Arcade Fire

WE

Columbia

Pop/Rock

Timely sixth set that re-centers the Canadian indie crew after a decade of dance-focused efforts.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Belle and Sebastian

A Bit of Previous

Matador

Pop/Rock

The tenth studio album from one of indie pop's best-loved bands uses their familiar cheerful sounds to deliver weighty lyrical themes.

— Fred Thomas

Sharon Van Etten

We've Been Going About This All Wrong

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Working largely alone, Sharon Van Etten processes the pandemic and personal upheaval on this probing and moving album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Neil Young

Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live at the Bottom Line)

Reprise / Shakey Pictures Records / Warner Records

Pop/Rock

A remarkably loose and light live reading of the doomy songs from Neil Young's On the Beach era.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Neil Young

I'm Happy That Y'all Came Down [Live at the Los Angeles Music Center]: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971

Reprise

Pop/Rock

A high-quality rendering of this often-bootlegged solo performance, one that finds a songwriting master relaxed on-stage while presenting some of his best work.

— Fred Thomas

Neil Young

Royce Hall 1971

Reprise

Pop/Rock

Archival recordings of an intimate solo performance on the campus of UCLA in early 1971.

— Fred Thomas

Warpaint

Radiate Like This

Virgin

Pop/Rock

Despite a lengthy hiatus and a challenging creative process, the band's spontaneous and sensual fourth album is a welcome return.

— Heather Phares

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Endless Rooms

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Written and recorded during a tumultuous time, the band's third album reflects that feeling on a set of inspired and inspiring indie rock.

— Tim Sendra

Sigrid

How to Let Go

Island

Pop/Rock

Triumphant sophomore set from the Norwegian pop star proposes positivity and growth in the face of life's challenges.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Ella Mai

Heart on My Sleeve

Interscope

R&B

A sense of trepidation fills even the moments of delight on the follow-up to the singer's Grammy-nominated debut.

— Andy Kellman

Hater

Sincere

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

After some lineup changes and a rethink, the band come out blazing on a set of guitar-heavy, emotionally shattered post-punk- and shoegaze-inspired songs.

— Tim Sendra

Ibeyi

Spell 31

XL

Pop/Rock

A radical make-over of Black Flag's "Rise Above" merely scratches the surface of what makes the Diaz sisters' third album a singular work.

— Andy Kellman

Midland

The Last Resort: Greetings From

Big Machine Records

Country

A cool, breezy soundtrack designed for good times.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Suki Waterhouse

I Can't Let Go

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Heartbreak and doubt are constants on the actress/singer's pining debut LP, produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff).

— Marcy Donelson

Emeli Sandé

Let's Say for Instance

Chrysalis Records

Pop/Rock

A handful of joyous love songs highlight the singer/songwriter's fourth album, her most varied set in both emotion and style.

— Andy Kellman

Sunflower Bean

Headful of Sugar

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

The New York trio embrace a dark, hypnotic sophistication on their intoxicating third album.

— Matt Collar

Stroppies

Levity

Tough Love

Pop/Rock

Bubbling, unguarded music from a band escaping the shadow of their heavy Flying Nun influence thanks to production savvy.

— Tim Sendra

Norma Tanega

I'm the Sky: Studio and Demo Recordings 1964–1971

Anthology / Anthology Recordings

Pop/Rock, Folk

Gathering highlights from her released and unreleased body of work, this collection reveals just how rich the singer/songwriter's music truly is.

— Heather Phares

AWOLNATION

My Echo, My Shadow, My Covers and Me

Better Noise

Pop/Rock

This fun and nostalgic covers set from the alt-rock crew (and some famous friends) mines the music of the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Saâda Bonaire

1992

Captured Tracks

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The genre-mashing German collective's later recordings add house, trip-hop, and acid jazz inspirations to their global mix of sounds.

— Heather Phares

John Scofield

John Scofield

ECM

Jazz

The globally celebrated guitarist delivers his first unaccompanied solo recording five decades into his professional career.

— Thom Jurek

Andrew Leahey / Andrew Leahey & the Homestead

American Static, Vol. 2

Mule Kick Records

Pop/Rock

Leahey and his crew complete their epic double album with a deeply satisfying set of warm, '70s-indebted rock.

— Timothy Monger

Beneather

Beneather

Where It's At Is Where You Are

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The debut album from this London-based ambient pop composer is a blur of aquatic production and cinematic atmospheres.

— Fred Thomas

Ches Smith

Interpret It Well

Pyroclastic Records

Jazz

The drummer/composer and co. explore eventual, non-linear musical narratives on this sophisticated set.

— Thom Jurek

Jack Harlow

Come Home the Kids Miss You

Atlantic / Generation Now

Rap

The second album from the Kentucky pop rapper is a high-stakes production featuring guest spots from Drake and Justin Timberlake.

— Tivo

Tom Herbert / Nightports

Nightports w/ Tom Herbert

The Leaf Label

Jazz

The British electro-acoustic duo explore a wide range of textures created by double bassist Tom Herbert.

— Paul Simpson

VERO

Unsoothing Interior

PNKSLM

Pop/Rock

Drawing on turn-of-the-millennium acts like Garbage and Elastica, this Stockholm trio's debut delivers on both distortion and pristine melodic hooks.

— Marcy Donelson

Soccer96

Inner Worlds

Moshi Moshi Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

A more introspective follow-up to the synth-and-drums duo's dystopian effort Dopamine.

— Paul Simpson

Julien Behr / Vannina Santoni / François-Xavier Roth / Les Siècles

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Historically oriented performance of Pelléas et Mélisande impresses with vivid instrumental shadings.

— James Manheim

I Musici / Francesco Buccarella / Marco Fiorini

Le Quattro Stagioni: Vivaldi, Verdi

Decca

Classical

An unusual Four Seasons program from the group that started it all.

— James Manheim

Stéphane Degout / Julian Prégardien / Raphaël Pichon / Pygmalion

J.S. Bach: Matthäus-Passion

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

A splendid, spacious historical-instrument reading of the St. Matthew Passion.

— James Manheim

American Contemporary Music Ensemble / Theatre of Voices / Paul Hillier / Jóhann Jóhannsson

Jóhann Jóhannsson: Drone Mass

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

New development in holy minimalism relies on effects arising from interactions of electronics, a string quartet, and a vocal group.

— James Manheim

Fenella Humphreys

Caprices

Rubicon / Rubicon Classics

Classical

Equally perfect in conception and execution, Humphreys' program combines the virtuoso caprice form with contemporary composition.

— James Manheim

Asmik Grigorian / Lukas Geniušas

Rachmaninov: Dissonance

Alpha

Classical

A Sterling debut album by an operatic singer who wisely chooses the operatic songs of Rachmaninov for her program.

— James Manheim

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