Panic! At the Disco

Viva Las Vengeance

Atlantic / Fueled by Ramen Records

Pop/Rock

The band's seventh album is a love letter to rock & roll, full of knowing exuberance and references to rock's golden gods.

— Matt Collar

The Mountain Goats

Bleed Out

Merge

Pop/Rock

Revenge is a dish best served by John Darnielle, as he explores getting even through the lens of classic crime cinema.

— Mark Deming

Demi Lovato

Holy Fvck

Island

Pop/Rock

This raw, hard rock pivot from the erstwhile pop star is a thrilling, pleasant surprise.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Cass McCombs

Heartmind

Anti-

Pop/Rock

A playful, breezy tenth full-length that looks at music and humanity through a delightfully wry lens.

— Marcy Donelson

Silversun Pickups

Physical Thrills

New Machine / New Machine Recordings

Pop/Rock

The invigorated sixth set from the alt-rock foursome lives up to its title with urgency and bite.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Hot Chip

Freakout/Release

Domino

Pop/Rock

Recorded at the band's own studio, their crisp, engaging eighth album finds opportunities to grow closer -- or start over -- during moments of crisis.

— Heather Phares

Röyksopp

Profound Mysteries II

Dog Triumph

Electronic

A less haunted but equally satisfying second installment of the electronic duo's Profound Mysteries project.

— Timothy Monger

Russian Circles

Gnosis

Sargent House

Pop/Rock

The members of Russian Circles composed the songs on their eighth album individually, allowing some variation in the post-metal trio's signature sound.

— Paul Simpson

Tall Dwarfs

Unravelled: 1981-2002

Merge

Pop/Rock

Career-spanning anthology from this New Zealand lo-fi duo illuminates just how profound their influence was on most of the indie rock that followed.

— Fred Thomas

The Berries

High Flying Man

Run for Cover Records

Pop/Rock

The third album from Matt Berry's pop project is their most accomplished work to date -- and their most downbeat.

— Mark Deming

The Chats

Get Fucked

The Chats

Pop/Rock

Fast, fun, stripped-down punk from this Australian trio in the grand tradition of their nation's raw, unpretentious rockers.

— Mark Deming

Jonathan Richman / Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers

Omnivore

Pop/Rock

Debut recordings of this singer/songwriter's more childlike reading of his formerly proto-punk band are simpler, friendlier, and fearlessly vulnerable.

— Fred Thomas

Shemekia Copeland

Done Come Too Far

Alligator / Alligator Records

Blues

Building on the momentum harnessed on her last two studio albums with producer Will Kimbrough, the Texas-born singer transcends them here.

— Thom Jurek

Watkins Family Hour

Watkins Family Hour, Vol. 2

Family Hour Records

Pop/Rock, Country

Another loose, lively, and surprising set from the ever-shifting collective featuring cameos by Fiona Apple, Jackson Browne, Benmont Tench, and Jon Brion.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Motorpsycho

Ancient Astronauts

Rune Grammaphon / Rune Grammofon

Pop/Rock

Though composed and demoed for cinema and dance troupes, the band's "visual music" offers an intensely focused, holistic listen.

— Thom Jurek

Oneida

Success

Joyful Noise

Pop/Rock

After the sprawling Romance, the Brooklyn group presents a more stripped-down set of garage punk and noise pop songs.

— Paul Simpson

Early James

Strange Time to Be Alive

Easy Eye Sound

Pop/Rock

With producer Dan Auerbach, Early James creates a colorful, shambling, and poetic spin on Americana.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Why Bonnie

90 in November

Keeled Scales

Pop/Rock

Committing to a dreamy, twang-seasoned rock, the Brooklyn band's full-length and Keeled Scales debut is nostalgic for their home state of Texas.

— Marcy Donelson

Various Artists

Before the Day Is Done: The Story of Folk Heritage Records 1968-1975

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock, Folk

The first comprehensive anthology of Alan Green's marvelous and very obscure late-'60s/early-'70s U.K. folk imprint.

— Timothy Monger

Walter Trout

Ride

Provogue

Blues, Pop/Rock

On his 30th album, the legendary bluesman reflects on his life, career, and the state of America with poignancy and vulnerability.

— Thom Jurek

Spielbergs

Vestli

Big Scary Monsters

Pop/Rock

The second album from the Norwegian indie punk trio adds polish and new ingredients to their formula without blunting their ferocious impact.

— Mark Deming

SRSQ

Ever Crashing

Dais

Pop/Rock

The second solo album from Kennedy Ashlyn (formerly of Them Are Us Too), more closely resembling '90s dream pop than darkwave.

— Paul Simpson

Szun Waves

Earth Patterns

Leaf / The Leaf Label

Avant-Garde

The third studio album from the improvisational trio, fleshed out by additional producers/engineers James Holden and David Pye.

— Paul Simpson

Calvin Keys

Blue Keys

Wide Hive Records

Jazz

Returning to Wide Hive after eight years, Calvin Keys and an all-star cast deliver a bluesy, dynamic offering that stands out.

— Thom Jurek

Bachdenkel

Rise and Fall: The Anthology

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock

Anthology collection from this '70s melodic prog group includes their two studio albums and an abundance of previously unreleased material.

— Fred Thomas

Marcus Creed / Ilse Eerens / Werner Güra / André Morsch / Orpheus Vokalensemble / Concerto Köln

Haydn: Die Jahreszeiten

Carus

Classical

A rich-sounding Haydn oratorio with historical instruments features splendid acoustics from a choir in its home element.

— James Manheim

Heath Quartet / Carolyn Sampson

Berg: String Quartet Op. 3; Webern: Langsamer Satz; Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10

Signum Classics

Classical

Exacting and lyrical performances of works on the brink of atonality.

— James Manheim

Marc Niemann / Philharmonisches Orchester Bremerhaven

Music from the Shadows: Emilie Mayer - Symphonies Nos 6 & 3

Haenssler Classic / Hänssler Classic

Classical

A striking entry in the ongoing rediscovery of an almost forgotten female symphonist.

— James Manheim

Eric Le Sage / François Leleux / Gävle Symphony Orchestra

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 KV 491 & 17 KV 453

Alpha

Classical

Detailed, proto-Romantic Mozart concertos offer distinctive readings of these often-recorded works.

— James Manheim

Robert deMaine / Peter Takács

Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano

Leaf Music

Classical

An exceptionally sensitive recording of Beethoven's cello-and-piano duos, dense in the best way.

— James Manheim

Plínio Fernandes

Saudade

Decca Gold

Classical

Debut album by guitarist Fernandes explores the porous boundary between classical music, jazz, and pop in Brazilian music.

— James Manheim

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