Avril Lavigne

Love Sux

Atlantic / DTA Records / Elektra / Parlophone / Warner Music

Pop/Rock

Armed with a dozen pissed-off breakup anthems, the Canadian singer/songwriter reclaims her pop-punk crown.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Robert Glasper

Black Radio III

Loma Vista

R&B

Another natural and inviting genre synthesis from the keyboardist and friends, highlighted by a Grammy-winning preview single with H.E.R. and Meshell Ndegeocello.

— Andy Kellman

Dashboard Confessional

All the Truth That I Can Tell

Dashboard Confessional / Hidden Note Records

Pop/Rock

A return to the emo outfit's early days when all Chris Carrabba needed was an acoustic guitar and introspective lyrics.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Superchunk

Wild Loneliness

Merge

Pop/Rock

Nuanced and restrained 12th album from this indie punk institution trades in distortion for strings, horn sections, and understated textural songwriting.

— Fred Thomas

Tears for Fears

The Tipping Point

Concord / Craft Records

Pop/Rock

Seventeen years after their last outing, the thinking person's pop band return with a diverse, hook-laden collection of poignant, sophisticated pop songs.

— Thom Jurek

Johnny Marr

Fever Dreams, Pts. 1-4

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

Johnny Marr maintains an urgent creativity throughout this double album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Gang of Youths

angel in realtime.

Warner Records

Pop/Rock

A deeply personal and inspiriting third album from the ARIA Award-winning group.

— Matt Collar

Adult.

Becoming Undone

Dais / Dais Records

Electronic

Inspired by personal and societal losses, the duo deliver some of their most pointed and harrowing music.

— Heather Phares

SASAMI

Squeeze

Domino

Pop/Rock

Casting aside the dream pop of her debut, dueling influences of nu metal and Sheryl Crow dominate the daring L.A. artist's second album.

— Tim Sendra

Beth Hart

A Tribute to Led Zeppelin

Mascot Label Group / Provogue

Pop/Rock, Blues

An intense string-laden tribute to Led Zeppelin finds Beth Hart channeling her anger.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Binker & Moses

Feeding the Machine

Gearbox

Jazz

The English duo expands to a trio with electronicist Max Luthert, weaving an intoxicating, fully improvised meld of sounds, textures, and grooves.

— Thom Jurek

Carmen Villain

Only Love From Now On

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic

The composer/producer's fourth album delivers a heady blend of dub, kosmische, and fourth world ambient steeped in gorgeous atmospheres and details.

— Heather Phares

Carson McHone

Still Life

Merge

Pop/Rock

The Austin, Texas honky tonk prodigy evolves into an eclectic and gifted roots-friendly indie rocker on her outstanding third album

— Mark Deming

Blood Incantation

Timewave Zero

Century Media

Pop/Rock

A cinematic dark ambient suite from the Colorado-based cosmic death metal quartet.

— Paul Simpson

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard

Backhand Deals

Communion / Communion Records

Pop/Rock

Rollicking '70s-style power pop with a barely hidden sensitive side from a quartet of energetic young dudes from Wales.

— Tim Sendra

Charlie Gabriel

Eighty Nine

Sub Pop

Jazz

At 89 years of age, the Preservation Hall saxophonist makes his ebullient solo debut.

— Matt Collar

Deserta

Every Moment, Everything You Need

Felte

Pop/Rock

Matthew Doty's second album melds shoegaze and synth pop seamlessly while bringing his vocals and the music's moods to the fore.

— Heather Phares

Matchess

Sonescent

Drag City

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

Following a meditation retreat, Whitney Johnson composed a pair of drone pieces that play with one's perception of memory in relation to music.

— Paul Simpson

Prins Thomas

Prins Thomas, Vol. 8

Prins Thomas Musikk

Electronic

A concise, focused neo-disco set that edges into funk and space rock, with guests John Carroll Kirby and Bugge Wesseltoft.

— Paul Simpson

The Left Banke

Strangers on a Train

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

The third album from these Baroque rock pioneers includes songs from the original 1978 sessions and demos from 2001 that come close to the band's early magic.

— Fred Thomas

Elles Bailey

Shining in the Half Light

Outlaw

Pop/Rock, Blues, R&B

The third LP by the Bristol-based singer/songwriter rocks, rolls, struts, and strolls across rootsy rock, gospelized Americana, and blues-drenched soul.

— Thom Jurek

CMAT

If My Wife New I'd Be Dead

CMATBABY

Pop/Rock

The Irish indie rocker transforms herself into the country/pop diva of her dreams on this clever, winning debut album.

— Mark Deming

Peter Donohoe

Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Vol. 1 (Lieder ohne Worte)

Chandos

Classical

A flawless collection of the Songs Without Words justifies the idea of a program comprising exclusively of this genre.

— James Manheim

Juliane Banse / Marin Alsop / Narek Hakhnazaryan

Henze: Nachtstücke und Arien; Los Caprichos; Englische Liebeslieder

Naxos

Classical

Splendid performances serve an intelligent program of Henze works that respond to extramusical materials in different ways.

— James Manheim

Sandrine Piau / Jérôme Correas

Handel: Enchantresses

Alpha

Classical

Subject matter and artist meet bewitchingly in this survey of some supernatural Handelian females.

— James Manheim

Paul Lewis

Brahms: Late Piano Works, Opp. 116-119

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Profound readings of late Brahms that enter deeply into their complex worlds.

— James Manheim

Mosaic Voices / Michael Etherton

Letter to Kamilla: Music in Jewish Memory

Chandos

Classical, International

Jewish music of many ages, arranged in a contemporary way, and including a gripping Holocaust memorial.

— James Manheim

Martin James Bartlett / Alexander Gilman / LGT Young Soloists

Philip Glass: Symphony No. 14 "Liechtenstein Suite"; Piano Concerto No. 1 "Tirol"; Echorus

Orange Mountain Music

Classical

Recent music by Glass, performed by a fearsomely talented youth orchestra.

— James Manheim

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