Arcade Fire

Pink Elephant

Columbia

Pop/Rock

Moody, synth-heavy seventh set from the indie vets that attempts to address the titular pachyderm in the room.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Maren Morris

Dreamsicle

Columbia

Pop/Rock

The Nashville star balances sweet-toned pop hooks and righteously empowered emotions on her fourth album.

— Matt Collar

The Head and the Heart

Aperture

Verve Forecast

Pop/Rock

The Seattle indie folk stalwarts return to their roots on this more spontaneous, self-produced outing.

— Timothy Monger

Mark Pritchard / Thom Yorke

Tall Tales

Warp

Electronic

Familiar and new adventures in uneasy listening from the veteran electronic music producer and the frontman of the Smile.

— Andy Kellman

Kali Uchis

Sincerely,

Capitol

R&B

A cohesive and compelling fifth album from Karly Loaiza, all about companionship, affection, solace, and motherhood.

— Andy Kellman

Preoccupations

Ill at Ease

Born Losers Records

Pop/Rock

The band's fifth album brings fresh, often moving, perspectives to times of crisis.

— Heather Phares

I'm With Her

Wild and Clear and Blue

Rounder / Universal

Folk, Pop/Rock

The acoustic roots all-star trio take a big step forward with their nuanced, beautifully crafted second album.

— Mark Deming

Deradoorian

Ready for Heaven

Fire Records

Pop/Rock

Emotionally charged and musically vibrant experimental pop with avant-garde leanings, stunning vocals, and a new sense of confidence.

— Tim Sendra

Sly & the Family Stone

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Legacy

Stage & Screen, R&B

A companion to Questlove's Sly Stone documentary, this works as an alternate history with a majority of previously unreleased mixes, edits, and versions.

— Andy Kellman

billy woods

GOLLIWOG

Backwoodz Studioz / Rhymesayers Entertainment

Rap

A grim yet fascinating work from the rap visionary, inspired by horror and sci-fi but drawing narratives from real-life experience.

— Paul Simpson

PinkPantheress

Fancy That

300 Entertainment / Warner Music

Pop/Rock, R&B, Electronic

Fun and frivolous mixtape rooted in U.K. garage and funky house, sampling Basement Jaxx, Underworld, and Sugababes.

— Paul Simpson

Brandon Woody

For the Love of It All

Blue Note

Jazz

The Baltimore trumpeter crafts a soulful love letter to his hometown with his Blue Note debut.

— Matt Collar

Brian Bilston / The Catenary Wires

Sounds Made by Humans

The Imports / Skep Wax Records

Pop/Rock, Comedy/Spoken

A cool, fun, smart collaboration between the pithy poet and the indie pop luminaries.

— Marcy Donelson

Hedvig Mollestad Trio

Bees In the Bonnet

The Imports / Rune Grammofon

Jazz, Pop/Rock

The guitarist's original trio reunites for their first album since 2021 to deliver an overdriven exercise in vanguard jazz-rock, prog, and '70s metal.

— Thom Jurek

Kara-Lis Coverdale

From Where You Came

Smalltown Supersound

Avant-Garde, Electronic

The composer's first release in eight years is a mesmerizing, expansive work fusing orchestral and electronic arrangements.

— Paul Simpson

Jack Frost

As Seen on TV

Easy Action Records

Pop/Rock

Much-needed reissue of the complete works released in the '90s by the pairing of legendary songwriters and alt-rock icons Grant McLennan and Steve Kilbey.

— Tim Sendra

Jackie DeShannon

Love Forever: Demo Recordings 1966-1968

Real Gone Music

Folk, Pop/Rock

The high-quality production of these late-'60s demo recordings from the versatile singer/songwriter matches that of her official albums of the time.

— Fred Thomas

Jesse Ed Davis

Tomorrow May Not Be Your Day: The Unissued Atco Recordings 1970-1971

Real Gone Music

Pop/Rock

Real Gone Music continues to fly Jesse Ed Davis' musical banner high with this collection of rare tracks and unissued alternate takes.

