Soccer Mommy

Sometimes, Forever

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

Soccer Mommy expands her palette with forceful, colorful washes of instruments that sometimes recall shoegaze.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Lupe Fiasco

Drill Music in Zion

1st and 15th Too

Rap

The Chicago wordsmith's eighth album pares things down to a digestible 40 minutes, but retains the depth of his classics.

— David Crone

Coheed and Cambria

Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind

Roadrunner Records

Pop/Rock

The second chapter in this arc in the Amory Wars narrative offers a wealth of creative musical directions in 13 tight, wonderfully executed songs.

— Thom Jurek

Jack Johnson

Meet the Moonlight

Brushfire / Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

The mellow singer/songwriter teams with producer Blake Mills for a quietly adventurous album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Zola Jesus

Arkhon

Sacred Bones

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's seventh album rewrites her rulebook with songs that heighten the spectacle -- and liberation -- of her music.

— Heather Phares

Jimmie Allen

Tulip Drive

Stoney Creek Records

Country, Pop/Rock

Jimmie Allen offers a smooth ride down a suburban street on his sophomore set.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Gaby Moreno

Alegoria

Metamorfosis / Sony Music / Warner Music

Pop/Rock, Latin

The L.A.-based singer/songwriter teams up with her favorite guitarists and others on this evocative, dramatic 11-song set.

— Thom Jurek

Katie Alice Greer

Barbarism

FourFour Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The solo debut from the former Priests lead vocalist is a confounding rush of noisy experimentalism and futurized pop.

— Fred Thomas

Art d'Ecco

After the Headrush

Paper Bag Records

Pop/Rock

Inspired by his return to Vancouver, d'Ecco juxtaposes past and present and highs and lows on songs that sound like alternate dimension hits.

— Heather Phares

Theo Croker

Love Quantum

Masterworks / Sony Classical

Jazz, R&B

The trumpeter continues to embrace a funky, spiritually minded blend of Afrofuturist jazz and hip-hop on his seventh album.

— Matt Collar

Jean-Benoît Dunckel

Carbon

Prototyp

Pop/Rock, Electronic

The composer and multi-instrumentalist's contemplative fourth solo album is a reminder of how beautiful technology and progress can be.

— Heather Phares

GIVĒON

Give or Take

Epic / Sony Music

R&B

Exceptionally openhearted first proper album from the 100%-R&B, Grammy-nominated baritone.

— Andy Kellman

Redd Kross

Neurotica

Merge

Pop/Rock

This 35th anniversary reissue contains unreleased demos from the band's second album.

Yves Jarvis

The Zug

Anti-

Pop/Rock, R&B

The fourth album from this Montreal polymath ups the electronic experimentation hinted at on earlier records, but never stays in one style or sound for long.

— Fred Thomas

Regina Spektor

Home, before and after

London / Rhino / Sire / Warner Records

Pop/Rock

Merging hooky pop, lyrical orchestral fare, beats, and theatricality, her freewheeling eighth studio LP is odd, fun, smart, fearless, and heartbroken.

— Marcy Donelson

Young Guv

GUV IV

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

Along with the jangle pop they perfected on GUV III, the band successfully explore hooky new wave, rambling country-psych, and baggy '90s dance grooves.

— Tim Sendra

Joan Shelley

The Spur

No Quarter

Pop/Rock, Country

The Kentucky singer and songwriter balances fear and hope in 12 songs that are honest and often beautiful.

— Mark Deming

Trixie Mattel

The Blonde & Pink Albums

Peg

Pop/Rock

The Drag Race star delivers a double album of hooky, sugar-coated power pop.

— Matt Collar

Tim Heidecker

High School

Spacebomb

Comedy/Spoken, Pop/Rock

The comedian and songwriter looks back on his teen years with songs that are tuneful, cringe-worthy, and instantly relatable.

— Mark Deming

Hollie Cook

Happy Hour

Merge

Reggae

The British reggae artist follows her chart-topping third album with a darker yet still hopeful set with lyrics focusing on heartbreak and self-care.

— Paul Simpson

Automatic / The Automatic

Excess

Stones Throw

Pop/Rock

The Los Angeles trio's second album is a more dystopian refinement of the guitarless post-punk sound of their debut.

— Paul Simpson

Caamp

Lavender Days

Mom + Pop Music

Country

The Ohio trio's third LP delivers neighborly indie folk ditties that bound weightlessly across multiple branches of American roots music.

— James Christopher Monger

Conan Gray

Superache

Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

The Internet star and pop auteur balances hooks with candidly intimate lyrics on his sophomore album.

— Matt Collar

Damien Jurado

Reggae Film Star

Maraqopa Records

Pop/Rock

A lush balance of wistful folk and psych-rock marks a cinematic 18th album focused on the life and times of ill-fated C-list actor Roger.

— Marcy Donelson

Day Wave

Pastlife

PIAS

Pop/Rock

The Bay Area dream popper offers a sophomore set of tranquil, yawning melancholia.

— Timothy Monger

Luke Combs

Growin' Up

Columbia / River House Artists

Country

Luke Combs sticks to what works on his sturdy third album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sally Anne Morgan

Cups

Thrill Jockey

Folk

A winsome and dreamy instrumental set echoing mountain traditions and triggering the imagination.

— Timothy Monger

Martin Courtney

Magic Sign

Domino

Pop/Rock

The optimistic follow-up to 2015's Many Moons finds the Real Estate leader reflecting on a time before young adulthood.

— Marcy Donelson

Porcupine Tree

Closure/Continuation

MRI / Music for Nations / Sony Music

Pop/Rock

13 years after going on hiatus, this psych-influenced prog unit return as a trio to explore many fascinating musical directions.

— Thom Jurek

Stealing Sheep

Wow Machine

Both Sides Records

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Inspired by the female pioneers of electronic music and first presented as a live installation, this album plays like a miniature rocket journey.

— Paul Simpson

Supersonic Blues Machine

Voodoo Nation

Provogue

Blues, Pop/Rock

The third studio album by the all-star session trio has more guest spots than ever, resulting in a rocking, wide-ranging 12-song set.

— Thom Jurek

Rinaldo Alessandrini / Concerto Italiano

Vivaldi: 12 Concertos Op. 3 L'estro armonico; Bach: Keyboard Arrangements

Naïve

Classical

Set of Vivaldi concertos, together with Bach's transcriptions, illuminates both sets of work in vigorous performances.

— James Manheim

Vinciane Béranger / Dana Ciocarlie / Hélène Collerette / David Louwerse

Rebecca Clarke: Works for Viola

Aparte

Classical

An enjoyable outing explores Clarke's works for viola beyond the popular sonata and gives insight into her career development.

— James Manheim

Dylan Perez

Samuel Barber: The Complete Songs

Resonus Classics

Classical

An immensely useful collection of Barber's complete songs compiled by pianist Perez.

— James Manheim

Pavel Haas Quartet / Pavel Nikl / Boris Giltburg

Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34; String Quintet in G major, Op. 111

Supraphon

Classical

Lush, passionate Brahms from the Czech-specialist ensemble, the Pavel Haas Quartet.

— James Manheim

Arcadia Quartet

Weinberg, Vol. 2: String Quartets Nos. 1, 7, and 11

Chandos

Classical

The Arcadia's successful Weinberg series continues with fine performances of quartets from various periods of the composer's career.

— James Manheim

Rinde Eckert / Van-Anh Vanessa Vo / Kronos Quartet

Jonathan Berger: Mỹ Lai

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Classical

A powerful operatic monologue brings home the horror of the Mỹ Lai massacre of 1968.

— James Manheim

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