The Strokes

The New Abnormal

Cult Music / RCA

Pop/Rock

Complicated, ambitious, and emotionally raw, the band's sixth album is a surprising and rewarding triumph.

— Heather Phares

John Anderson

Years

BMG / Easy Eye Sound

Country

With the assistance of producer Dan Auerbach, the hardcore country singer explores his mortality.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hamilton Leithauser

The Loves of Your Life

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

The former Walkmen frontman's third solo album is a life-affirming embrace of past and present loves and music.

— Heather Phares

Maddie & Tae

The Way It Feels

Mercury

Country

Maddie & Tae's long-awaited second album explores the area separating country-pop and adult contemporary.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Adult.

Perception Is/As/Of Deception

Dais Records

Electronic

The duo explores sensory deprivation, suspicion, paranoia, and illusions on this ominously danceable set.

— Heather Phares

Joe Satriani

Shapeshifting

Legacy / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

Eighteen albums in, the guitarist continues to showcase his innovative songwriting prowess in addition to his iconic playing.

— Thom Jurek

The Dream Syndicate

The Universe Inside

Anti-

Pop/Rock

Steve Wynn and friends take a long, strange trip on an album that's an unexpected (and successful) voyage into psychedelic sounds.

— Mark Deming

Sunwatchers

Oh Yeah?

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Fourth album from this psychedelic free rock band streamlines their vision for heavier, more consistent compositions.

— Fred Thomas

Roedelius / Hans-Joachim Roedelius

Tape Archive Essence 1973-1978

Bureau B

Electronic, New Age, Avant-Garde

A slimmed-down selection of Cluster/Harmonia-era pieces from Roedelius that match the quality of his early solo albums.

— Paul Simpson

Sun Ra

Celestial Love

Modern Harmonic

Jazz

A truly joyous set from the Philadelphia-period Arkestra, mixing jazz and swing standards with Sun Ra originals.

— Paul Simpson

Ultimate Fakebook

The Preserving Machine

Sonic Ritual Recordings

Pop/Rock

After a 15-year gap, the emo-pop trio return with a witty, zippy, and occasionally mature blast of amped-up rock & roll.

— Tim Sendra

Local H

Lifers

Antifragile Music

Pop/Rock

One of America's great hard rock bands challenges themselves, and the result is an accomplished, hard-hitting triumph.

— Mark Deming

Nightwish

Human. :||: Nature.

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

After a five-year break, Finland's globe-trotting symphonic metal outfit return to the studio and deliver an ambitious double album.

— Thom Jurek

Jackie Lynn

Jacqueline

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The second album from Haley Fohr's outlaw fantasy alter ego augments her cosmic synth pop with disco beats and lush strings.

— Paul Simpson

Once & Future Band

Deleted Scenes

Castle Face

Pop/Rock

The psych/prog trio's second album offers consistently engaging material to back up their technical skills.

— Marcy Donelson

Pokey LaFarge

Rock Bottom Rhapsody

New West

Folk, Pop/Rock, Country, Jazz

The jazzy-rootsy songwriter tries to sound retro and modern at the same time, and is successful more often than not.

— Mark Deming

Chris Keys / Quelle Chris

Innocent Country

Mello Music Group

Rap

A playful set of reflections about life and all of its troubles and disappointments, and how to cope with it all.

— Paul Simpson

Trace Mountains

Lost in the Country

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

The former LVL UP member's solo project is a warmly detailed collection of breezy folk-pop with an introspective manner.

— Timothy Monger

Eliza Gilkyson

2020

Red House Records

Folk, Pop/Rock

The veteran singer and songwriter delivers a set of politically charged material that's wise and impassioned.

— Mark Deming

Flat Worms

Antarctica

God Records

Pop/Rock

The second full-length album from these garage-punk all-stars is better focused and less of a goof, but still solid punk rock fun.

— Mark Deming

The Buttertones

Jazzhound

Innovative Leisure

Pop/Rock

A cinematic fifth album of post-punk noir anthems from the Los Angeles outfit.

— Matt Collar

Watkins Family Hour

Brother Sister

Family Hour Records

Country, Folk

For their second album as the Watkins Family Hour, Sean and Sara Watkins highlight their familial bond.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Extraa

Baked

Requiem Pour un Twister

Pop/Rock

Dreamy psych-pop ballads mesh with slightly more up-tempo indie pop on this beguiling debut by a French quartet.

— Tim Sendra

Vojtěch Dyk / Dennis Russell Davies / Wiener Singakademie

Leonard Bernstein: Mass

Capriccio Records

Classical

A superb performance of Bernstein's Mass that clarifies its multi-stylistic world.

— James Manheim

Edward Gardner / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 2 - Nos. 2 & 6; Overtures in the Italian Style

Chandos

Classical

A marvelously sensitive, often delicate Schubert performed at a very high technical level.

— James Manheim

The Sixteen / Harry Christophers

The Call of Rome

Coro

Classical

An unusually attractive release from The Sixteen that has something for Renaissance listeners at all levels.

— James Manheim

Maurizio Pollini

Beethoven: The Last Three Sonatas, Opp. 109-111

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Stirring late Beethoven sonatas from a master who continues to explore.

— James Manheim

Andreas Staier

Beethoven: Ein neuer Weg - Piano sonatas Op. 31; Variations Opp. 34 & 35

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Focused, sensitive performances of Beethoven sonatas on an unusual historical instrument.

— James Manheim

Rachel Mahon

Canadian Organ Music: On the Organ of Coventry Cathedral

Delphian

Classical

An impressive confluence of music, instrument, and performer: an essential organ release.

— James Manheim

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