Adrianne Lenker

Bright Future

4AD

Pop/Rock

A varied but consistently high-quality 12-song set recorded with the acoustic trio of Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen.

— Marcy Donelson

Shakira

Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran

Sony Music

Pop/Rock, Latin

Twelfth LP from the global pop star that essentially merges a short new album with a de facto "Greatest Hits 2022-2024."

— Neil Z. Yeung

Waxahatchee

Tigers Blood

Anti-

Pop/Rock

An exceptionally warm and intimate album that benefits from the interaction of a full band featuring MJ Lenderman, Spencer Tweedy, and Phil Cook.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Gary Clark, Jr.

JPEG RAW

Warner Music / Warner Records

Blues, Pop/Rock

More inspired musical shape-shifting and pithy insights on American life from the master guitarist and songwriter.

— Mark Deming

Gossip

Real Power

Music for Nations

Pop/Rock

The trio's dignified, down-to-earth return balances thundering disco anthems with refreshingly unguarded pop and ballads.

— Heather Phares

Julia Holter

Something in the Room She Moves

Domino

Avant-Garde, Pop/Rock

Inspired by death, new motherhood, and creativity itself, the singer/songwriter and composer delivers flowing, affecting music filled with wonder.

— Heather Phares

The Jesus and Mary Chain

Glasgow Eyes

Cooking Vinyl / Fuzz Club Records

Pop/Rock

The band celebrate their 40th year with an album made up of dark, honest, and experimental sounds mixed with songs that fit nicely into their established style.

— Tim Sendra

Kenny Chesney

Born

Warner Music / Warner Nashville

Country, Pop/Rock

The country veteran plays to his beachy strengths on this satisfying album.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Christian McBride / Edgar Meyer

But Who's Gonna Play the Melody?

Mack Avenue

Jazz

Virtuoso bassists Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer come together for a rootsy, artfully ebullient set of duets.

— Matt Collar

Alice Coltrane

The Carnegie Hall Concert

Impulse! / Verve

Jazz

This previously lost concert features the great pianist and harpist with an all-star double quartet performing her own and John Coltrane's compositions.

— Thom Jurek

Elbow

Audio Vertigo

Geffen / Polydor

Pop/Rock

The veteran U.K. band's tenth set is one of their leanest, toothiest, and exciting releases in years.

— Timothy Monger

Aoife O'Donovan

All My Friends

Yep Roc

Folk, Pop/Rock

A dense, cinematic song cycle inspired by the women's suffragette movement.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Chaka Khan

Chaka

Rhino / Warner Records

R&B

Containing the indestructible disco anthem "I'm Every Woman," a solid solo debut delivered between two of the singer's best LPs with Rufus.

— Andy Kellman

Halo Maud

Celebrate

Heavenly

Pop/Rock

A stunning extension of the avant-garde pop sound of the first album with more shimmering psychedelic experimentalism and trilling emotion involved.

— Tim Sendra

Various Artists

I See You Live on Love Street: Music from Laurel Canyon 1967-1975

Grapefruit

Pop/Rock

This 72-track compilation chronologically traces the trend from sunshine pop to soft rock coming out of Los Angeles during the late '60s through the mid-'70s.

— Fred Thomas

Various Artists

Beehive Breaks

Numero / Numero Group

R&B

A themed sampling of the Numero Group's vast archival catalog, this spotlights soul women including Betty Wright, Marva Whitney, and Sandy Gaye.

— Andy Kellman

Cody Jinks

Change the Game

Late August Records

Country, Pop/Rock

The outlaw singer sobers up on this weighty record.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Good Morning

Good Morning Seven

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The Australian lo-fi duo takes a significant leap forward on this double album pop opus.

— Timothy Monger

Rosali

Bite Down

Merge

Pop/Rock

The fourth album from this singer/songwriter is an assemblage of simple beauties, gentle freak-outs, and staggering vulnerabilities delivered calmly.

