The Killers

Pressure Machine

EMI / Island

Pop/Rock

Pastoral, melancholy collection of intimate snapshots from frontman Brandon Flowers' hometown.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Jennifer Hudson

Respect [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Epic

Stage & Screen, R&B

The star of Aretha Franklin's biopic, cast by the Queen of Soul herself, rises to a tremendous challenge with her most inspired performances in years.

— Andy Kellman

Sepultura

SepulQuarta

Nuclear Blast

Pop/Rock

A collection of spirited lockdown collaborations that re-interpret some of Sepultura's best-known tracks.

— James Christopher Monger

Devendra Banhart / Noah Georgeson

Refuge

Dead Oceans

Electronic

The longtime indie folk collaborators switch gears to deliver a powerful ambient record informed by childhood memories of new age subculture.

— Fred Thomas

Joan Armatrading

Consequences

BMG

Pop/Rock

The veteran singer/songwriter sings about love with the fervor of someone reveling in a new crush.

— Mark Deming

Damon & Naomi / Michio Kurihara

A Sky Record

20/20/20

Pop/Rock

Begun in Japan in 2019 and completed during the earliest phases of the COVID-19 lockdown, a sense of disquiet runs through these sadly beautiful songs.

— Fred Thomas

Jade Bird

Different Kinds of Light

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

The U.K. singer/songwriter's sophomore LP is a punchy, lovelorn set with alt-rock grit and plenty of heart.

— Timothy Monger

Samia

Scout

Grand Jury Music

Pop/Rock

A sentimental four-song follow-up to the songwriter's 2020 debut album that includes a cover of When in Rome's "The Promise."

— Marcy Donelson

Lucinda Chua

Antidotes

4AD

Electronic

The singer/songwriter, producer, and composer's first two EPs flow between R&B and ambient pop with a velvety, subtle beauty.

— Heather Phares

Media Jeweler

The Sublime Sculpture of Being Alive

Fire Talk

Pop/Rock

With their first vocal-driven album, the noise-rock combo deliver a chaotic treatise on culture's influence on the self.

— Timothy Monger

The Weather Station

All of It Was Mine

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

Tamara Lindeman's first full-length confidently balances her folk roots with hints of the ambitious sounds she pursued later in her career.

— Heather Phares

Chorusing

Half Mirror

Western Vinyl Records

Pop/Rock

North Carolina-based musician Matthew O'Connell constructs spare folk songs with guitar, custom synths, and tape delay on his hypnotic project debut.

— Marcy Donelson

Dan Siegel

Faraway Place

Dan Siegel Music

Jazz

The pianist/composer's 22nd album is a compelling collection of sophisticated contemporary jazz tunes played by a stellar band.

— Thom Jurek

Dan Nicholls

Mattering and Meaning

Wejazz

Jazz, Avant-Garde, Electronic

A collection of nine pieces that juxtapose and refract the sound of acoustic piano with otherworldly electronics, loops, and field recordings.

— Thom Jurek

Ensemble Organum / Marcel Pérès

In Memoria Eterna: A Spiritual Vigil for the New Century

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Experimental fusion of Mozarabic chant and Islamic chants from the Samaa tradition in Morocco is quite compelling.

— James Manheim

Olivier Latry

Liszt: Inspirations

La Dolce Volta

Classical

An extraordinary realization of Liszt's rather neglected organ works on the new instrument at the Philharmonie de Paris.

— James Manheim

Martynas Levickis / Modestas Pitrenas / Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra / Mikroorkéstra

Astor Piazzolla: Aconcagua; Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas

Accentus

Classical

Classic Piazzolla pieces are given several new twists by accordionist Martynas Levickis.

— James Manheim

François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles

Stravinsky: Ballets Russes

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Historically oriented performances of Stravinsky ballets and other works associated with the Ballets Russes have a fresh sound.

— James Manheim

Lise Davidsen / Edward Gardner / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Sibelius: Luonnotar; Tapiola; Spring Song

Chandos

Classical

Beautifully etched Sibelius, with a star turn by soprano Davidsen.

— James Manheim

Doric String Quartet

Mozart: String Quartets, Vol. 1 - Prussian Quartets

Chandos

Classical

Unusually expressive Mozart from a young quartet, breaking the typically fixed tempo of Classical-era works.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week