The Weeknd

Hurry Up Tomorrow

Republic / XO Records

R&B

Heavy themes of finality are delivered with flawless production and cinematic grandeur on the purportedly final album from this future pop and R&B visionary.

— Fred Thomas

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

The Purple Bird

Domino

Country, Pop/Rock

Seasoned Nashville session players and expert production from David Ferguson help this celebrated underground songwriter make a classic traditional country album.

— Fred Thomas

Ambrose Akinmusire

Honey from a Winter Stone

Nonesuch

Jazz, Avant-Garde

On his sophomore date for Nonesuch, the trumpeter through composes five sprawling post-genre works with a quintet and string quartet.

— Thom Jurek

Lilly Hiatt

Forever

New West

Pop/Rock

The singer and songwriter puts Americana on hold to make a scrappy, home-brewed rock & roll album that's a small triumph.

— Mark Deming

Maribou State

Hallucinating Love

Ninja Tune

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The U.K. electronic duo achieve more of a full-band sound with their first album in seven years, a celebration of life and survival.

— Paul Simpson

Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Ebo Taylor / Adrian Younge

Ebo Taylor

Jazz Is Dead

R&B, International, Pop/Rock

The 89-year-old Ghanaian music pioneer records in Los Angeles with his sidemen and women as well as the Jazz Is Dead studio band.

— Thom Jurek

Eddie Chacon

Lay Low

Stones Throw

R&B

Quietly powerful and grieving third album from the resurgent singer, produced by Nick Hakim.

— Andy Kellman

Rumer

In Session

Kartel Ltd. / Rumer

Pop/Rock

The singer revisits some of her favorite songs with the help of the London-based guitarist's ensemble.

— Matt Collar

Dwight Twilley

Scuba Divers [Blueprint Edition]

Iconoclassic

Pop/Rock

The power pop icon's second solo album -- issued with a wealth of bonus tracks -- is full of the sparkling magic of rock & roll.

— Tim Sendra

The Ancients / Isaiah Collier / William Hooker / William Parker

The Ancients

Eremite

Jazz

Three fully improvised concerts feature an intergenerational example of three jazz giants who offer a bracing modern approach to free jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Jaye Jayle

After Alter

Pelagic

Pop/Rock

Gathering new and previously released songs, this is a time capsule of the project's imaginative fusion of folk, blues, electronics, and heavy rock.

— Heather Phares

Damon Locks

List of Demands

International Anthem

Avant-Garde

A riveting pro-Black synthesis of sound collage and spoken word from the Black Monument Ensemble leader.

— Andy Kellman

The Laughing Chimes

Whispers in the Speech Machine

Slumberland

Pop/Rock

The Ohio indie band undergo a dramatic shift in style, losing the fresh-faced jangle of their earlier work in favor of goth and synth pop influences.

— Fred Thomas

D.S. / Geologist

A Shaw Deal

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The Animal Collective member edits, remixes, and otherwise deconstructs guitar sketches for an album of ambient chaos.

— Fred Thomas

John Surman

Flashpoints and Undercurrents

Cuneiform Records

Jazz

This two-disc document contains the entirety of John Surman's sessions in Hamburg in 1969, including a wealth of unissued material.

— Thom Jurek

Joona Toivanen Trio

Gravity

Wejazz

Jazz, Avant-Garde

The Finnish piano trio stretch their boundaries on a wonderfully intimate, entirely improvised album.

— Timothy Monger

Preservation Brass

For Fat Man

Sub Pop

Jazz

Debut album of rollicking, New Orleans second line jazz from the Preservation Hall spin-off group.

— Matt Collar

Prison

Downstate

Drag City

Pop/Rock

The sophomore album from this N.Y.C. collective finds them taking a different approach to their psychedelic blues on almost every track.

— Fred Thomas

Norma Tanega

I Dont Think It Will Hurt if You Smile [Bonus Tracks]

Ace

Pop/Rock

Ace's 2024 CD reissue of the singer/songwriter's 1971 album complements its wide-open, psychedelic love songs with bonus tracks.

— Heather Phares

Roman Simovic / Kevin John Edusei / Simon Rattle / London Symphony Orchestra

Rózsa, Bartók: Violin Concertos

LSO Live

Classical

An illuminating pairing of Hungarian works, beautifully performed by an LSO violinist.

— James Manheim

Charles Owen

The Young Schumann

Avie

Classical

Program of early Schumann music has an attractive small-scale quality.

— James Manheim

Edgar Moreau / Michael Sanderling / David Kadouch / Luzerner Sinfonieorchester

Rococo

Erato

Classical

Strong performances of two Romantic masterworks for cello.

— James Manheim

Anna Dennis / Daniel Pioro / Martyn Brabbins / Andrew Gourlay / Elena Schwarz

Tom Coult: Pieces That Disappear

MMC Recordings / NMC

Classical

Recent works by this hard-to-categorize British composer include pieces based in inventive ways on traditional models.

— James Manheim

Thélème / Jean-Christophe Groffe / Sting

All We Get Is Life

Aparte

Classical

Novel juxtaposition of Dowland and Cage (and Sting) reveals, if not connections, at least unexpected compatibility.

— James Manheim

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Brett Dean: In spe contra spem; Viola & Cello Concertos; Orchestral Works

London Philharmonic Orchestra / LPO

Classical

Useful compilation of premieres of works by Australian composer Dean, written during his residence in London.

— James Manheim

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