— Fred Thomas

Klaus Johann Grobe

Io Tu Il Loro

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The Swiss duo lose some of the disco edge of their previous work, instead exploring a gentler, dreamier sound held together by deep melancholy.

— Fred Thomas

Vinicius Cantuária

Psychedelic Rio

Sunnyside / Sunnyside Communications

Latin, International, Jazz

The Brazilian guitarist teams up with an Italian rhythm section to reframe originals and Brazilian classics in a power trio setting.

— Thom Jurek

Sam Evian

Plunge

Flying Cloud Recordings

Pop/Rock

Themes of home and family guide a loose, inviting take on the musician's trademark late-'60s and '70s songwriting and recording inspirations.

— Marcy Donelson

Jlin

Akoma

Planet Mu

Electronic

The electronic visionary's third album builds on all of her past achievements, and features high-profile guests like Björk and Philip Glass.

— Paul Simpson

Starsailor

Where the Wild Things Grow

Starsailor / Townsend

Pop/Rock

The band's sixth album balances a symphonic, Brit-pop punch with an introspective lyricism.

— Matt Collar

Kramer / Pan•American

Reverberations of Non-Stop Traffic on Redding Road

Shimmy Disc

Electronic

Haunting yet soothing ambient collaboration between Labradford's Mark Nelson and the Shimmy Disc founder.

— Paul Simpson

Ivan Llanes

La Vida Misma

VYDIA

Latin, Jazz

Cuba-born, New York-based percussionist, vocalist, and bandleader delivers an Afro-Latin dance party on his debut album.

— Thom Jurek

Amanda Whiting

The Liminality of Her

First Word / First Word Records

Jazz

On her First Word debut, the harpist leads her band through elegant compositions exploring intersections between jazz, soul, funk, and improv.

— Thom Jurek

Cassie Kinoshi's seed. / Cassie Kinoshi

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International Anthem

Jazz

Recorded live in 2023, the composer's long-form work explores themes of emotions and mental health with an expanded ensemble.

— Thom Jurek

Not Me But Us

Two

Sonic Cathedral

Electronic

Stirring collaboration between Bruno Bavota and Fabrizio Somma, blending cinematic post-rock with sparkling ambient techno.

— Paul Simpson

Christopher Paul Stelling

Forgotten But Not Gone and Few and Far Between

Pop/Rock, Blues

The indie folk-blues troubadour's double-length, divorce-inspired seventh album is a personal one that spans raw solo and fiery band arrangements.

— Marcy Donelson

Sierra Ferrell

Trail of Flowers

Concord / Rounder

Country, Pop/Rock

A dreamy, unpredictable collection from a singer/songwriter who finds new ways to tell old tales.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

David Temple / Hertfordshire Chorus / Osama Kiwan / London Orchestra da Camera

Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man

Signum Classics

Classical

A slimmed-down version of Jenkins' hit work arguably shows it to its best advantage.

— James Manheim

Mario Ancillotti / Eliana Grasso

Mel Bonis: Complete Music for Flute & Piano

Brilliant Classics

Classical

Unfailingly tuneful music for flute and piano from a neglected French composer.

— James Manheim

Neeme Järvi / Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

Lalo: Suites and Valse de la Cigarette from Namouna; Overture to Le Roi d'Ys; Symphony in G minor

Chandos

Classical

A splendid excavation of Lalo works from a master of the late French Romantics.

— James Manheim

Reto Bieri / Patricia Kopatchinskaja / Polina Leschenko

Take 3

Alpha

Classical

Top-notch playing in a program that explores the various influences of jazz and other roots traditions.

— James Manheim

Martin James Bartlett

La Danse

Warner Classics

Classical

A fine, elegiac program rooted in several layers of French music.

— James Manheim

Nathalie Forget / Marc-André Hamelin / Gustavo Gimeno / Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Messiaen: Turangalîla Symphonie

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Debut recording by a new conductor is an ambitious live performance that promises much.

— James Manheim

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