Throwing Muses

Moonlight Concessions

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The band's stripped-down 11th album creates a mood of earthy tension with bracing acoustic tones.

— Heather Phares

Jules Buckley / Jules Buckley and His Orchestra / Florence + the Machine

Symphony of Lungs: BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall

Republic / Urban Republic Records

Pop/Rock

The English band's classic 2009 debut gets the orchestral treatment as part of the BBC Proms series.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Edwyn Collins

Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation

AED Records

Pop/Rock

A typically thoughtful, melodically rich, and inspiring album that stands with the guitar pop icon's best work.

— Tim Sendra

Circuit des Yeux

Halo on the Inside

Matador

Pop/Rock

Incorporating industrial beats and dynamic arrangements, Haley Fohr charts a path between the club and the cosmos.

— Paul Simpson

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Dead Channel Sky

Sub Pop

Rap, Avant-Garde

The experimental noise-rap trio evoke cyberpunk as well as big beat, drum'n'bass, and electro on their most techno-shocked release.

— Paul Simpson

St. Lucia

Fata Morgana: Dawn

Nettwerk

Pop/Rock

The duo blend '80s synth pop and disco hooks with a light psychedelia on their breezy fifth album.

— Matt Collar

The Loft

Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same

Tapete Records

Pop/Rock

The legendary indie pop pioneers reunited after 40 years to release a debut record made up of jangling, melancholy songs delivered with graceful restraint.

— Tim Sendra

Anoushka Shankar

Chapter III: We Return to Light

Leiter

Electronic

The conclusion of her travelogue triptych, the sitarist enlisted sarod master Alam Khan and producer/drummer Sarathy Korwar to assist.

— Thom Jurek

Coheed and Cambria

Vaxis III: Father of Make Believe

Coheed and Cambria

Pop/Rock

The progressive rockers return with a remarkable chapter that looks backward and into the future simultaneously.

— Thom Jurek

Steven Wilson

The Overview

Fiction

Pop/Rock

The musician and producer makes an inspired return to prog on this two-suite set about viewing the earth and its people from space.

— Thom Jurek

Courting

Lust for Life, Or: 'How to Thread the Needle and Come out the Other Side to Tell the Story'

Lower Third

Pop/Rock

The U.K. band's third album is a glorious exercise in coherent chaos and delivers an abundance of edgy fun.

— Mark Deming

Charley Crockett

Lonesome Drifter

Island

Country

The prolific independent country star moves up to the major labels with a potent mix of C&W and the blues.

— Mark Deming

Dennis Bovell

Different: The Singles Collection 1977-1981

Doctor Bird

R&B, Reggae

Compilation of tracks originally released as vinyl-only singles that showcases this British reggae producer's stylistic range, from dub to lovers rock to reggae disco-funk.

— Fred Thomas

Vazz

Your Lungs and Your Tongues

Numero Group

Pop/Rock

Numero Group expands the 1986 mini-album by a Scottish duo whose sound fell somewhere between coldwave, post-punk, and dream pop.

— Paul Simpson

Whatever the Weather

Whatever the Weather II

Ghostly International

Electronic

Second album from Loraine James' ambient glitch side project, mainly created using analog equipment and field recordings.

— Paul Simpson

Nels Cline

Consentrik Quartet

Blue Note

Jazz

On his fourth date for Blue Note, the guitarist and composer debuts a new band of all-stars to deliver future-forward jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Bambara

Birthmarks

Bella Union

Pop/Rock

The post-punk group continue to refine their style of dark narratives, with an atmospheric touch by co-producer Graham Sutton.

— Paul Simpson

Nico

Chelsea Town Hall

Modern Harmonic

Pop/Rock

The one-time Velvet Underground chanteuse delivers a powerful performance despite an ill-fitting backing band.

— Mark Deming

Sun Ra

Uncharted Passages

Modern Harmonic

Avant-Garde, Jazz, Pop/Rock

Long-buried late-'70s recordings of solo piano performances that range from free-form cosmic jazz to gentle renditions of standards.

— Fred Thomas

Joe Fiedler / Joe Fiedler Trio

Dragon Suite

Multiphonics Music

Jazz

Stylistically adventurous trio album from the sonically mutable trombone virtuoso.

— Matt Collar

Sylvie Courvoisier / Mary Halvorson

Bone Bells

Pyroclastic Records

Avant-Garde, Jazz

On their third duo offering, the pianist and guitarist engage in intricate, sometimes provocative improvisation inside detailed compositions.

— Thom Jurek

Stenhammar Quartet

Kalevi Aho: String Quartets 1 - 3

BIS

Classical

Early string quartets from a Finnish master show various influences but already a characteristic voice.

— James Manheim

Christine Busch / Stefania Neonato

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonaten für Klavier und Violine op. 12 Nr. 3, Op 30 Nr. 3, Op. 96

SWR Music

Classical

Expert historically oriented Beethoven performances, with a marvelous reading of the composer's final violin sonata.

— James Manheim

Seong-Jin Cho

Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Works

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

A wonderful traversal of Ravel's complete piano music from a player who makes it seem effortless.

— James Manheim

Théotime Langlois de Swarte / Le Consort

Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni

Harmonia Mundi

Classical

A flexible, lively performance that incorporates the famed Four Seasons into larger contexts.

— James Manheim

Isabel Schicketanz

Seelentrost

Perfect Noise

Classical

Marvelous, little-known small religious works from Schütz's time, sung with great intensity by a newcomer.

— James Manheim

Stile Antico

The Golden Renaissance: Palestrina

Decca

Classical

A basic Palestrina survey, with some textured singing from a top small choir.

— James Manheim

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