Sleaford Mods

Spare Ribs

Rough Trade

Pop/Rock

Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn confront life in the time of COVID-19 with darkly witty songs that add more melody to their signature style.

— Heather Phares

Matthew Sweet

Catspaw

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Sweet rages against the dying of the power pop light on his raw 15th album.

— Matt Collar

ZAYN

Nobody Is Listening

RCA

Pop/Rock, R&B

Mature, introspective third set from the English R&B crooner that reflects his growth as a new dad and settled partner.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Jazmine Sullivan

Heaux Tales

RCA

R&B

A frank, wide-ranging EP from the Grammy-nominated powerhouse.

— Andy Kellman

Kurt Vile

Speed, Sound, Lonely KV

Matador

Pop/Rock

The usually rock guitar-driven indie songwriter explores his country side on this five-song EP, which features a duet with John Prine.

— Fred Thomas

Shame

Drunk Tank Pink

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Influenced by dance-punk and the highs and lows of post-fame life, Shame's second album is a portrait of a band constantly in motion.

— Heather Phares

Buck Meek

Two Saviors

Keeled Scales

Pop/Rock

Recorded live to tape, a second album of distinctively warm, timeless, evocative alt-country by the Big Thief guitarist.

— Marcy Donelson

Emma Ruth Rundle / Thou

The Helm of Sorrow

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

Four-song EP that continues the collaborative streak of the shadowy goth-folk vocalist/guitarist and Louisiana doom metal band.

— Fred Thomas

Beach Bunny

Blame Game

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

More bittersweet fuzz-pop melodicism from the punchy Chicago quartet.

— Timothy Monger

Mary Timony

Mountains [20th Anniversay Expanded Edition]

Matador

Pop/Rock

Matador's 2021 reissue bolsters the former Helium frontwoman's fascinating solo debut with previously unreleased tracks both old and new.

— Heather Phares

Dale Crover

Rat-A-Tat-Tat!

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The second solo album from the longtime Melvin confirms he can do hard pop, glam, and spooky weirdness with equal skill.

— Mark Deming

Midnight Sister

Painting the Roses

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

The producer-and-vocalist duo add doses of disco to their cinematic chamber pop on their second album for Jagjaguwar.

— Marcy Donelson

Pearl Charles

Magic Mirror [Blue Vinyl]

Kanine Records

Pop/Rock

A pleasing tangle of sun-warmed melodies, 1970s influences, and quality pop songwriting from the L.A. native.

— Timothy Monger

Pom Poko

Cheater

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The band's swift, dazzling noise pop collages are even more rambunctious and ambitious on their second album.

— Heather Phares

Oceanator

Things I Never Said

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

A delightfully understated grunge-pop paean to the disillusionment of early adulthood.

— James Christopher Monger

Kate Davis

Strange Boy

Solitaire Recordings / Solitaire Records

Pop/Rock

A loving cover of Daniel Johnston's 1984 album Retired Boxer that alternates songs with clips of friends' related reminiscences, to poignant effect.

— Marcy Donelson

Muriel Grossmann

Quiet Earth [LP]

RRGEMS

Jazz

The saxophonist's quintet integrate spiritual jazz, modalism, groove consciousness, and African modes in four lengthy compositions.

— Thom Jurek

Mariss Jansons / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Mariss Jansons: His Last Concert - Live at Carnegie Hall

BR Klassik

Classical

Jansons' last concert, recorded at Carnegie Hall three weeks before his death, makes a fitting memorial.

— James Manheim

Nikolai Lugansky

Beethoven: Late Piano Sonatas, Opp. 101, 109 & 111

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Classic Russian-school Beethoven, with a brilliant, highly percussive sound in Beethoven's titanic late variation sets.

— James Manheim

Vladimir Jurowski / London Philharmonic Orchestra

Vladimir Martynov: Utopia

LPO

Classical

Unclassifiable choral symphony includes elements of minimalism, neo-Romanticism, and medieval music, both Western and Russian.

— James Manheim

Philippe Jaroussky

La Vanità del Mondo: Oratorios Arias

Erato

Classical

Jaroussky's first album devoted to oratorio arias shows new facets of his voice and exposes some wonderful obscure repertory.

— James Manheim

Steven Beck / JACK Quartet / Russell Lacy

Scott Lee: Through the Mangrove Tunnels

Panoramic

Classical

Program music evokes the Florida swamps, with multiple textures and narratives over a percussive, pointillist base.

— James Manheim

Ronn McFarlane / Carolyn Anderson Surrick

Fermi's Paradox

Sono Luminus

Classical

A free-spirited, pandemic-inspired combination of instruments that historically have rarely been paired.

— James Manheim

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