Gary Clark, Jr.

This Land

Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock, Blues

A wildly adventurous blues, funk, R&B, hip-hop, and hard rock hybrid that speaks of America in 2019 with raw passion and wisdom.

— Mark Deming

Better Oblivion Community Center

Better Oblivion Community Center

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock, Folk

On their collaborative debut, a strange magic grows from the pairing of indie icons Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst.

— Fred Thomas

Julia Jacklin

Crushing

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The sophomore LP's raw performances, complex emotional honesty, and themes of female autonomy set it apart from other breakup albums.

— Marcy Donelson

Sleaford Mods

Eton Alive

Extreme Eating

Pop/Rock

The first album released on the duo's own label adds more melody and variety to their relentless takedowns.

— Heather Phares

The Bangles / The Dream Syndicate / Rain Parade / The Three O'Clock

3x4

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

The paisley underground lives again as the Bangles, Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, and Three O'Clock cover each other's songs in their own way.

— Tim Sendra

Claypool Lennon Delirium

South of Reality

ATO

Pop/Rock

The Primus mastermind and Beatles progeny's second set delivers on the strength of its musical momentum and playful good humor.

Susanna / Susanna & the Brotherhood of Our Lady

Garden of Earthly Delights

Susannasonata

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter creates a richly symbolic, mysterious world where paradise and perdition overlap.

— Heather Phares

Yola

Walk Through Fire

Easy Eye Sound

Pop/Rock, Country

The English singer's Dan Auerbach-produced debut contains enough emotion and imagination to earn a place within the country/soul lineage.

Telekinesis

Effluxion

Merge

Pop/Rock

Michael Benjamin Learner picks up a guitar and takes us to power pop paradise with this set of smart, hooky, and incisive tunes.

— Mark Deming

Our Native Daughters

Songs of Our Native Daughters

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Folk, Blues

The debut from the folk and roots music supergroup delivers a potent, personal, and much-needed retelling of American history.

— James Christopher Monger

Larry Grenadier

The Gleaners

ECM

Jazz

The veteran musician's solo double bass project is remarkably accessible with its diversity, ambition, and direct, accessible approach.

— Thom Jurek

Du Blonde

Lung Bread for Daddy

Moshi Moshi Records

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's third album is a ragged but ultimately uplifting and frequently thrilling self-portrait done in '90s grunge and '70s AM pop.

— Heather Phares

Benny Sings

City Pop

ART / Stones Throw

Pop/Rock

Tim van Berkestijn continues to refine his sincere, R&B-informed soft rock on his first album for Stones Throw.

— Andy Kellman

Adia Victoria

Silences

Atlantic

Pop/Rock, Blues

The punk blues of Victoria's debut are transmuted into something more sophisticated on her exploratory follow-up.

— Timothy Monger

Good Fuck

Good Fuck

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The debut album from this experimental electronic duo simmers with a dark tension that never sees release.

— Fred Thomas

Half Japanese

Invincible

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Despite a tuneful and competent band, Jad Fair's joyous eccentricity remains gloriously unchanged on this album.

— Mark Deming

James Yorkston

The Route to the Harmonium

Domino

Pop/Rock, Folk

The Fife native offers another mesmerizing glimpse into his strange yet increasingly familiar world.

— Timothy Monger

Michael Rother

Solo

Groenland

Pop/Rock

The effervescent beauty of Neu! and Harmonia co-founder Michael Rother's early (and recent) solo work is showcased on this fantastic box set.

— Paul Simpson

Bayonne

Drastic Measures

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Roger Sellers' indie electronica project returns with more coherent song structures and even denser loop layering.

— Marcy Donelson

Various Artists

Big Gold Dreams: A Story of Scottish Independent Music 1977-1989

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

A thrilling collection that runs the gamut from noisy and weird to shimmering and beautiful, while making the case that this was a golden era of pop.

— Tim Sendra

Wire Train

In a Chamber [Expanded]

Columbia / Legacy

Pop/Rock

A jangling, sophisticated neo-psych meets new wave pop album; one of the best of the early '80s -- reissued with extra tracks.

— Tim Sendra

The Unthanks

Lines, Vols. 1–3

Cadiz / Rabble Rouser Music

Folk

An ambitious trilogy of short albums concerning disasters at sea, World War I, and Emily Brontë.