— Thom Jurek

Xmal Deutschland

Gift: The 4AD Years

4AD

Pop/Rock

Smartly presented anthology of the German post-punk band's first two albums and pair of concurrent 12" releases.

— Andy Kellman

Mclusky

The World Is Still Here and So Are We

Ipecac

After a two-decade hiatus, the Welsh trio return with some of their wittiest, hardest-hitting songs.

— Heather Phares

Kassie Krut

Kassie Krut

Fire Talk

Pop/Rock, Electronic

"Highly textured" doesn't cover it on an introductory EP full of noise-dance jams from this Palm spinoff.

— Marcy Donelson

Sleep Token

Even in Arcadia

RCA

Pop/Rock

Stunning major-label debut from the enigmatic, genre-blurring English hard rock outfit.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Tetrarch

The Ugly Side of Me

Pop/Rock

The Y2K nu-metal revival continues on the Atlanta crew's third full-length.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Maia Friedman

Goodbye Long Winter Shadow

Last Gang Records

Pop/Rock

Pastoral, poetic, and endlessly tender, the Dirty Projectors member's second solo album trades dream pop for dreamy chamber ballads.

— Marcy Donelson

Various Artists

Planet Mu 30

Planet Mu

Electronic

Mike Paradinas' label celebrates three decades with a forward-thinking mix of footwork, jungle, and techno from signees new and old.

— Paul Simpson

Petula Clark

Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen

Real Gone Music

Vocal, Pop/Rock

The British pop icon teams up with longtime friend, poet, and songwriter Rod McKuen for this warm collection.

— Matt Collar

Pieces of a Dream

We Got This

Shanachie

Jazz, R&B

The funky contemporary jazz trio returns with their first album in four years, all in preparation for their 50th anniversary.

— Thom Jurek

The Bobby Lees

Beauty Pageant

Alive Records

Pop/Rock

One adult and three teenagers crank out some raw, raucous garage punk on this fast, no-frills debut.

— Mark Deming

Art Pepper

An Afternoon In Norway: The Kongsberg Concert [2 CD]

Anagram / Elemental / Elemental Music

Jazz

After a sleepless night, this hard-swinging quartet burned down the house to close the Kongsberg Jazz Festival, and this set is proof.

— Thom Jurek

Blake Shelton

For Recreational Use Only

BMG / BMG Rights Management

Country

The 13th set of feel-good anthems from the American country star.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Benjamin Appl

Lines of Life: Schubert & Kurtág

Alpha

Classical

A remarkable collaboration between a younger baritone and a composer still at it in his late nineties.

— James Manheim

Julian Perkins / Academy of Ancient Music

John Weldon: The Judgment of Paris

AAM Records

Classical

A highly worthy revival of an opera by a Purcell student that won a competition in 1701 against better-known competitors.

— James Manheim

James Ehnes / Juanjo Mena / BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole; Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3; Sarasate: Concert Fantasy on Bizet's Carmen

Chandos

Classical

Superb realizations of three familiar violin-and-orchestra works of the late 19th century.

— James Manheim

Prague Philharmonic Choir / Pueri Gaudentes / Semyon Bychkov / Czech Philharmonic / Catriona Morison

Mahler: Symphony No. 3

PentaTone Classics

Classical

A vast Mahlerian canvas, with all painterly detail kept in perfect control.

— James Manheim

Jan Lisiecki

Preludes

Deutsche Grammophon

Classical

Impressive power and precision in Chopin's prelude set, with preludes by other composers as a kind of prelude themselves.

— James Manheim

Vladimir Rumyantsev

Sean Hickey: Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind, for the piano

Sono Luminus

Classical

Ambitious realizations of concepts from a book of the same title by Yuval Noah Harari.

— James Manheim

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