Editors' Choice for October 2015

The band's sixth album was recorded with a wide range of producers and mixers, but feels like a cohesive, intense, highly danceable whole.

— Tim Sendra

The Real Estate bassist finds his stride on the Freaks' pastoral and easy-mannered third outing.

— Timothy Monger

Impressive and haunting Domino label debut for the young, Philadelphia-based lo-fi artist with scores of self-released songs under his belt.

— Marcy Donelson

On its third album, the Nashville band offers an abundance of dark, heavy grooves, spacy textures, and haunting melodies.

— Thom Jurek

Follow-up to the band's indie pop classic Sealed with a Kiss delivers the same sweet punch, only with slightly better production values.

— Tim Sendra

An exceptionally engaging program that uses Meyers' basically lyrical talents to the maximum and luxuriantly melodic.

— James Manheim

The arthouse R&B and pop auteur hits his mark on his beautiful but chaotic third album.

— Timothy Monger

The Swedish DJ's second genre-blending effort gets everything right with guests like Zac Brown, Wyclef Jean, Matisyahu, and Martin Garrix in support.

— David Jeffries

The duo's second album of 2015 is a more down-to-earth, diverse affair that is equally beautiful and affecting.

— Heather Phares

The avant hip-hop trio reunites for a loose and fun album with numerous special guests.

— David Jeffries

The sophomore studio long player from the Brazilian psych-pop outfit never fails to entertain.

— James Christopher Monger

The legendary street performer and psych-garage rockers make the most of their shared dreaminess on this collaboration.

— Heather Phares

Reworking of songs from precocious lo-fi whiz Will Toledo's 11 previous albums done with a full band.

— Tim Sendra

A little tougher and more down-home than its predecessor, Storyteller is nevertheless big and bold, demanding attention.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The group broadens their sound with new instrumentation on this excellent third album.

— David Jeffries

Brussels-based multimedia artist's mystifying third album is her most ambitious and successful work to date.

— Paul Simpson

Dallas Green's long-tenured solo project gels as a band with this moody and soulful release.

— Timothy Monger

The producer's third album sets sensory overload to Baltimore beats, with dazzling and sometimes dizzying results.

— Heather Phares

Unhurried grooves and spaced-out ballads from the "soultronic" whiz-kid progeny of the Native Tongues and Soulquarians.

— Andy Kellman

The Alberta songwriter and producer Dave Cobb team to deliver aa new chapter in the country music tradition

— Thom Jurek

Third solo album of ecstatic electro-noise-pop from the former Parts & Labor frontman, celebrating life and all of its complexities.

— Paul Simpson

Deafheaven follow up their triumphant breakthrough album Sunbather with a bleak yet ultimately uplifting third full-length.

— Paul Simpson

The singer, songwriter, producer, and arranger offers an encounter with musical traditions of Africa and the Caribbean via spiritual L.A. soul.

— Thom Jurek

Marathon live set recorded over three nights in San Francisco that focuses on this band's gifts as Southern rock storytellers.

— Mark Deming

Lengthy yet ethereal album that blends Sheik's musical drama work with his affection for '80s new wave.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The second collaboration between Steve Martin and Edie Brickell is every bit as elegant and charming as the first.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Literate, brooding masterwork that expertly weaves together Moroder-style disco, orchestral rock, and driving post-punk.

— Matt Collar

Career-spanning 38-track collection compiled by the celebrated songwriter as a companion to his 2015 memoirs.

— Mark Deming

Three decades of synth pop from the duo are collected on this desirable and concise set.

— David Jeffries

Jumpy, fun, and wiry debut album of post-punky indie pop from an excitable Baltimore trio.

— Tim Sendra

Third album from mysterious beatmaker Dante Carfagna swaps samples for live instrumentation to spectacular results.

— Paul Simpson

The group's third album cuts back on production values while amping up the drama and emotional impact, especially in Cathal Cully's vocals.

— Tim Sendra

Trading the Northwest for L.A., the band finds their sun-bleached groove on this inspired fourth effort.

— Timothy Monger

The swirling follow-up to the Nigel Godrich-produced A Different Ship is self-produced, home-recorded, and loaded with compelling songs and textures.

— Marcy Donelson

This desirable set collects 41 rare beats from the late great hip-hop producer.

— David Jeffries

A clean-cut and satisfying return after a seven-year absence, created with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

— Andy Kellman

Renowned singer/songwriter and comic book artist turns to his home borough for inspiration on his seventh album for Rough Trade.

— Paul Simpson

The singer and songwriter's second album of 2015 is polished but spontaneous and full of rock & roll spirit.

