Vampire Weekend

Father of the Bride

Columbia / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The band returns from a six-year hiatus with some of their most eclectic and satisfying music.

— Heather Phares

Big Thief

U.F.O.F.

4AD

Pop/Rock

The indie folk-rockers' impressionistic third album is a foray into artful album rock that incorporates improvisation and samples.

— Marcy Donelson

Filthy Friends

Emerald Valley

Kill Rock Stars

Pop/Rock

The second album from this Pacific Northwest supergroup is weaker in songwriting but strong in empowered guitar-based rock.

— Mark Deming

L7

Scatter the Rats

Blackheart

Pop/Rock

The raucous comeback album from the Los Angeles grunge-punk pioneers packs a welcome, matured punch.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Rhiannon Giddens

There Is No Other

Nonesuch

Country

Collaborating with Francesco Turrisi, Rhiannon Giddens finds common ground between different cultures.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Patience

Dizzy Spells

Night School / Winona Records

Pop/Rock

After a batch of brilliant synth pop singles, the former Veronica Falls member makes good on a full album of brilliant synth pop.

— Tim Sendra

George Winston

Restless Wind

RCA

Jazz, New Age

A restless, inventive album that finds a middle ground between James Booker and Steve Reich.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kedr Livanskiy

Your Need

2MR

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Russian electronic artist Kedr Livanskiy's second album is brighter and more energetic than her past work, but retains its haunting quality.

— Paul Simpson

Editors

The Blanck Mass Sessions

PIAS

Pop/Rock

An atmospheric alternate vision of the English band's 2018 effort Violence, distorted by producer Blanck Mass.

— Neil Z. Yeung

The Dream Syndicate

These Times

Anti-

Pop/Rock

The Paisley Underground veterans get a little more psychedelic on their second comeback effort, with satisfying results.

— Mark Deming

Bad Religion

Age of Unreason

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

The punk rock legends harness the zeitgeist of a politically divided country on their 17th album.

— James Christopher Monger

A Certain Ratio

ACR:Box

Mute

Pop/Rock

The Mute label finishes their comprehensive ACR reissue program with this expansive demos and rarities collection.

— Andy Kellman

Lila Downs

Al Chile

Sony Music

Latin

Teaming with producer Camilo Lara and 180 musicians, the Mexican-American singer and songwriter delivers her most innovative recording.

— Thom Jurek

Tacocat

This Mess is a Place

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The group's fourth album is their slickest, poppiest set of songs yet, and also their best.

— Tim Sendra

John Southworth

Miracle in the Night

Tin Angel

Pop/Rock

The enigmatic English-Canadian bard continues to enchant on his marvelous and deeply layered 12th outing.

— Timothy Monger

Lucy Spraggan

Today Was a Good Day

Cooking Vinyl

Pop/Rock

An affable, versatile, and relatable blast of hook-laden folk-pop that evokes names like KT Tunstall, the Lumineers, and Courtney Barnett.

— James Christopher Monger

Caroline Spence

Mint Condition

Rounder

Pop/Rock, Country, Folk

Poetically candid vignettes of warm and weary Americana from this Nashville singer/songwriter.

— Timothy Monger

Crazy P

Age of the Ego

!K7 / Walk Don't Walk Limited

Electronic

The British neo-disco band's eighth album is more urgent and empowered than their past works.

— Paul Simpson

Tank and the Bangas

Green Balloon

Verve Forecast

R&B

The seasoned R&B band's colorful and generous major-label debut, following their NPR Tiny Desk Contest victory.

— Andy Kellman

Leo Sayer

Selfie

Demon Records / Edsel

Pop/Rock

Leo Sayer engages with the modern world on the surprising Selfie.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

New Found Glory

From the Screen to Your Stereo, Vol. 3

Hopeless Records

Pop/Rock

The third covers set of movie soundtrack favorites from the Florida pop-punk band.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Pile

Green and Gray

Exploding in Sound

Pop/Rock

Seventh full-length from this Boston post-hardcore band offsets youthful fury with slow-boiling tension.

— Fred Thomas

Versus

Ex Nihilo

Ernest Jenning

Pop/Rock

This four-song EP from the NYC indie rock stalwarts is their first new material in nine years but feels like a natural step forward.

— Fred Thomas

Drahla

Useless Coordinates

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

The trio's debut album complicates their post-punk in intriguing, assured ways.

— Heather Phares

Combo Chimbita

Ahomale

Anti-

International, Latin

The second album from this simmering Brooklyn group expands on their cosmic approach to Columbian styles.

— Fred Thomas

Protomartyr

No Passion All Technique

Domino

Pop/Rock

A reissue of the rough-hewn but electrifying debut from the Detroit post-punks, full of smart, daring songs and keyed-up performances.

Anderson East

Alive in Tennessee

Elektra

Pop/Rock

A lengthy live album that will satisfy fans while proving East's skills as a roots-rock journeyman.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Barrie

Happy to Be Here

Winspear

Pop/Rock

A debut album filled with sweet, mid-tempo songs and warm, dreamy textures ideal for low-key summer settings.

— Marcy Donelson

Simon Bonney

Past, Present, Future

Mute

Pop/Rock, Country

This retrospective is a deep and revelatory dive into the nomadic songwriter's work, with a wealth of unissued material from his decade in America.

— Thom Jurek

Versing

10,000

Hardly Art

Pop/Rock

The Seattle combo's debut for Hardly Art further refines their '90s-inspired collision of post-punk, jagged indie rock, and shoegaze.

— Timothy Monger

Jan St. Werner

Glottal Wolpertinger

Thrill Jockey

Electronic, Avant-Garde

A series of drone pieces for microtonally tuned, modulated feedback featuring guest appearances by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National.

— Paul Simpson

Bobby Oroza

This Love

Big Crown

Pop/Rock, R&B

The Finish-Bolivian singer's debut album of quirky, vintage '60s-style pop and R&B.

— Matt Collar

Kronos Quartet / Mahsa Vahdat / Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat / Marjan Vahdat

Placeless

Kirkelig Kulturverksted

Classical

Gorgeous settings of Persian poetry old and new are matched by attractively varied arrangements from the Kronos Quartet.

— James Manheim

Alban Gerhardt

Bach: The Cello Suites

Hyperion

Classical

Subtle yet warm readings of Bach's Suites for solo cello.

— James Manheim

Andrew Lumsden / Winchester Cathedral Choir

John Tavener: Angels

Hyperion

Classical

A distinctive performance of some Tavener favorites in the English cathedral style.

— James Manheim

Véronique Gens / Alexandre Bloch

Chausson: Poème de l'Amour et de la Mer; Symphonie Op. 20

Alpha

Classical

Fabulous reading by Gens of a little-known Chausson orchestral song cycle.

— James Manheim

Doric String Quartet

Purcell: String Fantasia in Four parts; Britten: String Quartets Nos. 1-3; Three Divertimenti

Chandos

Classical

Superb Britten recording that clicks on multiple levels.

— James Manheim

Monteverdi Choir / John Eliot Gardiner

Love is Come Again

SDG (Soli Deo Gloria)

Classical

Unusual Monteverdi Choir album following the pattern of the group's 1998 release Once as I Remember.

— James Manheim

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