Wilco

Cruel Country

dBpm

Pop/Rock

Jeff Tweedy and co. look back to their country roots with a nuance and imagination they didn't have in 1995.

— Mark Deming

Brian Jackson

This Is Brian Jackson

BBE

R&B, Jazz

On his first solo album in 20 years, Jackson delivers a funky 21st century record that might have been made in the '70s.

— Thom Jurek

Dehd

Blue Skies

Fat Possum Records

Pop/Rock

The Chicago trio furthers the enhanced clarity and emotional depth that began on their 2020 album, applying both to some of their best songs to date.

— Fred Thomas

Harry Styles

Harry's House

Columbia

Pop/Rock

Inviting third set from the English pop star that merges '70s influence, L.A. energy, and irresistible pop savvy.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Stars

From Capelton Hill

Last Gang Records / MNRK Music Group

Pop/Rock

The ninth album from this Canadian indie band uses detailed, upbeat arrangements as backdrops for thoughtful and often bittersweet reflections on the passing of time.

— Fred Thomas

Biff Bang Pow!

Better Life: Complete Creations 1984-1991

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning collection filled with melancholy rarities and jangling goodies from a chronically underrated early Creation Records band.

— Tim Sendra

Liam Gallagher

C'mon You Know

Warner Records

Pop/Rock

Liam Gallagher livens up his rock & roll comfort food with some psychedelic spices, including collaborations with Ezra Koenig and Dave Grohl.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jean Carn / Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Adrian Younge

Jean Carne JID012

Jazz Is Dead

Jazz

Perhaps the biggest surprise yet in the Jazz Is Dead series, this contains all-new material co-written and sweetly voiced by the featured guest.

— Andy Kellman

Bruce Hornsby

'Flicted

Zappo Productions

Jazz, Pop/Rock

Bruce Hornsby closes out an adventurous trilogy inspired by Spike Lee music cues with a bright, mischievous record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Def Leppard

Diamond Star Halos

EMI / EMI Records / UMe

Pop/Rock

Def Leppard offer a tribute to the glory days of the CD while still exploring new musical territory.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Michael Head / Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band

Dear Scott

Modern Sky

Pop/Rock

The former Shack singer returns for a second solo album of finely wrought songs about life, love, and F. Scott Fitzgerald with sympathetic string arrangements.

— Tim Sendra

Alfie Templeman

Mellow Moon

Chess Club

Pop/Rock

The young British bedroom pop star makes his full-length debut with a set of fizzy melodies and bright hooks.

— Timothy Monger

Mono

My Story, the Buraku Story [Original Soundtrack]

Temporary Residence

Stage & Screen, Pop/Rock

On their soundtrack to Yusaku Mitsuwaka's documentary, Japan's Mono reveal an entirely new dimension to their musical persona.

— Thom Jurek

Nduduzo Makhathini

In the Spirit of Ntu

Blue Note

Jazz, International

On his tenth album, the South African pianist and composer sums up his musical philosophy thus far with a star-studded, homegrown cast and guests.

— Thom Jurek

HAAi

Baby, We're Ascending

Mute

Electronic

Stunning debut album from the Australian-born producer and DJ, incorporating more vocals into her euphoric style of psychedelic dance music.

— Paul Simpson

Emile Mosseri / Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

I Could Be Your Dog/I Could Be Your Moon

Ghostly International

Electronic

The two composers create a strange, dappled union of liquid melodies and limber arrangements.

— Timothy Monger

Dexter Gordon

Soul Sister

SteepleChase

Jazz

Two earthy, hard-swinging sets captured in the early '60s during the tenor saxophonist's time in Europe.

— Matt Collar

Maria BC

Hyaline

Father/Daughter Records

Pop/Rock

A mix of instruments, audio samples, and ethereal, poetic vocals mark the classically trained singer's somber, atmospheric debut.

— Marcy Donelson

Matthew Bourne

Irrealis

The Leaf Label

Avant-Garde, Jazz

A brief album of prepared piano improvisations, recorded at home while the artist was working on a soundtrack.

— Paul Simpson

Perel

Jesus Was an Alien

Kompakt

Electronic

Perel's second album incorporates more early house influences into her icy electro-disco sound.

— Paul Simpson

Slang

Cockroach in a Ghost Town

Kill Rock Stars

Pop/Rock

The debut album from this Pacific Northwest indie supergroup makes the most of their angular sound and outsized frontman.

— Mark Deming

The Frightnrs

Always

Daptone

Pop/Rock, Reggae

The second album from these Queen rocksteady devotees was built around unused vocals by late lead singer Dan Klein.

— Mark Deming

Celine Byrne / Merunas Vitulskis / Sergio Alapont / Irish National Opera Chorus / Irish National Opera Orchestra

Puccini: La Bohème

Signum Classics

Classical

Concert production of La bohème captures the headlong action despite pandemic-era restrictions.

— James Manheim

Leonore Piano Trio

Bargiel: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2

Hyperion

Classical

Obscure but strong chamber music from the circle of Schumann and the young Brahms.

— James Manheim

Stephen Hough

Schubert: Piano Sonata in G major D894; Piano Sonata in A major D664; Piano Sonata fragment D769a

Hyperion

Classical

Narrative Schubert music that is unusually intense by Hough's standards.

— James Manheim

Trevor Pinnock

J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier II

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

The successor to Pinnock's WTC Book 1 is just as breathtaking as the first volume.

— James Manheim

Chen Reiss / Semyon Bychkov / Czech Philharmonic

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

PentaTone Classics

Classical

Bychkov and his Czech Philharmonic kick off a new Mahler Symphony cycle with the Fourth, featuring soprano Chen Reiss.

— Keith Finke

King's College Choir of Cambridge / Daniel Hyde

Now the Green Blade Riseth: Choral Music for Easter

Kings College Cambridge

Classical

Program from King's College traces the events of Easter week in fine performances of well-chosen material.

— James Manheim

Previous Week Next Week