Featured New Album Releases

Drake

Honestly, Nevermind

OVO Sound

R&B, Electronic

After a string of trap-heavy albums, Drake delves into vocal R&B and adds house and Baltimore club music to the much less oppressive mix.

— Tim Sendra

Logic

Vinyl Days

Def Jam

Rap

The rapper's first post-retirement studio LP is an all-out tribute to rap's golden age, enlisting genre veterans for a weighty, boom-bap-driven set.

— David Crone

Perfume Genius

Ugly Season

Matador

Pop/Rock

Based on the music for the dance piece The Sun Still Burns Here, Mike Hadreas' sixth album encompasses his music's extremes of beauty and rawness.

— Heather Phares

Fashion Club

Scrutiny

Felte

Pop/Rock

The stunning debut album from Pascal Stevenson's project delivers unflinchingly dark art-pop with a surprising streak of empathy.

— Heather Phares

Cola

Deep in View

Fire Talk

Pop/Rock

The debut album from this band partly made up of ex-members of Ought turns away from that act's often emphatic style toward streamlined post-punk.

— Fred Thomas

Hercules & Love Affair

In Amber

Skint Records

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The project's stunning fifth album taps into hypocrisy, loss, and redemption with songs ranging from somber chamber pop to scathing industrial blasts.

— Heather Phares

Bennie Maupin / Adam Rudolph

Symphonic Tone Poem for Brother Yusef

Strut

Jazz

Originally commissioned by a jazz festival in 2019 and thought scuttled, this compelling work offers tribute to Yusef Lateef.

— Thom Jurek

Hank Williams, Jr.

Rich White Honky Blues

Easy Eye Sound

Blues, Country

With the help of Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound crew, Hank Williams, Jr. gets down and dirty.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Horse Jumper of Love

Natural Part

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

Increased fidelity and upgraded arrangements with the same slowcore soul and sideways melodic sense as on previous releases.

— Tim Sendra

Sound of Ceres

Emerald Sea

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

The band's enchanting third album is an ethereal suite of cosmic pseudo-classical lounge pop.

— Timothy Monger

Flasher

Love Is Yours

Domino

Pop/Rock

The second album from the Washington, D.C. indie outfit lessens the punky grit in favor of smart, engaging indie pop tunefulness.

— Mark Deming

Foals

Life Is Yours

Warner Records

Pop/Rock

The band's vibrant seventh LP harnesses the precision-tuned dance-pop of Daft Punk and the R&B-tinged cinematics of Jungle.

— James Christopher Monger

Asha Puthli

The Essential

Mr. Bongo

Jazz, R&B

Mr. Bongo follows its reissue of the artist's 1976 classic The Devil Is Loose with the first-ever comprehensive overview of her career.

— Thom Jurek

Binker Golding

Dream like a Dogwood Wild Boy

Gearbox

Jazz, Blues

The U.K.-based saxophonist crisscrosses jazz, blues, Americana, soul, and gospel, leading a quintet anchored by pianist Sarah Tandy.

— Thom Jurek

Mt. Joy

Orange Blood

Island

Pop/Rock

The Philly combo's third LP is a step in the right direction with a dusty, low-key flavor.

— Timothy Monger

Pet Fox

A Face in Your Life

Exploding in Sound

Pop/Rock

Swinging between jangle pop, grunge, emo, and indie rock, the band's third album is an understated gem bolstered by intuitive arrangements and sneaky deep emotions.

— Tim Sendra

XAM Duo

XAM Duo II

Sonic Cathedral

Electronic, Pop/Rock

Embracing digital technology, the cosmic drone duo focus on a more concise, pop-influenced sound for their second album.

— Paul Simpson

Alice Merton

S.I.D.E.S.

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

The lengthy 15-song follow-up to the Berliner's breakout debut intertwines heartbreak, regret, and empowerment with rock-solid pop anthems.

— Marcy Donelson

Grey Daze

The Phoenix

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

The second posthumous set from Chester Bennington's early post-grunge band opts for rock muscle over its predecessor's catharsis.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Matthew Shipp / Matthew Shipp Trio

World Construct

ESP-Disk

Jazz

With his longest-running trio, the pianist and composer points toward radical new possibilities for the jazz piano ensemble.

— TiVo Staff

TV Priest

My Other People

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

The London indie rockers are still shaking off their influences on their second LP while sounding more powerful and impressive than ever.

— Mark Deming

Various Artists

Bubblerock Is Here to Stay, Vol. 2: The British Pop Explosion 1970-73

Grapefruit / London

Pop/Rock

The second volume of this compilation series includes over 75 tracks of strange and melodic British pop from a confused era between bubblegum and album rock.

— Fred Thomas