Purity Ring

Womb

4AD

Pop/Rock

The duo's first album in five years brings more confidence, eloquence, and substance to their moody electro-pop.

— Heather Phares

M. Ward

Migration Stories

Anti-

Pop/Rock

Ward takes a strange future nostalgia trip on this thematic set built around stories of human migration.

— Timothy Monger

Sam Hunt

Southside

MCA

Country

Hunt stays in his country-R&B wheelhouse on his long-awaited second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Thundercat

It Is What It Is

Brainfeeder

R&B

Shaken by the death of Mac Miller, Stephen Bruner nonetheless reaches a new peak with his fourth album.

— Andy Kellman

Anna Burch

If You're Dreaming

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The Michigan-based singer/songwriter's second solo album is a much more ruminative, atmospheric affair than her debut.

— Paul Simpson

Yves Tumor

Heaven to a Tortured Mind

Warp

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The genre-defying artist unites their music into funky, iridescent R&B pop with fascinating, seductive results.

— Heather Phares

Nathan Fake

Blizzards

Cambria Instruments

Electronic

Nathan Fake's strongest, most exciting album is a rapturous collection of spontaneously recorded analog techno tracks.

— Paul Simpson

James Elkington

Ever-Roving Eye

Paradise of Bachelors

Pop/Rock, Folk

A dazzling display of elegant folk-rock guitar craft and introspective songwriting from the British-born Chicagoan.

— Timothy Monger

Locate S,1

Personalia

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

Second album from this avant-pop project wraps vulnerable lyrical content in tightly constructed, somewhat neurotic synth pop.

— Fred Thomas

All Time Low

Wake Up, Sunshine

Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock

Summery blast of nostalgic, course-correcting pop-punk anthems from the veteran Maryland outfit.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Wilma Archer

A Western Circular

Domino / Weird World

R&B, Jazz, Pop/Rock, Rap

An introspective, elaborately arranged fusion of orchestral jazz and alternative R&B from the British musician previously known as Slime.

— Paul Simpson

Avishai Cohen / Big Vicious

Big Vicious

ECM

Jazz

Four albums into a deal with ECM, the trumpeter melts genre boundaries with the band he formed on returning to Israel in 2013.

— Thom Jurek

TOPS

I Feel Alive

Musique TOPS

Pop/Rock

Another batch of reliably warped, well-crafted songs from the AM pop-inspired indie outfit.

— Marcy Donelson

Peel Dream Magazine

Agitprop Alterna

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The group's second album emulates the space age pop sound of Stereolab down to the finest sonic detail.

— Tim Sendra

Born Ruffians

Juice

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

The Canadian trio's sixth album showcases a rousing and organic blend of '90s and '80s alt-rock influences.

— Matt Collar

Melt Yourself Down

100% Yes

Decca

Jazz, Pop/Rock

On their third long-player and first with new members, this Bristol outfit offers urgency and activism as exercises in joy.

— Thom Jurek

Jimmy Greene

While Looking Up

Mack Avenue

Jazz

The saxophonist offers a buoyant, harmonically nuanced album as an antidote to our divisive and troubled times.

— Matt Collar

Kurt Elling

Secrets Are the Best Stories

Edition / Edition Records

Vocal, Jazz

Teaming with pianist Danilo Pérez and others, the singer examines poignant topics on a beautiful but uncharacteristically melancholy set.

— Thom Jurek

Ruthie Collins

Cold Comfort

Curb / Sidewalk

Country

A purposefully quiet, contemplative album written in the wake of a painful breakup.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Warm Digits

Flight of Ideas

Memphis Industries

Pop/Rock

Working with guest vocalists including the Orielles, the duo explores outdated ideas and mental disorders with surprisingly engaging results.

— Heather Phares

Empress Of

I'm Your Empress Of

Terrible

Pop/Rock, Electronic

A mostly self-produced third outing with yearning, sexual themes and connective beats that move her effervescent songs into the nightclubs.

— Marcy Donelson

Everything Is Recorded

Friday Forever

XL

Pop/Rock

The second collaboration-oriented production LP from XL boss Richard Russell is intoxicating if not exactly a party in any sense.

— Andy Kellman

Melkbelly

PITH

Carpark Records / Wax Nine Records

Pop/Rock

The Chicago band's second album is a thrilling blast of noisy guitars and sticky melodies that's brimming with energy and ideas.

