Stephen Malkmus

Traditional Techniques

Matador

Pop/Rock

Stephen Malkmus finally makes the psych-folk album he's been hinting at for years.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Mandy Moore

Silver Landings

Verve

Pop/Rock

An understated, impeccably produced comeback full of reflective songwriting and a smooth, late-'70s West Coast pop feel.

— Timothy Monger

Brandy Clark

Your Life Is a Record

Warner Bros.

Country

Brandy Clark gets warm and intimate on the soulful Your Life Is a Record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

José James

No Beginning No End 2

Rainbow Blonde

Jazz

Constant communal energy powers the ex-Blue Note singer/songwriter's first independent album, a sequel to the creative leap he took in 2013.

— Andy Kellman

U.S. Girls

Heavy Light

4AD

Pop/Rock

Seventh album is another stylistically shifting collection of heady pop featuring an extended crew of backing vocalists and themes of hindsight and nostalgia.

— Fred Thomas

Peter Buck / Luke Haines

Beat Poetry for Survivalists

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

The Auteurs/Black Box Recorder leader teams with the R.E.M. guitar hero for a strong set of darkly surreal but engaging pop.

— Mark Deming

Anna Calvi

Hunted

Domino

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter lets down her guard on raw, intimate versions of songs from Hunter with striking results.

— Heather Phares

Caroline Rose

Superstar

Caroline Rose Music / New West

Pop/Rock

The onetime Americana singer/songwriter delivers an audacious and sly pop album about modern stardom.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Pantha du Prince

Conference of Trees

Modern / Modern Recordings

Electronic

The sixth album from this German electronic producer opens up into more acoustic ambience than ever before.

— Fred Thomas

Cornershop

England Is a Garden

Ample Play

Pop/Rock

Never more focused or fun, hooky, or political, the long-running band have crafted their masterpiece after nearly 30 years of making music together.

— Tim Sendra

Swamp Dogg

Sorry You Couldn't Make It

Joyful Noise

R&B, Country

The legendary mad genius of soul makes a kinda-sorta country album and reminds us how little separates the two genres.

— Mark Deming

Jonathan Wilson

Dixie Blur

BMG

Pop/Rock, Country

Recording at Jack Clement's Nashville studio with a crack session band, the California-based singer/songwriter revisits his North Carolina roots.

— Thom Jurek

Islet

Eyelet

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The Welsh trio's life-affirming third album celebrates the power of connection with contemplative yet lively songs.

— Heather Phares

Jacqui Abbott / Paul Heaton

Manchester Calling

Universal

Pop/Rock

A 16-track fourth album from the one-time Beautiful South members is dominated by lively, playful tunes.

— Marcy Donelson

Peter Astor

You Made Me

Faux-Lux / Gare du Nord

Pop/Rock

A lovingly played and sung covers album of songs both old and new that have made an impact on the singer/songwriter throughout his life.

— Tim Sendra

Danny Barnes

Man on Fire

ATO

Folk, Pop/Rock, Country

The stellar banjo picker, songwriter, and vocalist shows off skills that blur the boundaries between genre and era.

— Mark Deming

Disq

Collector

Saddle Creek Records

Pop/Rock

The Wisconsin quintet's debut is a knotty bouquet of chugging indie rock, offbeat power pop, and experimental bits of post-punk.

— Timothy Monger

Kleerup

2

U OK?

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Long-awaited second album from Swedish producer and songwriter Andreas Kleerup, a master of sweetly melancholic dance-pop.

— Paul Simpson

James Hunter / The James Hunter Six

Nick of Time

Daptone

Blues, R&B, Pop/Rock

With a new backing band, the British-born R&B singer adds rhumba and cha-cha to his aural stew of retro-soul, jump blues, and jukebox R&B.

— Thom Jurek

The Mastersons

No Time for Love Songs

Red House Records

Pop/Rock

The husband-and-wife duo shade their earthy Americana tones with a vintage West Coast feel on their Shooter Jennings-produced fourth album.

— Timothy Monger

The Saxophones

Eternity Bay

Full Time Hobby

Pop/Rock

Second set of whispery, ruminating indie pop from a duo who draw on '50s exotica and gentle jazz to create a universe all their own.

— Marcy Donelson

Esmé Patterson

There Will Come Soft Rains

BMG

Pop/Rock

The Paper Bird vocalist's fourth solo effort delivers off-kilter indie pop gems that begin to sparkle with repeated listens.

— James Christopher Monger

Fire! Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki

Actions

Rune Grammofon

Jazz

Mats Gustafsson presents a bracing, extended presentation of Krysztof Penderecki's historic 1971 score with new sonic and musical referents.

— Thom Jurek

Honey Harper

Starmaker

ATO

Country, Pop/Rock

Harper's debut evokes the sunset patina of '70s country-rock and folk staples like Ian Matthews, Gram Parsons, Mickey Newbury, and the Eagles.

— James Christopher Monger

My Dying Bride

The Ghost of Orion

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

Despite threats of life-threatening illness, lineup changes, emotional strain, and doubt, these British metallers deliver the goods in spades.

— Thom Jurek

Overcoats

The Fight

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

The harmony-singing indie pop duo deliver a sleeker, brasher, empowerment-themed sophomore album.

— Marcy Donelson

Military Genius

Deep Web

Tin Angel

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The debut album from this Vancouver musician's solo project trades in the post-punk bounce of his band for darker atmospheres.

— Fred Thomas

Ani Glass

Mirores

Recordiau Neb

Pop/Rock

The solo debut of former Pipette Ani Saunders is an eerie mix of post-punk and shimmery synth pop that's high on concept, lite on songs.

— Marcy Donelson

Will Liverman / Jonathan King

Whither Must I Wander

Odradek

Classical

A beautiful song recital on the theme of wandering that builds innovatively on Ralph Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel.

— James Manheim

Elsa Dreisig / Jonathan Ware

Morgen: Strauss, Rachmaninov, Duparc

Erato

Classical

Unconventional programming succeeds here thanks to Dreisig's considerable vocal subtlety.

— James Manheim

Rolando Villazón

Mozartissimo

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Mozartissimo is a compilation of Rolando Villazón's performances of Mozart, selected to create a well-rounded portrait of singer and composer.

— Blair Sanderson

Yundi Li / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra

Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Warner Classics

Classical

A rare example of Chopin concertos conducted by the pianist, Yundi's version achieves compelling rhythmic flexibility.

— James Manheim

Diana Damrau / Helmut Deutsch / Mariss Jansons

Richard Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder; Lieder

Erato

Classical

Penetrating Strauss readings that stick in the memory, even when one takes issue with them.

— James Manheim

Masaaki Suzuki / Bach Collegium Japan

Bach: St. Matthew Passion

BIS

Classical

Suzuki's second traversal of the St. Matthew Passion sharpens his general approach rather than rethinking the work wholesale.

— James Manheim

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