The Black Keys

Ohio Players

Nonesuch

Pop/Rock

The Ohio-bred duo deliver plenty of their trademark dirty grooves on Album Number 12, with plenty of guests to add to the party.

— Mark Deming

Vampire Weekend

Only God Was Above Us

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The band's urgent musings on how history happens make for some of their most moving and jaw-droppingly audacious music.

— Heather Phares

Khruangbin

A LA SALA

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

The Texas trio return to their essence on their most stripped-down effort since their debut.

— Paul Simpson

José James

1978

Rainbow Blonde

R&B, Jazz

Broader than its title implies, the singer's 12th album incorporates slick disco, modern quiet storm, and moving responses to racist killings.

— Andy Kellman

The Libertines

All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade

Casablanca / EMI / Republic

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album riffs on their status as rock & roll survivors in a changing world.

— Heather Phares

Jane Weaver

Love in Constant Spectacle

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Still beaming in from an unknown galaxy, this cosmic indie songwriter turns in her most human-sounding set of songs.

— Fred Thomas

Marcus King

Mood Swings

Republic / Snakefarm Records

Pop/Rock

The blues-rock guitarist exorcises demons on this guitar-light collection of reflective modern soul.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Old 97's

American Primitive

ATO

Pop/Rock

The Texas alt-country veterans joyfully wing it while pondering the state of things on their lively and engaging 13th album.

Alice Russell

I Am

Tru Thoughts

R&B

On her first album in a decade, the British soul singer and songwriter unflinching reveals her journey through grief, healing, and motherhood.

— Thom Jurek

The Pernice Brothers

Who Will You Believe

New West

Pop/Rock

Time and tragedy bring about subtle but powerful changes on the eighth album from Joe Pernice's smart pop project.

— Mark Deming

Garbage

Bleed Like Me [Deluxe Edition]

Geffen

Pop/Rock

The band's fourth album is remastered and reissued with with a selection of B-sides, remixes and demos.

Project Gemini

Colours & Light

Mr. Bongo

Pop/Rock

Second album of psychedelic sounds with head-nodding beats and flashy guitar work, this time with folk and Turkish influences.

— Tim Sendra

Sheila E.

Bailar

Sony Music

Latin

After a seven-year break from recording, the iconic percussionist and composer returns with her first collection of salsa jams.

— Thom Jurek

Fabiana Palladino

Fabiana Palladino

Paul Institute / XL Recordings

Pop/Rock

Multi-talented pop-R&B singer/songwriter's first album affirms that she's in the same league as associates Jessie Ware, Laura Groves, and Jai Paul.

— Andy Kellman

Dana Gavanski

LATE SLAP

Full Time Hobby

Pop/Rock

Emotional struggles, signs of the times, and a playful new wave bent populate the third album by the crystalline-voiced art pop musician.

— Marcy Donelson

Ohio Players

Observations in Time [The Johnny Brantley/Vidalia Productions]

Omnivore

R&B

The Daytonians' raw, Southern-styled first album is expanded with a pair of 1968 singles and other previously issued recordings from the era.

— Andy Kellman

Various Artists

Under the Bridge, Vol. 2

Skep Wax Records

Pop/Rock

Second installation of indie pop gems by bands from the Sarah Records label, both in their original lineups and new configurations.

— Tim Sendra

Is/Ought Gap

SUA

HHBTM

Pop/Rock

Unreleased, revisited, and live tracks from a lesser-known band in Athens, Georgia's vibrant college rock scene of the '80s.

— Fred Thomas

Alina Bzhezhinska / Tony Kofi

Altera Vita

BBE

Electronic, Jazz, Pop/Rock

These longtime collaborators deliver a series of harp and saxophone duets at once intimate, poignant, and in places, provocative.

— Thom Jurek

Daedelus

Xenopocene

Dome of Doom

Electronic

A sprawling, futuristic space exploration inspired by the artist's residency with the SETI Institute.

— Paul Simpson

Conan Gray

Found Heaven

Island / Republic

Pop/Rock

A day-glo, dancefloor-ready album that finds Gray unabashedly evoking the sound of synthy, '80s Europop.

