Brandi Carlile / Elton John

Who Believes in Angels?

Interscope / Island EMI

Pop/Rock

Two musical icons combine on a set of lively rockers and grand ballads that are joyous and empowering in equal measure.

— Tim Sendra

Dirty Projectors / Dave Longstreth

Song of the Earth

Nonesuch

Pop/Rock

Less an indie rock album and more a contemporary classical suite, this breaks new ground for the leader of Dirty Projectors.

— Mark Deming

Sleigh Bells

Bunky Becky Birthday Boy

Mom + Pop Music

Pop/Rock

The duo gives equal time to headbanging and heartache on one of their most satisfying albums.

— Heather Phares

Black Country, New Road

Forever Howlong

Ninja Tune

Pop/Rock

The London band reinvents itself yet again on this delightfully eccentric third studio outing.

— Timothy Monger

Anika

Abyss

Sacred Bones

Electronic, Pop/Rock

The singer/songwriter channels her frustrations with life in the 2020s into confrontational songs that are equally heavy and haunting.

— Heather Phares

Djo

The Crux

Twenty 20

Pop/Rock

The third album from the Stranger Things star showcases his wry and hooky mix of vinyl era-inspired pop.

— Matt Collar

The Waterboys

Life, Death and Dennis Hopper

Primary Wave / Sun Records

Pop/Rock

A suitably eclectic and daring musical homage to the maverick actor, filmmaker, and troublemaker.

— Mark Deming

Yann Tiersen

Rathlin from a Distance/The Liquid Hour

Mute

Pop/Rock, New Age

Half-solo piano and half-electronic post-rock, and inspired by a 2023 sailboat tour, an epic drawing on self-reflection and societal upheaval.

— Marcy Donelson

Stella

Adagio

Sub Pop

Pop/Rock

Guided by the idea of slowing down, Stella Chronopoulou's slinky fifth LP includes a collaboration with !!!’s Rafael Cohen (aka los Palabras).

— Marcy Donelson

Momma

Welcome to My Blue Sky

Polyvinyl

Pop/Rock

The Polyvinyl signees reinvigorate their sound while playing with texture on a warts-and-all set inspired by experiences related to touring.

— Marcy Donelson

Barker

Stochastic Drift

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic

The Berghain resident adds elements of chamber jazz and dub to his innovative style of cascading ambient techno.

— Paul Simpson

Lawrence Hart

Come In Out of the Rain

Domino

Electronic

Emotionally direct, remarkably accomplished full-length debut from a U.K. producer with a melancholy yet euphoric blend of house and garage.

— Paul Simpson

Florist

Jellywish

Double Double Whammy

Pop/Rock

Emily Sprague and band open the door to the supernatural while quietly navigating existential dread, depression, gratitude, and grief.

— Marcy Donelson

Sarah Mary Chadwick

Take Me Out to a Bar/What Am I, Gatsby?

Kill Rock Stars

Pop/Rock

The Australia-based performer presents her raw-nerve perspectives and depressive narratives with crushingly stark, often barely-there piano accompaniment.

— Fred Thomas

Marlon Williams

Te Whare Tiwekaweka

Marlon Williams

Pop/Rock, International

The Kiwi singer/songwriter leans into his ancestral heritage on an album sung entirely in te reo Māori.

— Timothy Monger

Michael Grigoni / Pan•American

New World, Lonely Ride

Kranky

Pop/Rock

Seamless ambient Americana collaboration conjuring images of wide-open prairies and desert vistas.

— Paul Simpson

Hyldon / Adrian Younge

Hyldon JID023

Jazz Is Dead

International, Jazz, R&B

A meeting between an iconic Brazilian soul innovator and Jazz Is Dead's multi-instrumental label boss with Azymuth drummer Ivan Conti.

— Thom Jurek

The Mekons

Horror

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The international rabble-rousers address an age where yelling may not be enough, while playing with greater precision than ever.

— Mark Deming

The Nightingales

The Awful Truth

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

The English punk outsiders remain smart, biting, and full of energy on this set of powerful new songs that comes nearly 50 years into their run.

— Fred Thomas

Hiromi / Hiromi's Sonicwonder

Out There

Concord / Telarc

Jazz

Returning with her Sonicwonder quartet, the pianist delivers dramatic musical invention in further erasing artifical boundaries between genres.

— Thom Jurek

L.A. Witch

Doggod

Suicide Squeeze

Pop/Rock

The California goth-punk power trio's assured third album finds them expanding their influences while distilling their sound.

— Matt Collar

Margo Guryan

28 Demos

Numero

Pop/Rock

Demos from the '60s and '70s show the true range of this songwriter/composer best known for her Baroque pop.

— Fred Thomas

Sissy Spacek

Entrance

Shelter Press

Avant-Garde

Haunting, mind-bending musique concrète collage works from the Los Angeles-based experimental group.

— Paul Simpson

Actress

Grey Interiors

Smalltown Supersound

Electronic

A captivating 20-minute piece Darren Cunningham composed for an installation as part of the Berliner Festspiele.

— Paul Simpson

Edison Machado & Boa Nova / Edison Machado

Edison Machado & Boa Nova

Far Out / Far Out Recordings

Jazz, Latin

Lost for four decades, the Brazilian drummer's New York pick band delivers a kaleidoscopic collision of samba, post-bop, and Afro-Latin jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Scowl

Are We All Angels

Dead Oceans

Pop/Rock

Energetic sophomore set from the California punk quintet that smooths their edges and amplifies their grasp on melody.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Petr Popelka / Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

Má Vlast: Bedrich Smetana Symphonic Works

Supraphon

Classical

A major new conducting presence is announced in these recordings of Smetana works, familiar and much less so.

— James Manheim

Christopher Guild / Marcel Zidani

Ronald Stevenson: Piano Music, Vol. 7 - Folksong with Grainger

Toccata Classics

Classical

An intriguing meeting point between Percy Grainger and the lesser-known Ronald Stevenson, who corresponded for many years.

— James Manheim

Julien Dran / Vannina Santoni / Jean-Marie Zeitouni

Jules Massenet: Grisélidis

Palazzetto Bru Zane

Classical

A grand French operatic takeoff on several genres of medieval storytelling gets a much-needed revival.

— James Manheim

Peter Donohoe / Karl Lutchmayer

Busoni: Fantasia contrappuntistica; Chopin Variations; Sonatina prima; Sonatina seconda

Chandos

Classical

Accessible, pleasingly virtuosic performances of difficult Busoni works.

— James Manheim

Sonya Yoncheva / Adam Taubitz / Marina Viotti / Olga Zado

George

Naïve

Classical

A novel presentation of music's cultural surroundings, linking pieces to spoken word passages.

— James Manheim

Jerusalem Quartet

Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 & 10

BIS

Classical

Dark, intense Shostakovich stands out from the competition in this first installment of a new quartet series.

— James Manheim

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