Featured New Album Releases

Run the Jewels

RTJ4

BMG

Rap

On their intensely political fourth salvo, the rap duo tackles a litany of American ills with wit and wisdom.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Andy Clausen / Willem De Koch / Rob Moose / Riley Mulherkar / Muzz / Chloe Rowlands

Muzz

Matador

Pop/Rock

Members of Interpol, the Walkmen, and Bonny Light Horseman gently challenge expectations with their easygoing, graceful debut.

— Heather Phares

No Age

Goons Be Gone

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The L.A. experimental punk duo continue exploring a balance of formless experimentation and straightforward, high-energy songwriting.

— Fred Thomas

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Sideways to New Italy

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The Australian quintet follow the brilliance of their debut with an album that reaches the same heights of jangle pop in the same skillful fashion.

— Tim Sendra

Ambrose Akinmusire

On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment

Blue Note

Jazz

The trumpeter and his quartet reinforce the sometimes gauzy but always inseparable union of jazz and blues in the Black experience.

— Thom Jurek

Hinds

The Prettiest Curse

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

On their third record, the Spanish quartet set aside garage rock tropes and up the production values, while tightening the songwriting and sharpening their performances.

— Tim Sendra

Sondre Lerche

Patience

Sondre Lerche

Pop/Rock

The long-running singer/songwriter adds bold arrangements, string sections, and lots of surprises to his sound, adding another quality release to his CV.

— Tim Sendra

Mt. Joy

Rearrange Us

Dualtone Music

Pop/Rock

The folk-rockers grapple with themes of change and moving forward on their more robust sophomore set.

— Timothy Monger

LA Priest

Gene

Domino

Pop/Rock

The groove-heavy solo vehicle of art pop songwriter Sam Eastgate finds more subdued voicings of his airy, mild-mannered funk.

— Fred Thomas

Sonic Boom

All Things Being Equal

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Bright and almost sunny, the first record in ages from Sonic Boom is a calming amalgam of vintage electronics, repetitive sequencing, and psychedelia.

— Tim Sendra

Lithics

Tower of Age

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

Tight yet unpredictable, the band's third album offers a more controlled -- and more exciting -- version of their bracing post-punk.

— Heather Phares

Modern Nature

Annual

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The British folk-rock experimentalists offer a meditative mini-album celebrating the earth's seasonal cycles.

— Timothy Monger

Whit Dickey

Morph

ESP-Disk

Jazz

Cut on separate dates in 2019, this double set is actually two different albums: one in duo with Matt Shipp; the other with trumpeter Nate Wooley added.

— Thom Jurek

John Scofield / Bill Stewart / Steve Swallow

Swallow Tales

ECM

Jazz

An intimate and textured trio date from the guitarist, spotlighting bassist Steve Swallow's compositions.

— Matt Collar

Ohmme

Fantasize Your Ghost

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The edgy feelings of uncertainty and rootlessness dominate these songs that, despite the themes, sound strong and confident.

— Mark Deming

Trixie Mattel

Barbara

Peg

Pop/Rock

The drag star's third album finds her expanding upon her folk and country sound with hooky, electrified pop.

— Matt Collar

Nick Lowe

Lay It on Me

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

The third EP Nick Lowe recorded with Los Straitjackets finds him casually sophisticated and stylishly loose.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sarah Jarosz

World on the Ground

Rounder

Folk, Country, Pop/Rock

A compelling set of richly detailed stories about coming and going from the graceful Texas singer/songwriter.

— Timothy Monger

Buzzcocks

Sell You Everything (1991-2014)

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Hefty box set documenting the recordings the chainsaw pop pioneers made after their reunion in 1989.

— Mark Deming

Benjamin Lazar Davis / Bridget Kearney

Still Flying

Verve

Pop/Rock

American indie musicians collaborate with artists from Ghana for a fun and engaging cultural exchange.

— Mark Deming

Brigid Mae Power

Head Above the Water

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Following the trauma-themed The Two Worlds, a quietly powerful third album of gentle, subtly psychedelic folk about overcoming.

— Marcy Donelson

Vinyl Williams

Azure

Requiem Pour un Twister

Pop/Rock

On his fifth album, Williams further establishes his skills as a chillwave savant, while adding some energy and sharp pop hooks to the mix.

— Tim Sendra

Chouk Bwa & the Ångströmers

Vodou Alé

Bongo Joe

International

Spirited collaboration which adds otherworldly electronics to Haitian vodou traditions without sacrificing energy.

— Paul Simpson

James Alexander Bright

Headroom

!K7

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The first solo album from this U.K. home recordist, fka Hairy Hands, juxtaposes relaxed R&B grooves and warped, textured samples and effects.

— Marcy Donelson

Jockstrap

Wicked City

Warp

Pop/Rock

The London duo push pretty chamber pop songs to their limits with glitchy electronic production and demonic vocal processing.

— Fred Thomas

The Ghost Inside

Epitaph

Pop/Rock

Arriving five years after the band's bus collided with a tractor-trailer while on tour outside of El Paso, Texas, the metalcore heroes return with their potent fifth effort.

— James Christopher Monger