Fleet Foxes

Shore

Anti-

Pop/Rock

The folk-rock band's fourth album is a compassionate and rewarding work of Indian summer liminality.

— Timothy Monger

Prince

Sign 'O' the Times [Super Deluxe]

Warner Bros. / Warner Records

R&B, Pop/Rock

This lavish Super Deluxe Edition reissue expands the original double album to eight CDs (or 13 LPs), adding a DVD containing a live show.

Deftones

Ohms

Reprise

Pop/Rock

The alt-metal wizards' stunning ninth set reunites them with producer Terry Date on a heady sci-fi vision quest.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Idles

Ultra Mono

Partisan

Pop/Rock

Their raucous energy shines just as bright, with greater focus on their comedic edge and their manic energy.

— Liam Martin

mgk

Tickets to My Downfall

Bad Boy / Interscope / Polydor

Pop/Rock, Rap

Tormented, self-destructive rapper takes a bold turn toward pop-punk with help from producer/collaborator Travis Barker.

— Fred Thomas

The Neighbourhood

Chip Chrome & the Mono-Tones

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The Los Angeles outfit defy expectations with this quirkily inspired, sci-fi concept album.

— Matt Collar

Sufjan Stevens

The Ascension

Asthmatic Kitty

Pop/Rock

A portrait of a crisis of faith that holds a mirror to a nation seemingly on the verge of collapse.

— Mark Deming

Public Enemy

What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?

Def Jam

Rap

Public Enemy return to their original home of Def Jam for this vibrant, vital affair.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Bob Mould

Blue Hearts

Merge

Pop/Rock

A world in flames drives the punk/indie legend to create one of his toughest and most passionate works since his days in Hüsker Dü.

— Mark Deming

Diana Krall

This Dream of You

Impulse! / Verve

Jazz

A collection of leftovers from the sessions for 2017's Turn Up the Quiet that functions as a tribute to late producer Tommy LiPuma.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Carrie Underwood

My Gift

Capitol / EMI

Holiday, Country

Carrie Underwood's first holiday album is a stately, rather elegant affair.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Blitzen Trapper

Holy Smokes Future Jokes

Yep Roc

Pop/Rock

Blitzen Trapper sail into the mystic on their existential tenth studio effort.

— James Christopher Monger

Thurston Moore

By the Fire

Daydream Library Series

Pop/Rock

On his seventh solo album, the art rock icon explores elongated approaches to his already sprawling mystical guitar noise.

— Fred Thomas

The Ocean

Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic/Cenozoic

Metal Blade

Pop/Rock

The band celebrate 20 years with the wildly adventurous conclusion to Phanerozoic I, creating an allegory of evolutionary history and cosmic tragedy.

— Thom Jurek

A Certain Ratio

ACR Loco

Mute

Pop/Rock

On their first studio album in 12 years, the funk-rooted Manchester post-punks continue to consolidate Brazilian, German, and numerous African-American sounds.

— Andy Kellman

Anna von Hausswolff

All Thoughts Fly

Southern Lord Records

Pop/Rock

On her Southern Lord debut, the Swedish artist delivers seven pipe organ instrumentals inspired by a 16th century Italian "monster park."

— Thom Jurek

Kevin Rowland

My Beauty [Expanded Edition]

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

An expanded edition restores Rowland's transcendent version of "Thunder Road."

SuperM

SuperM The 1st Album 'Super One' [Super Version]

Capitol / SM Entertainment

Pop/Rock

Energetic full-length debut from the K-pop supergroup delivers anthems combining dance-pop, R&B, and hip-hop.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Lou Reed

New York

Rhino / Warner Bros.

Pop/Rock

Expanded edition of this smart, bracing song cycle about the greatest city in the world from its unofficial poet laureate.

— Mark Deming

Christian McBride / Christian McBride Big Band

For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver

Mack Avenue

Jazz

The bassist celebrates the classic Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, and Oliver Nelson albums of 1966 on this vibrant big-band session.

— Matt Collar

Sad13

Haunted Painting

Wax Nine Records

Pop/Rock

The Speedy Ortiz frontwoman digs deep on her second solo album, pairing intricate, mercurial sounds and words with newfound emotional openness.

— Heather Phares

Mercury Rev

The Secret Migration [Deluxe Edition]

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

The 2020 deluxe reissue expands on the album's wide-eyed romanticism with B-sides, demos, outtakes, and live recordings.

— Heather Phares

The Puppini Sisters

Dance Dance Dance

Absolute / Millionaire Records

Vocal, Pop/Rock, Jazz

A changeable set of covers spanning a century (plus one original) set to well-known dance rhythms with help from the Pasadena Roof Orchestra.

— Marcy Donelson

Los Blenders

Mazunte 2016

Devil in the Woods

Pop/Rock

Third album by Mexican garage band sees them expanding and tightening their sound in exciting new ways.

— Tim Sendra

Will Butler

Generations

Merge

Pop/Rock

The second solo album from the core member of the Arcade Fire tempers passionate performances with controlled production.

