Editors' Choice for April 2025

Album cover for Abyss

Abyss

Sacred Bones

Confrontational in ways quiet and loud, Abyss is a testament to Anika's fierce artistic independence and gift for haunting moods.

Album cover for Stochastic Drift

Stochastic Drift

Smalltown Supersound

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

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Light for the Midnight

Light for the Midnight

Mute

The singer/songwriter transforms some of her hardest times into transcendent, timeless-sounding expressions of empathy.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Insatiable

Insatiable

Believe Direct Limited / Bella Union

Intense and uncompromising yet compassionate sludge metal from guitarist/saxophonist Takiaya Reed and collaborators.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for The Crux
Djo

The Crux

Twenty 20

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

— Matt Collar

Album cover for Gloria

Gloria

Hausu Mountain

The experimental guitarist and composer pays tribute to his late grandmother with this collection of joyful, gratitude-inspiring pieces.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for Skeletá

Skeletá

Concord / Loma Vista

Tobias Forge steers Ghost into darker waters while continuing to mine the vestiges of Kevin Seal and Adam Curry-era Headbangers Ball.

— James Christopher Monger

Album cover for Electric War

Electric War

Concord / Easy Eye Sound

Another heady dose of psychedelic funk from the high-octane pairing of the Heliocentrics' drummer and guitar hero Barrie Cadogan's band.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for Hex Key

Hex Key

Epitaph

The band's entirely self-recorded third album is compellingly weird and relentlessly catchy despite being their most experimental and mercurial yet.

— Marcy Donelson

Album cover for Luster

Luster

4AD

The Irish singer/songwriter's first album for 4AD is a deeply reflective, lushly detailed effort.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Anxious

Anxious

Bella Union

Released after her death at age 17, the singer/songwriter's first set of original songs is a bubbly, often poignant glimpse into teenage girlhood.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Paper Doll

Paper Doll

Concord / Rounder / Universal

Returning to work with producer Bobby Harlow, the guitar slinger and her road band deliver a bold, disruptive collision of roots, blues, and pop.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Watersong

Watersong

ECM

With Primavera en Salonico and Tunisian singer Lamia Bedioui, the Greek vocalist offers a 21st century historical exploration of songs about water.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Family

Family

Alligator Records

The Memphis quartet returns with a soaring, gritty, spiritually uplifting fourth album that celebrates love, struggle, determination, and family ties.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Thee Black Boltz

Thee Black Boltz

Sub Pop

The TV on the Radio frontman continues his musical legacy with his passionate, imaginative, musically restless solo debut.

— Heather Phares