Taylor Swift

Speak Now [Taylor's Version]

EMI / EMI Records / Republic / Taylor Swift

Country, Pop/Rock

The re-recorded version of Taylor Swift's 2010 country-targeted album moves the music in a pop direction.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

PJ Harvey

I Inside the Old Year Dying

Partisan

Pop/Rock

Based on Harvey's epic poem Orlam, her spellbinding tenth album contemplates the transition from childhood to adulthood with hallucinatory folk, rock, and electronics.

— Heather Phares

Little Dragon

Slugs of Love

Ninja Tune

Electronic

Delightful seventh helping of slightly eccentric pop from the Swedish group, featuring appearances from JID and Damon Albarn.

— Andy Kellman

Anohni and the Johnsons

My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross

Secretly Canadian

Pop/Rock

The group's first album in over a decade uses vintage soul as the foundation for its elegant anthems and elegies.

— Heather Phares

Tony Allen / Adrian Younge

Tony Allen JID018

Jazz Is Dead

International, Jazz

A set of simmering Afrobeat and deep funk tunes built on rhythms from one of Afrobeat's creators, recorded before his death in 2020.

— Fred Thomas

The Particles

1980s Bubblegum

Chapter Music

Pop/Rock

Essential collection of tracks by an unjustly obscure Australian band who helped invent indie pop in the early '80s.

— Tim Sendra

Julie Byrne

The Greater Wings

Ghostly International

Pop/Rock

The Vashti Bunyan and Joni Mitchell disciple's follow-up to 2017's Not Even Happiness manages to raise the stakes in artistry.

— Marcy Donelson

Various Artists

The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake

BWSCD

Pop/Rock, Folk

This tribute compilation honors the late English folk legend with reinventions of his catalog from Liz Phair, Ben Harper, AURORA, and many others.

— Fred Thomas

Lifeguard

Crowd Can Talk/Dressed in Trenches

Matador

Pop/Rock

Two EPs from this young Chicago trio (one previously released, one not) equals a great, hard-hitting statement of purpose.

— Mark Deming

Suede

Suede [30th Anniversary Edition]

Edsel

Pop/Rock

Exciting, glamorous, and louche, the classic album is a shimmering collision of glam attitude, arena-sized ambition, and brilliant guitar playing, reissued here with B-sides.

— Tim Sendra

Gabriels

Angels & Queens [Deluxe]

Atlas Artists / Parlophone

R&B

All seven songs from 2022's "part one" are augmented by five new ones and a thumping hybrid of gospel-disco-funk, "Love and Hate in a Different Time."

— Andy Kellman

Chris Stamey

The Great Escape

Schoolkids

Pop/Rock

One of the great men of Southern jangle pop successfully adds some country accents to his repertoire.

— Mark Deming

Penguin Cafe

Rain Before Seven...

Erased Tapes Records

New Age

The fifth album from Arthur Jeffes' ensemble acknowledges grief and loss but mostly prefers to express joy and optimism.

— Paul Simpson

Brian Blade / Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band

Kings Highway

Stoner Hill

Jazz

Original guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel rejoins the drummer's band for a warm, '70s fusion-inspired seventh album.

— Matt Collar

Grouplove

I Want It All Right Now

Glassnote Entertainment Group

Pop/Rock

Cathartic, '90s-style alt-rock anthems mark the Los Angeles group's exuberant sixth album.

— Matt Collar

Local Natives

Time Will Wait for No One

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock

A sultry blend of '70s soul and artful post-punk marks the Los Angeles band's fifth album.

— Matt Collar

Me Lost Me

RPG

Upset the Rhythm

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The project's third album connects the storytelling of British folk and the world-building of video games with striking, inspiring results.

— Heather Phares

African Head Charge

A Trip to Bolgatanga

On-U Sound

Reggae, International, Electronic

Optimistic and encouraging Afro-dub from Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah's long-running ensemble.

— Paul Simpson

Saloli

Canyon

Kranky

Electronic

Playful, reflective solo keyboard compositions meant to evoke the daily life of a bear in a canyon in the Smoky Mountains.

— Paul Simpson

The Monochrome Set

Radio Sessions: Marc Riley BBC 6 Music 2011-2022

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

The long-running underground pop group sound as good as ever on this selection of tracks from their 2010s run of albums, plus a few oldies.

— Tim Sendra

BL!NDMAN

ICONS: The American Minimalists

Warner Classics

Avant-Garde, Classical

Contemporary music group delivers what's promised, works by iconic minimalist composers in electronic-flavored but not essentially new versions.

— James Manheim

Laurence Equilbey / Insula Orchestra

Louise Farrenc: Symphonies 1-3; Overtures in E minor-E flat

Erato

Classical

Fully state-of-the-art symphonies of the 1840s, in convincing period instrument performances.

— James Manheim

Elizabeth Sombart / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Pierre Vallet

Mozart: Piano Concertos 20, 21, 23, 27

Rubicon / Rubicon Classics

Classical

Old-school Mozart concertos with fine coordination between soloist and orchestra.

— James Manheim

Trio Wanderer / Christophe Gaugué / Catherine Montier

César Franck: Piano Trio & Quintet; Violin Sonata; Louis Vierne: Piano Quintet

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

An album of French chamber music exposes some wonderful forgotten works.

— James Manheim

Cantata Collective / Nicholas McGegan

Bach: St. John Passion

Avie

Classical

A deliberate, almost meditative Bach is amplified in impact by superb live recording.

— James Manheim

María Dueñas / Manfred Honeck / Wiener Symphoniker

Beethoven and Beyond

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Marvelous, entirely original Beethoven from a youthful violin player.

— James Manheim

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