sonata that live up to the works' Beethovenian roots.

— James Manheim

Orlando Consort

Machaut: The Gentle Physician

Hyperion

Classical

The Orlando Consort continues its survey of the vocal music of Guillaume de Machaut with this sixth volume on Hyperion.

— Blair Sanderson

Emmanuel Despax / Eugene Tzigane

The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 77: Bronsart, Urspruch

Hyperion

Classical

Worthwhile revivals of totally forgotten late Romantic concertos, idiomatically performed.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week