The Killers

Imploding the Mirage

Island / Virgin EMI

Pop/Rock

Las Vegas' finest strike gold by finding the sweet spot between Sam's Town and Brandon Flowers' solo work.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Bright Eyes

Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock, Folk

The first new material in nine years from this sad-hearted indie folk band breaks new ground while it recalls earlier greatness.

— Fred Thomas

Bebel Gilberto

Agora

PIAS

International, Electronic

Years in the making, the Brazilian singer/songwriter teams with producer Thomas Bartlett to deliver her most electronic album yet.

— Thom Jurek

Cut Copy

Freeze, Melt

Cutters Records

Pop/Rock

Influenced by ambient music and classic techno and sprinkled with subtle melodies, this sleekly minimalist album is a satisfying left turn.

— Tim Sendra

No Joy

Motherhood

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

Once strictly a doomy shoegaze band, this Montreal group uses their new album to explore everything from trip-hop to metalcore.

— Fred Thomas

Orville Peck

Show Pony

Columbia

Pop/Rock, Country

This six-song EP from alt-country's subversive masked marvel affirms his outsized talent despite minor flaws.

— Mark Deming

Tim McGraw

Here on Earth

Big Machine Records

Country

An easy rolling, lightly spacy collection of breezy ballads and mellow pop.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Erasure

The Neon

Mute

Pop/Rock

Following the politically mindful World Be Gone, an effervescent return to the clubs proves that the veteran duo are still masters of the melodic hook.

— Marcy Donelson

Sneaks

Happy Birthday

Merge

Pop/Rock

Another confident and original outing from Eva Moolchan that explores everything from astrological traits to weather and politics.

— Timothy Monger

The Lemon Twigs

Songs for the General Public

4AD

Pop/Rock

The third album from these power pop revivalists uses each track to focus on a slightly different musical obsession.

— Fred Thomas

Matmos

The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises in Group Form

Thrill Jockey

Electronic

With the help of 99 collaborators, the always-innovative duo celebrate shared creativity with a playful, cerebral, and transporting triptych.

— Heather Phares

Guided by Voices

Mirrored Aztec

GBV / Guided by Voices, Inc.

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album in a 16-month period embraces power pop and clean production, with songs a cut above even their usual strong output.

— Fred Thomas

Dent May

Late Checkout

Carpark Records

Pop/Rock

Another slice of '70s-influenced summery pop delivered with whimsical charm and sugary sweetness, but more confidence than ever.

— Tim Sendra

Old 97's

Twelfth

ATO

Pop/Rock

The Texas alt-country veterans get older and wise up a little while still playing powerful, heartfelt rock with a twang.

— Mark Deming

Josh Turner

Country State of Mind

MCA / MCA Nashville

Country

A straightforward, satisfying collection of county covers, many dating from the 1980s.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Waterboys

Good Luck, Seeker

Cooking Vinyl

Pop/Rock

The band's adventurous and reliably eclectic 14th LP traverses rock, soul, folk, hip-hop, and spoken word mysticism with apparent joy.

— Timothy Monger

Troye Sivan

In a Dream

Capitol / Polydor

Pop/Rock

The sparkling third EP from the Australian pop singer/songwriter continues his dance-friendly evolution.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Bully

SUGAREGG

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The '90s alt-rock disciple raises her game on an urgent, cathartic third album about a protagonist in distress but getting over it.

— Marcy Donelson

The Mavericks

En Español

Mono Mundo Recordings

Latin, Pop/Rock

Putting their country and retro-rock influences on hold, the band deliver an eclectic Latin set showcasing vocalist Raul Malo.

— Mark Deming

Jefferson Starship

Mother of the Sun

Capitol / Secret Knock

Pop/Rock

Jefferson Starship revive the arena rock of the 1980s on this mini-LP.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Secret Machines

Awake in the Brain Chamber

TSM Recordings

Pop/Rock

The space rock band return with their deeply textured fourth album and first since the death of founding guitarist Ben Curtis.

— Matt Collar

Bent Arcana

Bent Arcana

Castle Face

Pop/Rock, Jazz

A batch of free-form improvisations which took place at John Dwyer's home studio, channeling electric Miles and the jammier end of Krautrock.

— Paul Simpson

Gregg August

Dialogues On Race, Vol. 1

Iacuessa Records

Jazz

A sprawling, poignant, and cannily timed modern big band meditation on America's racial tensions that includes vocalists and strings.

— Thom Jurek

Blues Pills

Holy Moly!

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

After significant lineup changes, the international quartet comes roaring back with a collection of screaming blues rock and neo-psych ballads.

— Thom Jurek

Freeez / John Rocca

Southern Freeez/Variations on a Theeem

Beggars Banquet

R&B

Reissue of a Brit-funk touchstone paired with a set of compatible and fresh recordings from the band's founder and leader.

— Andy Kellman

Nubya Garcia

Source

Concord

Jazz

After two acclaimed EPs, the London-based saxophonist's debut album weds striking modern jazz to Afro-Caribbean musical traditions.

— Thom Jurek

Life on Venus

Odes to the Void

Shelflife

Pop/Rock

The Russian shoegazers' second album is more tightly focused than their debut without straying from its path.

— Paul Simpson

Mandy Barnett

A Nashville Songbook

BMG / Melody Place

Country

A stylish and old-fashioned tribute to the sounds and songs of post-war Nashville.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Eblis Álvarez / Meridian Brothers

Cumbia Siglo XXI

Bongo Joe / Disques Bongo Joe

Electronic, Latin

Eblis Álvarez's loopy exploration of cumbia via the example of a 1980s-era Colombian sci-fi disco band, neo-psychedelia, and primitive neo-electro.

— Thom Jurek

Robert Gordon / Chris Spedding / James Williamson

Rockabilly for Life

Cleopatra

Pop/Rock

The pioneering rockabilly revivalist joins fans and friends for a set of re-recorded hepcat classics.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Peephole in My Brain: British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1971

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock

A heaping plate of obscure gems, cult classics, and a few better-known hits from Britain's bubbling progressive underground.

— Timothy Monger

Various Artists

1978: The Year the UK Turned Day-Glo

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Excellent three-disc set chronicling the year British punk began splitting off in new directions and grew from a fad into a movement.

— Mark Deming

Giancarlo Guerrero / Nashville Symphony

Aaron Jay Kernis: Color Wheel; Symphony No. 4 'Chromelodeon'

Naxos

Classical

Colorful works, in every sense, offer a lively hour of listening.

— James Manheim

Michael Tilson Thomas / San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas: From the Diary of Anne Frank; Meditations on Rilke

SFS Media

Classical

Conductor Tilson Thomas presents his own music for his final recording leading the San Francisco Symphony.

— James Manheim

Navarra Quartet

Love and Death

Orchid Classics

Classical

Loosely thematic string quartet recital features sharply contrasting works, splendidly performed.

— James Manheim

Thibault Noally / Les Accents

Alessandro Scarlatti: Il Martirio di Santa Teodosia

Aparte

Classical

An excellent find for lovers of Alessandro Scarlatti -- a highly dramatic oratorio that verges on opera.

— James Manheim

Gloucester Cathedral Choir / Adrian Partington / Jonathan Hope

Ian Venables: Requiem

Somm

Classical

A substantial new setting of the requiem mass, with links to the past but a distinctive voice, wonderfully performed.

— James Manheim

Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival

Her Own Wings: Music of Gabriela Lena Frank

Bright Shiny Things

Classical

Works by this eclectic composer are gorgeously recorded in the barrel room of an Oregon winery.

— James Manheim

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