— Fred Thomas

Hen Ogledd

Free Humans

Domino

Pop/Rock, Avant-Garde

This dense double album from the U.K. group finds them further refining their bizarre, maximal approach to pop sounds.

— Fred Thomas

Night Shop

The Fountain

Salinas Records

Pop/Rock

A six-track EP that doubles down on the reflective folk-rock of the project's debut with help from members of Woods, Waxahatchee, Hand Habits, and more.

— Marcy Donelson

Profligate

Too Numb to Know

Wharf Cat Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Noah Anthony further refines the darkwave pop sound of 2018's Somewhere Else, incorporating acoustic instruments into his sophisticated arrangements.

— Paul Simpson

Marie Davidson / L'Œil Nu

Renegade Breakdown

Ninja Tune

Pop/Rock, Electronic

After retiring from club music, Marie Davidson and her cohorts produce inventive, exploratory songs drawing from pop, folk, jazz, and cinematic influences.

— Paul Simpson

Sylvan Esso

Free Love

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn deliver another compelling collection of dance music for introverts.

— James Christopher Monger

Botany

End the Summertime F(or)ever

Western Vinyl Records

Electronic, Rap

A psychedelic beat collage that expresses multiple perceptions of the meaning of summer.

— Paul Simpson

Makaya McCraven

Universal Beings E&F Sides

Jazz

A set of 14 unreleased pieces for the soundtrack to the 2018 Universal Beings tour documentary add up to much, much more than a set of extras.

— Thom Jurek

Various Artists

Looking Through a Glass Onion: Beatles Psychedelic Songbook 1966-1972

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock

A fascinating anthology of exploratory Beatles covers from the U.K. psych scene they helped pioneer.

— Timothy Monger

The War and Treaty

Hearts Town

Rounder

R&B, Blues, Folk

The Nashville rock and soul duo crank up the dynamics even higher on their second album.

— Timothy Monger

Wax Chattels

Clot

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

The band's cathartic second album adds clarity, heft, and cultural relevance to their searing brand of post-punk.

— Heather Phares

Mint Field

Sentimiento Mundial

Felte

Pop/Rock

Mexican dream pop group Mint Field shift their lineup and stretch out in new directions on their second full-length.

— Paul Simpson

Shy Boys

Talk Loud

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

A more melancholy and experimental third album that preserves the group's identifiable, Beach Boys-influenced melodic-harmonic core.

— Marcy Donelson

Yellow Days

Day in a Yellow Beat

Sony Music

Pop/Rock

The British bedroom-soul oddball makes his major-label debut with a wild and too-long double album recorded in L.A.

— Timothy Monger

Cayucas

Blue Summer

Park the Van

Pop/Rock

The duo return to their beachy pop roots with a pastel-hued love letter to summer, music, and California.

— Heather Phares

Surfer Blood

Carefree Theatre

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

The Florida indie pop quartet deliver a set of warm, cheerful tunes with lyrics that aren't so cheerful after all.

— Mark Deming

Sing Leaf

Not Earth

Tin Angel

Pop/Rock

A gentle, alien-world-inspired third album that integrates sunshine pop, nature sounds, and spongy synths in a mix of songs and instrumentals.

— Marcy Donelson

Sleeper & Snake

Fresco Shed

Upset the Rhythm

Pop/Rock

A second, more focused album of intimate and tuneful avant-indie pop from members of TERRY.

— Tim Sendra

Mats Gustafsson / Merzbow / Thurston Moore / Balázs Pándi

Cuts Open

RareNoise Records

Avant-Garde, Jazz

After outings with Thurston Moore, the power trio return to explore the dimensions of space and power on this double-length offering.

— Thom Jurek

Trio Wanderer / Christophe Gaugué / Catherine Montier / Ekaterina Semenchuk

Shostakovich: Piano Quintet; Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Exceptional Shostakovich that captures both the darkness and the passion in his work.

— James Manheim

Marc Minkowski / Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble

Mozart: Mass in C minor

PentaTone Classics

Classical

A small-scale version of Mozart's "Great" C minor mass emphasizes its intimate aspects.

— James Manheim

Sarah Connolly / Robert Dean Smith / Vladimir Jurowski

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

PentaTone Classics

Classical

A very fine Das Lied von der Erde, with a glorious finale from Sarah Connolly.

— James Manheim

Francesco Piemontesi / Andrew Manze / Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 & 27; Rondo K. 386

Linn / Linn Records

Classical

Modern-instrument Mozart concertos that capture some of the spontaneous feelings of historical-instrument approaches.

— James Manheim

Giancarlo Guerrero / Nashville Symphony / Tobias Picker

Tobias Picker: Opera Without Words; The Encantadas

Naxos

Classical

A melodrama of sorts and (as promised) an opera without words explore possibilities along the line between text and music.

— James Manheim

Ivor Bolton / Anna Bonitatibus / Lucy Crowe / Mauro Peter / Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra

Joseph Haydn: Il Ritorno di Tobia

Sony Classical

Classical

An attractive recording of Haydn's little-known first oratorio Il Ritorno di Tobia.

— James Manheim

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