The Smile

Wall of Eyes

XL

Pop/Rock

The trio's sophomore outing is a mood-heavy trip that requires some attention for its nourishing payoff.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Future Islands

People Who Aren't There Anymore

4AD

Pop/Rock

The synth pop band continue to refine their passionate yet introspective style on their resilient seventh full-length.

— Paul Simpson

Torres

What an Enormous Room

Merge

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter blends grunge, folk, and electronic pop, as well as hope and fear, on bracing meditations about happily ever after's aftermath.

— Heather Phares

Ty Segall

Three Bells

Drag City

Pop/Rock

Gentle acoustic guitars and noisy electric leads share the spotlight on this set from the hardest working man in indie rock.

— Mark Deming

Gruff Rhys

Sadness Sets Me Free

Rough Trade

Pop/Rock

Baroque pop ballads with country around the edges, the singer/songwriter's 25th album (overall) is a beautifully weary, melodically rich look at modern life.

— Tim Sendra

Sy Smith

Until We Meet Again

Foreign Exchange Music

R&B

Aided principally by Zo!, Tall Black Guy, and Phonte, the high-caliber singer turns in a lavish sixth album of contemporary soul.

— Andy Kellman

Dinner Party

Dinner & Dessert

Sounds of Crenshaw

R&B

No-frills compact disc release combining the group's related pair of 2020 EPs.

— Andy Kellman

Chatham County Line

Hiyo

Yep Roc

Country, Folk, Pop/Rock

The imaginative bluegrass band steps outside the rules of the genre for a powerfully atmospheric, compelling tenth album.

— Mark Deming

Sam Gendel / Fabiano do Nascimento

The Room

Real World Records

Jazz, Pop/Rock, Classical, International

An intimate album of canny instrumental duets between the Brazilian guitarist and American saxophonist all but transcends genre.

— Thom Jurek

Tapir!

The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

Born of a D.I.Y. collective, a mystical three-act musical involving a quest that translates into a beguiling art-folk concept album.

— Marcy Donelson

Kula Shaker

Natural Magick

BFD / Strangefolk

Pop/Rock

The English group's original lineup reunites for their seventh album, blending '60s-style psych-rock and Brit-pop swagger.

— Matt Collar

Benny the Butcher

Everybody Can't Go

Def Jam

Rap

First Def Jam full-length from the Griselda rapper, confirming his status as a major player in the rap industry.

— Paul Simpson

Dorothy Carter

Waillee Waillee

Palto Flats

Folk, New Age

Mesmerizing interpretations of Celtic and Appalachian folk tunes, self-released in 1978 and later hailed as an avant-folk classic.

— Paul Simpson

Finnoguns Wake

Stay Young

What's Yr Rupture?

Pop/Rock

The brief but powerful debut EP from this melodically charged punk project featuring the former Royal Headache vocalist.

— Fred Thomas

Katy Kirby

Blue Raspberry

Anti-

Pop/Rock

The singer's lyrics are still astute on a more warmly orchestrated sophomore album concerned with love and all its complications.

— Marcy Donelson

The Umbrellas / Umbrellas

Fairweather Friend

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The second album from the San Francisco group continues their fascination with indie pop influences but explores deepened production and arrangement.

— Fred Thomas

Abdullah Ibrahim

3

Gearbox

International, Jazz

This double-length set by the pianist and his trio was recorded with and without an audience at London's Barbican Hall.

— Thom Jurek

Irakere

Grupo Irakere

Mr. Bongo

Latin, Jazz, International

Melding Cuban sounds with jazz and funk, the first proper album from Cuban legends Irakere showcases an ensemble arriving full formed.

— Thom Jurek

Office Dog

Spiel

New West

Pop/Rock

Angsty, '90 lo-fi inspirations with heavy guitar tones and anxious lyrics to match, mark the debut of the New Zealand power trio.

— Marcy Donelson

10cc

20 Years: 1972-1992

Edsel

Pop/Rock

A monumental box set containing all of the art-pop group's prime material, including ten studio albums and two discs of rarities.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alkaline Trio

Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs

Rise Records

Pop/Rock

A romantically defiant and blistering tenth album from the Chicago punk outfit.

— Matt Collar

Mitch Ryder

The Roof is on Fire

Ruf Records

Pop/Rock, R&B

The great Motor City rock & soul belter winds up the crowd with some help from a crack band in his second homeland, Germany.

— Mark Deming

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Live in Paris 1970: Lost ORTF Recordings

Transversales Disques

Jazz

The first vinyl issue of selections from an incendiary performance at French radio in 1970 with Jerome Cooper on drums.

— Thom Jurek

Sarah Jarosz

Polaroid Lovers

Concord / Rounder

Country, Pop/Rock

The Nashville transplant makes a confident stab at modern countrypolitan on her glossy seventh LP.

— Timothy Monger

Jakub Józef Orliński

Beyond

Erato

Classical

A new release from a star countertenor features recorded premieres of music by unknown Baroque composers.

— James Manheim

Anne-Sophie Mutter / Mutter's Virtuosi

Bach, Bologne, Previn, Vivaldi, Williams

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Chemistry is palpable in this recording by a mentor and her follower ensemble.

— James Manheim

Janne Mertanen

Chopin

Sony Classical

Classical

Very fine Chopin performances capture the narrative aspect Chopin's audiences would have heard.

— James Manheim

Seraphic Fire / James K. Bass

The Apple Tree: Christmas with Seraphic Fire

Seraphic Fire Media

Classical

A beautifully executed holiday album that sets ideas into relief by including multiple settings of the same texts.

— James Manheim

Fanya Lin / Theodore Kuchar / Henryk Wieniawski Lublin Philharmonic

Rhapsodic: Gershwin, Rachmaninoff

Navona Records

Classical

Strikingly good Gershwin from an almost all non-American group, with infectious Rachmaninov to boot.

— James Manheim

Simon Trpceski / Cristian Măcelaru / WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

Brahms: Piano Concertos

Linn Records

Classical

Intelligently developed rather than highly dramatic Brahms concertos provide a fresh outlook.

— James Manheim

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