Empire of the Sun

Ask That God

Capitol

Electronic, Pop/Rock

This welcome return to form blends the Australian duo's quirky surrealism with irresistible beat-driven production.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Ghost

Rite Here Rite Now [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Loma Vista

Pop/Rock, Stage & Screen

Ghost's first concert album is an unholy horn of plenty that delivers on both performance and spectacle.

— James Christopher Monger

Cults

To the Ghosts

Universal

Pop/Rock

The duo's fifth album gives equal time to their timeless melodies and songwriting and their sonic experimentation.

— Heather Phares

Bill Callahan

Resuscitate!

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter's first live album in 14 years is an exultant celebration of how music grows richer with time and in front of an audience.

— Heather Phares

The Police

Synchronicity [Super Deluxe Edition]

A&M / AM Records / Polydor / UMR

Pop/Rock

A multi-disc super deluxe edition containing previously unreleased tracks and new liner notes.

Ice Spice

Y2K!

10k Projects / Capitol

Rap

The debut studio album from this New York drill rapper is brash, direct, and succinct fun.

— TiVo Staff

Crack Cloud

Red Mile

Jagjaguwar

Pop/Rock

Canadian art rock collective applies cinematic instrumentation and exacting production to messy, street-level punk rock anthems.

— Fred Thomas

Wand

Vertigo

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The always-evolving psychedelic group turns in a quietly adventurous set of deep space grooves, tense string arrangements, and subtly expanding songs.

— Fred Thomas

Red Clay Strays

Made by These Moments

RCA

Country

The Alabama country-rockers make a leap to the major leagues with the assistance of producer Dave Cobb.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Baby Rose / BadBadNotGood

Slow Burn

Secretly Canadian

R&B

Cathartic and luminous soul from the singer and band on this wholly collaborative EP.

— Andy Kellman

Shop Assistants

Will Anything Happen [Deluxe Edition]

Chrysalis Records

Pop/Rock

Expanded edition of a foundational indie-noise-twee (sort of) pop album by one of the exemplary groups of the style's early days.

— Tim Sendra

Jimetta Rose / The Voices of Creation

Things Are Getting Better

Day Dreamer

R&B

The second album from the singer and her Los Angeles community choir packs more optimism and rhythmic punch than their first.

— Andy Kellman

Various Artists

Heaven Sent: The Rise of New Pop 1979-1983

Cherry Red

Pop/Rock

This fun and educational collection documents the brief blink of time when post-punk artists began to gleefully embrace the sound and trappings of pop.

— Tim Sendra

Loleatta Holloway

We're Getting Stronger: The Gold Mind/Salsoul Recordings 1976-1982

Soul / Second Disc Records / SoulMusic

R&B

Five-disc box containing the powerhouse singer's four Salsoul albums and essential club mixes by the likes of Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan, and Tom Moulton.

— Andy Kellman

Nathan Bowles / Nathan Bowles Trio

Are Possible

Drag City

Folk, Avant-Garde

An adventurous and engaging set from a rarely heard instrumental combo of banjo, double bass, and drums.

— Timothy Monger

Alex Izenberg

Alex Izenberg & the Exiles

Domino / Weird World

Pop/Rock

A more expansive, improvisational, and ruminative fourth LP that maintains a distinctive literary quality and psychedelic and Baroque inspirations.

— Marcy Donelson

Nightshift

Homosapien

Trouble in Mind

Pop/Rock

The Glasgow group shuffles their lineup and tries on different styles from song to song on this vivid and deftly organized album.

— Fred Thomas

Pat Metheny

MoonDial

Metheny Group / Modern Recordings

Jazz

On his second consecutive solo guitar set, the artist expands his tonal reach with a custom-built baritone guitar using nylon strings.

— Thom Jurek

The Emperors

I Want My Woman

BeatRocket

Pop/Rock

Twelve rare sides (four previously unreleased) from a California teen combo who were local heroes in Long Beach in the 1960s.

— Mark Deming

Andromeda Turre

From the Earth

Outside In Music

Jazz, Pop/Rock

The vocalist/composer's masterwork, using various genres, rhythms, instruments, and voices to offer a meditation on climate change.

— Thom Jurek

Ayumi Ishito

Wondercult Club

577 Records

Jazz, Pop/Rock

The New York-based saxophonist and composer's debut for 577 Records pushes her quintet to a whole different level.

— Thom Jurek

Humanist

On the Edge of a Lost and Lonely World

Believe / Bella Union

Pop/Rock

A marquee cast of guest vocalists brings Rob Marshall's dramatic, poly-genre, alt-rock vision to life.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Andreas Mader / Joseph Moog

Walking the Dog

Naïve

Classical

A very well-programmed saxophone recital touches on many influences from jazz.

— James Manheim

Benjamin Bruns / Christiane Karg / Marek Janowski / Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra / MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus

Haydn: Die Schöpfung

PentaTone Classics

Classical

A live recording of Haydn's oratorio that has spontaneity and transparency.

— James Manheim

Gerald Peregrine / Antony Ingham

Folk Tales, Vol. 2: British and Irish Miniatures

Naxos

Classical

The sequel to the duo's 2019 Folk Tales release is enhanced by actual folk material.

— James Manheim

Alain Altinoglu / hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra)

Florent Schmitt: La Tragedie de Salome; Chant Élégiaque

Alpha

Classical

The rare original version of this Salomé dance work is persuasively played by a small orchestral group.

— James Manheim

Elizabeth Chang / Steven Beck

Sonatas & Myths: Bartók, Szymanowski, Dohnányi

Bridge

Classical

Intricately connected works are given probing readings by an expert duo.

— James Manheim

Andrè Schuen / Daniel Heide

Franz Schubert: Winterreise

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

An emotive but inward Winterreise completes this charismatic baritone's Schubert trilogy.

— James Manheim

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