— James Christopher Monger

Spellling

Mazy Fly

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Tia Cabral follows her intriguing self-released debut with a more fleshed-out studio album, expanding on her dreamy, genre-blurring sound.

— Paul Simpson

Sunwatchers

Illegal Moves

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The third studio album and clearest look so far at this NYC quartet's free jazz-informed experimentalism and telekinetic playing.

— Fred Thomas

R. Stevie Moore

Afterlife

Bar/None Records

Pop/Rock

The veteran lo-fi pop genius re-records 14 of his tunes in real studios, creating a first-rate sampler of his musical world.

— Mark Deming

Dream Theater

Distance over Time

Inside Out Music

Pop/Rock

The New York quintet refocuses, goes back to basics, and delivers a gem that's full of aggression, great writing, and inspired playing.

— Thom Jurek

Lily & Madeleine

Canterbury Girls

New West

Pop/Rock

The sisters' elegant fourth LP was produced by Ian Fitchuck and Daniel Tashian (Kasey Musgraves' Golden Hour).

— Marcy Donelson

Martin Frawley

Undone at 31

Merge

Pop/Rock

The former Twerps member turns in an appealing and pleasantly tuneful solo debut.

— Timothy Monger

Le SuperHomard

Meadow Lane Park

Elefant

Pop/Rock

Fine debut from a French chamber pop group that channels the High Llamas and Stereolab with skill and delicacy, not to mention great songs.

— Tim Sendra

Feels

Post Earth

Wichita

Pop/Rock

The Los Angeles "garage punk meets indie rock" foursome sounds tighter, stronger, and better focused on their second album.

— Mark Deming

Fruit Bats / Vetiver

In Real Life (Live at Spacebomb Studios)

Spacebomb

Pop/Rock

Captured on a morning off during an acoustic tour, this EP is an endearing look at the chemistry between two gifted songwriters.

— Fred Thomas

John Mayall

Nobody Told Me

Forty Below Records

Blues, Pop/Rock

In a late-career peak, the octogenarian British bluesman enlists a handful of all-star guitarists to assist on this smoking collection of covers and originals.

— Thom Jurek

Chasms

The Mirage

Felte

Pop/Rock

The duo's second album is a heartfelt meditation on grief and a striking artistic statement.

— Heather Phares

Higher Brothers

Five Stars

12TONE / 88Rising

International, Pop/Rock, Rap

Triumphant, multilingual sophomore effort from the Chinese rap crew that bridges the U.S.-China cultural gap.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Julian Lage

Love Hurts

Mack Avenue

Jazz

Cut at Wilco's studio with bassist Jorge Roeder and the Bad Plus' Dave King, this killer set of mostly covers traverses rock, jazz, country, and pop.

— Thom Jurek

Kim Lenz

Slowly Speeding

Blue Star Record Company

Pop/Rock, Country

The rockabilly queen's empowering fifth album is rife with backwoods menace, pulpy romanticism, and rootsy swagger.

— Matt Collar

Jennifer Pike / Petr Limonov

The Polish Violin

Chandos

Classical

Densely expressive chamber works by Szymanowski and others, played with passionate commitment.

— James Manheim

Karine Deshayes / Katherine Watson / Hervé Niquet

L' Opéra des Opéras

Alpha

Classical

An anthology opera, or a collection of tunes, of a sort that the French monarchs might have heard often.

— James Manheim

Majella Cullagh / Stephanie Maitland / Lucy Vallis / Richard Bonynge

Alfred Cellier: Dorothy

Naxos

Classical

An entertaining and once enormously popular work associated with Gilbert & Sullivan, worthy of revival.

— James Manheim

Boris Giltburg

Liszt: Études d'exécution transcendante; La leggierezza; Rigoletto Paraphrase

Naxos

Classical

Strong Liszt from a hardcore exponent of the Russian virtuoso tradition.

— James Manheim

Blossom Street Singers / Hilary Campbell

This Day: Celebrating a Century of British Women's Right to Vote

Naxos

Classical

A selection of modern compositions by women, celebrating the centenary of women's suffrage.

— James Manheim

David Fray / Emmanuel Christien / Jacques Rouvier / Audrey Vigoureux

Bach: Concertos for 2, 3 & 4 Pianos

Erato

Classical

Brisk, lighthearted Bach ensemble whose playing is marred by a poor acoustic environment.

— James Manheim

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