— Tim Sendra

Ringo Deathstarr

Ringo Deathstarr

Club AC30

Pop/Rock

The Austin shoegaze trio expand and open their blown-out sound here to let in more atmospheric dream pop.

— Tim Sendra

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Viscerals [Red/Beer Galaxy Vinyl]

Rocket Recordings

Pop/Rock

The third album from U.K. noise/metal purveyors features songs that are more compact but no less brutal than before.

— Mark Deming

Ellis

Born Again

Fat Possum Records / Royal Mountain

Pop/Rock

On her debut, Linnea Siggelkow adds grungy atmosphere to vulnerable lyrics and conversational melodies in the vein of Tomberlin and Julien Baker.

— Marcy Donelson

Ashley McBryde

Never Will

Rhino / Warner Music

Country

Ashley McBryde gets bold and empathetic on her excellent second album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

August Burns Red

Guardians

Fearless Records

Pop/Rock

The metalcore giants' eighth full-length effort delivers all of the heaviness and technical prowess that fans have come to expect.

— James Christopher Monger

Scott Hardware

Engel

Telephone Explosion

Pop/Rock

Inspired by the film Wings of Desire, the second album from this experimental pop artist creates an immersive cinematic atmosphere.

— Fred Thomas

CMON

Confusing Mix of Nations

Mexican Summer

Pop/Rock

Debut album from former Regal Degal members moves from wiley experimentation to more intentionally crafted synth pop grandeur.

— Fred Thomas

Irma Vep

Embarrassed Landscape

Gringo Musik

Pop/Rock

The eclectic approach to Edwin Stevens' sixth album under the moniker turns out some scruffy psych-rock gems.

— Marcy Donelson

Mick Harvey

Waves of Anzac/The Journey

Mute

Classical, Stage & Screen

Two sets of instrumental pieces from the Australian composer -- a film score and a four-part suite for string quartet.

— Mark Deming

Robbie Basho

Songs of the Great Mystery: Lost Vanguard Sessions

Real Gone Music

Folk

Lost tracks by the enigmatic guitarist that were cut during the same marathon session that netted the Vanguard albums Voice of the Eagle and Zarthus.

— Thom Jurek

Crisman

Crisman

Top Shelf Records

Pop/Rock

The Top Shelf Records debut album from the Texas slowcore group is as soundly constructed as it is emotionally friable.

— James Christopher Monger

Hollow Ship

Future Remains

PNKSLM

Pop/Rock

The Swedish combo flies the psych-rock banner, but makes inspired trips into multiple zones on their exciting debut.

— Timothy Monger

Sun Araw

Rock Sutra

Sun Ark

Pop/Rock

Adventurous full-length from Sun Araw about creating space through pure, judgment-free observation.

— Paul Simpson

The Claudettes

High Times in the Dark

Forty Below Records

Pop/Rock, Blues

A vibrant, rollicking showcase for the group's "garage cabaret."

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Various Artists

Stone Crush: Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987

Light in the Attic Records

R&B

A valuable document of neon-colored Memphis soul in the decade after the death of Stax and Hi.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Christoph Spering / Chorus Musicus Köln / Das Neue Orchester

Bach: Praise Cantatas BWV 26, 41, 95, 115, 137, 140

DHM Deutsche Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Attractive Bach that combines traditional German choral style with historical instruments.

— James Manheim

Daniel Hope

Belle Époque

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

A diverse collection of music from the Belle Époque era reveals connections and contains attractive finds.

— James Manheim

Johnny Gandelsman

J.S. Bach: Complete Cello Suites Transcribed for Violin

In a Circle

Classical

Transcription of Bach's unaccompanied cello suites for violin emphasizes their dance rhythms.

— James Manheim

Thomas Adès / Kirill Gerstein / Boston Symphony Orchestra

Adès conducts Adès

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

An excellent Adès recording with two world premieres including a crackling new piano concerto.

— James Manheim

Isabelle Faust / Anne Katharina Schreiber / Daniel Harding / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Schoenberg: Violin Concerto; Verklärte Nacht

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Dispassionate, technically expert Schoenberg that takes the music on its own terms.

— James Manheim

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko

Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64; Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24

Lawo Classics

Classical

A compelling, vivid reading of Strauss' stroll in the Alps, and his evocation of death.

— James Manheim

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