Featured New Releases for
March 4, 2022

Dolly Parton

Run, Rose, Run

Butterfly / Universal

Country

The companion album to the novel Parton co-wrote with James Patterson touches upon most of the sounds and styles at the core of Parton's legacy.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Ghost Song

Nonesuch

Jazz

The Grammy-winning vocalist showcases her broad influences and poignant lyricism on her first album for the Nonesuch label.

— Matt Collar

Band of Horses

Things Are Great

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

The band's scrappy sixth outing is a stripped-down and rather energetic return to form.

— Timothy Monger

Diplo

FFRR / Parlophone

Electronic

Diplo focuses on polished, radio-friendly house music, with guests including Miguel, Paul Woolford, Damian Lazarus, and TSHA.

— Paul Simpson

The Weather Station

How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

The companion piece to the breakthrough album Ignorance is filled with softly insightful songs about relationships and climate change.

— Heather Phares

Guided by Voices

Crystal Nuns Cathedral

Guided by Voices, Inc.

Pop/Rock

The power pop-leaning 35th studio album from these indie giants is more consistent and thoughtfully constructed than the majority of their massive catalog.

— Fred Thomas

The Lemonheads

It's a Shame About Ray

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of It's a Shame About Ray, the band presents an expanded version with demos, covers, and live tracks.

The Coral

Run On Records

Pop/Rock

The 2022 reissue of the album adds plenty of bonus material to a remastered version of the original album.

Avishai Cohen

Naked Truth

ECM / Universal

Jazz

A lyrical and ruminative improvised session from the Israeli-born trumpeter and his quartet.

— Matt Collar

Sugaray Rayford

In Too Deep

Forty Below Records

Blues, R&B

The L.A.-based singer re-teams with songwriter and producer Eric Corne for a work drenched in deep soul, funk, and gospelized blues.

— Thom Jurek

Blue Lab Beats

Motherland Journey

Blue Adventure Records / Blue Note / Universal

R&B, Electronic, Jazz, Rap

On their Blue Note debut, the British duo combine and re-envision the influences, sounds, and styles of the London jazz, R&B, and hip-hop scenes.

— Thom Jurek

Nilüfer Yanya

PAINLESS

ATO

Pop/Rock

Allowing for sprightly beats and brief excursions into noise, a more soft-spoken, personal follow-up to the high-contrast Miss Universe.

— Marcy Donelson

David West / David West

Jolly in the Bush

Tough Love

Pop/Rock

A typically jumbled stylistic mix -- indie rock, jangle pop, synth wave, acoustic ballads -- held together by West's melodic gifts and sideways approach.

— Tim Sendra

El Ten Eleven

New Year's Eve

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

Instrumental rock duo El Ten Eleven celebrate the promise of the new year on this brief, groove-heavy outing.

— Paul Simpson

Melissa Aldana

12 Stars

Blue Note

Jazz

The Chilean-born saxophonist joins Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund for this enveloping, sonically textured quintet album.

— Matt Collar

Mike Campbell / Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs

External Combustion

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

Mike Campbell leans into his role as Tom Petty's lieutenant, winding up with a record reminiscent of Hypnotic Eye.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Scott Hardware

Ballad of a Tryhard

Telephone Explosion / Telephone Records

Pop/Rock

The third album from this Toronto artist trades in the muted melancholy of his earlier work for clearer production and warm, layered arrangements.

— Fred Thomas

Julieta Eugenio

Jump

Greenleaf Music

Jazz

An auspicious debut by Argentina-born, New York-based saxophonist and her killer trio.

— Thom Jurek

Shane Parish

Liverpool

Dear Life Records

Avant-Garde, Folk

The experimental guitarist/composer captures the vastness of open water with foreboding reworkings of sea shanties and nautical work songs.

— Fred Thomas

Letting Up Despite Great Faults

IV

Pop/Rock

The dream pop outfit's first album in eight years offers a fidelity upgrade while recommitting to woolly textures and submerged hooks.

— Marcy Donelson

Maylee Todd

Maloo

Stones Throw

Pop/Rock, R&B

Dreamlike and gentle, the album is a series of lovely science fiction ballads built around sparse and bubbly electronics and Todd's entrancing vocals.

— Tim Sendra