Kurt Vile

(Watch My Moves)

Verve Forecast

Pop/Rock

The ninth solo album from this meditative slacker rock songwriter contains both some of his most considered and most outlandish material to date.

— Fred Thomas

Jewel

Freewheelin' Woman

Words Matter Media

Pop/Rock

A bright, cheerful collection of soulful self-empowerment.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Joel Ross

The Parable of the Poet

Blue Note

Jazz

The vibraphonist leads his octet on this evocative, spiritually minded album-length suite.

— Matt Collar

50 Foot Wave

Black Pearl

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The power trio's second album in 17 years showcases different shades of musical and emotional heaviness with songs steeped in brooding mystery.

— Heather Phares

Rush

Moving Pictures [40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]

EMI / EMI Records / Mercury / UMC

Pop/Rock

The 40th anniversary edition of Rush's undisputed new wave-meets-prog-and-hard rock classic is offered in six distinct, obsessively rendered packages.

— Thom Jurek

Duster

Together

Numero Group

Pop/Rock

Trading in space rock ramble for a singer/songwriter-meets-noise rock approach, the group's fourth album is a slowcore triumph.

— Tim Sendra

Flock of Dimes

Head of Roses: Phantom Limb

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

A surprisingly high-quality compilation of outtakes, live cuts, and covers from Jenn Wasner's Flock of Dimes project.

— Timothy Monger

Tim Kasher

Middling Age

15 Passenger

Pop/Rock

Taking stock of life at 46 during a pandemic, the Cursive leader's fourth solo LP is perhaps his most profound -- and tuneful -- yet.

— Marcy Donelson

Earthen Sea

Ghost Poems

Kranky

Electronic

Dub-minded ambient artist intersperses household sounds and layers of hiss into his fragmented, amorphous music.

— Fred Thomas

SAVAK

Human Error/Human Delight

Ernest Jenning / Peculiar Works

Pop/Rock

The prolific Brooklyn indie rockers learn some new tricks and sharpen their songwriting on their satisfying fifth album.

— Mark Deming

High Pulp

Pursuit of Ends

Anti-

Electronic

Psychedelic jazz, funk, and electronic influences mark the Seattle collective's vibrant second album of original music.

— Matt Collar

The Crystal Method

The Trip Out

Ultra Records

Electronic

The Crystal Method's second album as a solo act straddles the line between Y2K nostalgia and post-pandemic festival material.

— Paul Simpson

Lyrics Born

Mobile Homies: Season 1

Mobile Home Recordings

Rap, R&B

The veteran emcee connects with several friends and collaborators on the first album born from his video interview and podcast series.

— Paul Simpson

MUNYA

Voyage to Mars

Luminelle Recordings

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Quebec's Josie Boivin doubles down on dance grooves and celestial atmospheres on her indie pop project's full-length debut.

— Marcy Donelson

Max Roach

We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

Candid / Candid Records

Jazz

A pivotal and enduring work in the discographies of Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, and the history of Black American music.

— Michael G. Nastos

Japanese Television

Space Fruit Vineyard

Tip Top Recordings

Pop/Rock

The British "space-surf" band split the difference between Dick Dale and Hawkwind on their trippy debut album.

— Mark Deming

Jerry Paper

Free Time

Stones Throw

Pop/Rock

Reflecting on personal freedom and self-identity, Jerry Paper's third Stones Throw LP is their loosest, most experimental release in several years.

— Paul Simpson

Ronnie Earl / Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters

Mercy Me

Stony Plain

Blues

The iconic guitarist and his longtime backing band offer originals and diverse covers in a program centered in deep blues and R&B.

— Thom Jurek

Johnny Ray Daniels

Whatever You Need

Bible & Tire Recording Company

Religious

The sacred soul debut album from 76-year-old North Carolina-based singer, guitarist, and patriarch of the Daniels/Vines gospel dynasty.

— Thom Jurek

George is Lord

My Sweet George

Curation Records

Pop/Rock

The sunny and engaging L.A. indie pop band cover the songs of George Harrison.

— Mark Deming

Gidon Kremer

Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Sonatas for Violin Solo

ECM New Series

Classical

Impressive performances by the septuagenarian Kremer of these difficult and little-known sonatas.

— James Manheim

Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea / Rowan Williams / William Vann / Joshua Ryan

Vaughan Williams: Earth's Wide Bounds

Albion

Classical

Vaughan Williams rarities and more, performed with crack authenticity by an underrated choir.

— James Manheim

Doric String Quartet / Timothy Ridout

Mendelssohn: The String Quintets

Chandos

Classical

The Doric String Quartet and violist Timothy Ridout offer enthusiastic readings of Mendelssohn's string quintets.

— Keith Finke

Sondra Radvanovsky

Donizetti: The Three Queens

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Soprano Radvanovsky takes the lead in the final scenes of Donizetti's three "Tudor Queen" operas.

— Keith Finke

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 10

Chandos

Classical

Bavouzet's tenth Haydn volume has the virtues of others in the set, although the program has odds and ends.

— James Manheim

Andris Nelsons / Members of Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig / Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5; Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - Prelude & Liebestod

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Sensuously beautiful and energetic, forward-looking Bruckner concludes Nelsons' cycle in Leipzig.

— James Manheim

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