Jacco Gardner

Somnium

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Trading in his relaxed paisley pop for warmly cinematic synths, Gardner's third album is a welcome departure.

— Tim Sendra

Rita Ora

Phoenix

Atlantic / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, R&B

After a six-year limbo, the English pop singer returned triumphant with this effervescent sophomore effort.

— Neil Z. Yeung

My Brightest Diamond

A Million and One

Rhyme & Reason

Pop/Rock

Fifth album from this restless shapeshifter looks in part to Detroit's legacy of techno for its cold tones and tense moods.

— Fred Thomas

Songs: Ohia

Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock

Expanded edition of The Lioness, Jason Molina's intensely powerful 2000 meditation on the high emotional stakes of true love.

— Mark Deming

Aretha Franklin

The Queen of Soul [Rhino 2018]

Rhino / Warner Music

R&B

A release featuring a disc of Aretha's Atlantic hits and the A Brand New Day album, which featured overdubs by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Chic

The Chic Organization 1977-1979

Rhino / Warner Bros.

R&B

Sharp, remastered compilation of the band's first three albums and contemporaneous single edits and mixes, plus commissioned work for Sister Sledge.

— Andy Kellman

The Marked Men

On the Other Side

Dirtnap Records

Pop/Rock

Bracing collection of the garage punk band's singles released between 2003 and 2010.

— Tim Sendra

Pearl & the Oysters

Canned Music

Requiem Pour un Twister

Pop/Rock

A second album of breezy, sunny, and delightful lo-fi, high-quality indie pop from a French duo now living in Florida.

— Tim Sendra

Laibach

The Sound of Music

Mute

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Inspired by their groundbreaking performances in Korea, Laibach deliver their irony-loaded take on the beloved American musical.

— Paul Simpson

Lone Justice

The Western Tapes, 1983

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Previously unreleased demo session captures the strength and spirit of these '80s cowpunks better than their official albums.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Just a Bad Dream: Sixty British Garage & Trash Nuggets 1981-1989

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Wild and swinging collection of garage rock, psychobilly, and just plain trash gathered from the underbelly of the early-'80s U.K. music scene.

— Tim Sendra

Paul Heaton

The Last King of Pop

Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Selective, career-spanning collection with one original song, a re-recorded "A Little Time," and an emphasis on uptempo pop tunes.

— Marcy Donelson

Roine Stolt's the Flower King / Roine Stolt

Manifesto of an Alchemist

Century Media / Inside Out Music

Pop/Rock

The Swedish guitarist and composer weds past to present with a host of familiar collaborators on this ambitious offering.

— Thom Jurek

DMBQ

Keeenly

God?

Pop/Rock

On its first album in over a decade, this Japanese psych-rock group pushes its sound into unprecedented exciting new places.

— Fred Thomas

Vasily Petrenko / Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No. 1, Op. 26; Prometheus - The Poem of Fire

Lawo Classics

Classical

Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra complete their Scriabin cycle with the First Symphony and Prometheus: The Poem of Fire.

— Blair Sanderson

Nicholas Angelich / Laurence Equilbey

Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "Emperor"

Erato

Classical

Semi-period-instrument performance of Beethoven's most famous piano concertos, breaking new ground.

— James Manheim

Dunedin Consort

Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day

Linn Records

Classical

Handel's festive Ode for St. Cecilia's Day receives a spirited performance by John Butt and the Dunedin Consort on this 2018 Linn Records release.

— Blair Sanderson

Peter Gregson

Recomposed by Peter Gregson: Bach - The Cello Suites

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical, Electronic

Experimental cello-and-synthesizer treatments of Bach's music in which the original material remains clearly audible.

— James Manheim

Mahan Esfahani

The Passinge Mesures

Hyperion

Classical

Mahan Esfahani has always had an abiding interest in the music of the English virginalists, which he demonstrates on Hyperion's The Passinge Mesures.

— Blair Sanderson

Brabant Ensemble / Stephen Rice

Antoine de Févin: Missa Ave Maria & Salve sancta parens

Hyperion

Classical

A contemporary of Josquin, Antoine de Févin receives a long-delayed appraisal by the Brabant Ensemble on this Hyperion release.

— Blair Sanderson

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