— Matt Collar

Drahla

angeltape

Captured Tracks

Pop/Rock

The quartet's cathartic second album exorcises grief with bracing, improvisatory post-punk.

— Heather Phares

Mei Semones

Kabutomushi

Bayonet Records

Pop/Rock

The jazz guitar major's Bayonet debut showcases a singular sound built on bossa nova, mathy rhythmic patterns, and affectionate indie pop.

— Marcy Donelson

Melissa Aldana / Fabian Almazan

Echoes of the Inner Prophet

Blue Note

Jazz

The Chilean-born saxophonist pays homage to Wayne Shorter on her artful sophomore Blue Note album.

— Matt Collar

Einstürzende Neubauten

Rampen

Potomak

Pop/Rock

The German industrial pioneers contrast their hard and soft sides on an album of self-described "alien pop music."

— Paul Simpson

Jokers Wild / Jokers Wild

Step Outside Your Mind

Sundazed

Pop/Rock

This 21-track anthology follows a Minneapolis band as they transform from garage rock to psychedelia to hard rock in four years.

— Mark Deming

Mount Kimbie

The Sunset Violent

Warp

Pop/Rock, Electronic

Expanding to a four-piece lineup, and with returning guest King Krule, the band focus on breezy, daydream-like post-punk reflections.

— Paul Simpson

Edy Forey

Culture Today

So Soul Records

Jazz, R&B

An auspicious debut from this Scotland-based European duo who weave together neo-soul, contemporary jazz, hip-hop, funk, and electronica.

— Thom Jurek

Adam Wiltzie

Eleven Fugues for Sodium Pentothal

Kranky

Electronic

The first non-soundtrack solo album from the Stars of the Lid co-founder evokes an escapist dream state approaching bliss.

— Paul Simpson

Still Corners

Dream Talk

Wrecking Light

Pop/Rock

The duo's sixth album is an alluring reminder of the powers of visions and fantasies.

— Heather Phares

Phosphorescent

Revelator

Calldown Music / Verve

Country, Pop/Rock

Matthew Houck's songwriting mellows slightly on this album of rich string arrangements and quietly captivating lyrical turns.

— Fred Thomas

Aki Takase Trio

Song for Hope

BBE

Jazz

The pianist/composer's explosive debut performance at the 1981 Berlin Jazz Festival with bassist Nobuyoshi Ino and drummer Takeyo Moriyama.

— Thom Jurek

Various Artists

Congo Funk! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982)

Analog Africa

International, R&B

An overview of the Congolese scene of the late '60s and early '70s, when fresh possibilities for musical expansion and collaboration abounded.

— Thom Jurek

X Ambassadors

Townie

Virgin

Pop/Rock

The Ithaca, New York-bred alt-pop outfit crafts a heartfelt homage to their hometown.

— Matt Collar

Timothy Ridout / James Baillieu / Frank Dupree

A Lionel Tertis Celebration

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

An instructive tribute to a great British violist.

— James Manheim

London Oratory Schola Cantorum / Charles Cole

Sacred Treasures of Venice

Hyperion

Classical

A cappella pieces from St. Mark's offer an interesting perspective on the repertory and lots of variety.

— James Manheim

Gregory K. Williams

Shadows: The Unaccompanied Viola Sonatas of Günter Raphael

Affetto

Classical

Rediscovered works for unaccompanied viola by a German composer of Jewish descent.

— James Manheim

Magdalena Kožená / Erin Morley / Marc Minkowski / Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble

Handel: Alcina

PentaTone Classics

Classical

A crackling version of Handel's take on the Orlando furioso tale, with sterling female vocals.

— James Manheim

Christian Poltéra / Ronald Brautigam

Brahms: Cello Sonatas; Schumann: Fünf Stücke im Volkston

BIS

Classical

Magnificent performances of Brahms and Schumann cello works, capturing their full range of expression.

— James Manheim

Béla Fleck

Rhapsody in Blue

Béla Fleck Productions

Classical

Multiple banjo versions of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue show the work's resilience.

— James Manheim

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