Billie Eilish

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Darkroom / Interscope

Pop/Rock

Tight third album that explores relationships and identity with thrilling production and surprising flourishes.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Shellac

To All Trains

Touch and Go

Pop/Rock

Chicago's math rock titans dish out ten bangers in 28 minutes in a fitting yet unexpected finale to their career.

— Mark Deming

Childish Gambino

Atavista

RCA / Wolf & Rothstein

R&B, Rap

This revamped version of 3.15.2020 sports a new mix, a shuffled track list, and all the daring and unpredictable brilliance of the original.

— Tim Sendra

Slash

Orgy of the Damned

Firebird Music / Gibson

Pop/Rock, Blues

A star-studded blues album from the Guns N' Roses guitar slinger.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Beth Gibbons

Lives Outgrown

Domino

Pop/Rock, Folk

The singer/songwriter returns from a long hiatus with gorgeously weathered songs that explore aging with resolute honesty.

— Heather Phares

Cage the Elephant

Neon Pill

RCA

Pop/Rock

Frontman Matt Shultz exorcises personal demons as his band plays an alluring alt-rock pastiche.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers

Ramseur Records

Folk, Country, Pop/Rock

On their mid-career self-titled set, the North Carolinians are reliable and earnest.

— Timothy Monger

Kevin Barnes / Of Montreal

Lady on the Cusp

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

Set against a move from Georgia to Vermont, the project's shape-shifting 19th studio outing tends to favor its sexier, sassier, funkier proclivities.

— Marcy Donelson

New Kids on the Block

Still Kids

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Pop/Rock

The boy band veterans play to their strengths without succumbing to nostalgia.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Kate Hudson

Glorious

Hail Mary / Hail Mary Productions / Virgin

Pop/Rock

A bright, lively, and fresh spin on classic rock from the actress turned singer.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Mavericks

Moon & Stars

Mono Mundo Recordings

Country, Latin, Pop/Rock

Flashes of their retro-pop past and Latin-infused present mix on a great album from these roots country veterans.

— Mark Deming

Joywave

Permanent Pleasure

Cultco Music / Hollywood

Pop/Rock

Boosted by orchestral backing, the Rochester indie crew scale back on concept and get creative on yet another addictive set.

— Neil Z. Yeung

ZAYN

ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS

Island / Mercury / Republic

Pop/Rock, R&B

Surprising pivot down a blues/country trail that ends up being an ideal decision for the singer's smoky voice and emotional well.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Barry Adamson

Cut to Black

Barry Adamson Incorporated / Harmonia Mundi

Pop/Rock

Northern soul meets film noir on this album of dark themes you can dance to.

— Mark Deming

Lightheaded

Combustible Gems

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The proper debut full-length from this New Jersey indie outfit takes a slightly different approach for each of its eight tuneful and tastefully arranged tracks.

— Fred Thomas

Taana Gardner

When You Touch Me: The West End Recordings

Second Disc Records / SoulMusic

R&B

Overdue anthology of the singer's West End recordings, including eternal club hits "Work That Body," "When You Touch Me," and "Heartbeat."

— Andy Kellman

La Comitiva / Erlend Øye

La Comitiva

Bubbles

Pop/Rock

The Norwegian expat and his Sicilian string band create breezy chamber pop with South American and Italian flair.

— Timothy Monger

Alan Braufman

Infinite Love Infinite Tears

Valley of Search

Jazz

The saxophonist and composer returns to recording with a smoking jazz band filled with old and new friends, including vibist Patricia Brennan.

— Thom Jurek

Cannonball Adderley / Cannonball Adderley Quintet

Live in Montreal May 1975

Liberation Hall / Wienerworld

Jazz

Raw, swaggering, charismatic concert recorded a few months before the legendary saxophonist's death at age 46.

— Matt Collar

Mandy

Lawn Girl

Exploding in Sound

Pop/Rock

The solo debut of Melkbelly's Miranda Winters is a quick, cathartic one that merges '90s alternative influences and themes of femininity.

— Marcy Donelson

Ray Angry / David Murray / Questlove

Plumb

JMI / Outside In Music

Jazz

A spacey, avant-garde jazz mood music collaboration featuring the Roots drummer and his esteemed cohorts.

— Matt Collar

Les Épopées / Stéphane Fuget

Lully: Grands Motets, Vol. 4 - Te Deum

Château de Versailles

Classical

Choral works by Lully bring the full splendor of Louis XIV's court.

— James Manheim

Nikolai Lugansky

Richard Wagner

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

Wagner transcriptions in the 19th century grand manner bring the listener close to the world of Liszt as a pianist.

— James Manheim

Masato Suzuki

Bach: Das Wohltemperiert Klavier 1

BIS

Classical

The offspring of a great Bach performer strikes a balance between parental influence and an independent course.

— James Manheim

Véronique Gens / Hervé Niquet

Paysage

Alpha

Classical

A wonderful French orchestral song recital from the seemingly indestructible Gens.

— James Manheim

Peter Moore / Michael Seal / Pablo Urbina / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Dani Howard: Orchestral Works

Rubicon

Classical

Sunny, enthusiastic works from a newcomer on the crossover orchestral scene.

— James Manheim

Evgeny Kachurovsky / Igor Morozov / Ekaterina Antonenko / Alexis Lukianov / PaTRAM Institute Male Choir

Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil

Chandos

Classical

A unique arrangement of Rachmaninov's famed sacred work for an all-male choir.

— James Manheim

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