— Mark Deming

The singer/songwriter's fourth album questions the nature of time and love in dazzling, profound, and affecting ways.

— Heather Phares

With bad love as the theme, the Slaughterhouse MC offers one of his best solo albums.

— David Jeffries

The gifted pop songwriter hops from New York and New Orleans to Amsterdam and Berlin on his first studio set since 2008.

— Mark Deming

Placing Bach's compositions within the context for which they were written yields a performance that is original in concept and satisfying in details.

— James Manheim

The singer/songwriter's third album is some of his angriest, saddest, funniest, and most adventurous music.

— Heather Phares

This is a major triumph from a true vocal star, celebrated German tenor Kaufmann.

— James Manheim

Influenced by classical music, the ex-Brunettes member's second solo album is a brilliantly crafted, deeply felt slice of chamber pop balladry.

— Tim Sendra

It's clear that Masó knows these ingenious, lost treasures of 20th century piano music better than anybody else.

— James Manheim

Jos van Immerseel and Anima Eterna Brugge present period instrument renditions of Dvorák's "From the New World" Symphony and Janácek's Sinfonietta.

— Blair Sanderson

The piano music of Sibelius has rarely been played, but that's going to change after this superb recording by Tong.

— James Manheim

Bryan effectively transcribed for flute a variety of violin pieces in ebullient, technically impeccable performances.

— James Manheim

The L.A. duo expands its retro disco sound in a more organic direction, bringing in Midnight Magic to get a live band feel.

— Tim Sendra

Seeing the name Rose Melberg in the credits means you are about to experience indie pop at its best; this album is no exception.

— Tim Sendra

The Georgia band, here down to a trio, is more experimental and accessible than ever before.

— Thom Jurek

Excellent set of career-spanning material performed at the Troubadour, where the singer's father recorded a like-titled set released 43 years prior.

— Andy Kellman

The gifted performance artist explores love, loss, and emotional limbo as she recalls the life of her dog Lolabelle.

— Mark Deming

Segerstam and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra come through in a pair of little-known theatrical scores.

— James Manheim

Hip-hop and diverse casting meet Revolutionary America in innovative -- and delightful -- musical theater.

— Marcy Donelson

Yuja Wang is best known for playing Russian piano concertos, but her all-French album reveals her talents in a different light.

— Blair Sanderson

Reunited with his longtime trio, the Beninese guitarist dazzles with a live-in-the-studio concert of all new material.

— Thom Jurek

Driving, romantic anthems, sparkling guitar work, and a punk urgency mark the emotive fifth album from the Milwaukee outfit.

— Matt Collar

The Real Estate leader's solo debut is a mellow, psychedelic pop-flavored excursion through jangly guitars and mellifluous reflection.

— Marcy Donelson

Italian guitarist Massimo Menotti performs arrangements of rigorous minimalist pieces by Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

— James Manheim

The band's first album in seven years gives affecting, satisfying purpose to their eternal sense of wonder.

— Heather Phares

Michael Tilson Thomas and the Boston Symphony Orchestra recorded these Stravinsky masterpieces in the quadraphonic format in 1972.

— Blair Sanderson

Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra present Tchaikovsky's symphonies and orchestral works in the audiophile format.

— Blair Sanderson

To preview a joint European tour, these bands deliver a seamless, epic, two-track split on the themes of life, death, and rebirth.

— Thom Jurek

The first album from the duo -- now a quartet -- in eight years is another quiet triumph of small-scale electronic pop.

— Tim Sendra

Myung-Whun Chung and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra give a flexible and nuanced reading of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor.

— Blair Sanderson

The band's first live album is a 90-minute, consummately performed, career-spanning romp that captures the freewheeling spirit of their shows.

— Marcy Donelson

The third album from soprano Olga Peretyatko is devoted to Rossini arias, proving she is an ideal interpreter of this music.

— James Manheim

The Scranton, Pennsylvania's native's debut long player is an unfussy blast of early-'90s-inspired melancholic indie rock.

— James Christopher Monger

The great singer and songwriter shouts down the man and talks of everyday eccentrics, with some help from Ben Harper on guitar.

— Mark Deming

The Nashville indie combo's excellent sophomore LP ripples with a rambling country-folk feel and psych-rock spirit.

— Timothy Monger

Third album from these Detroit indie rockers is a smart, furious combination of guitars and voices, each ranting with purpose.

— Mark Deming

Riccardo Muti leads the CSO in a rare pairing of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and its intended sequel, Lélio.

— Blair Sanderson

On his third album, British IDM producer Ryan Lee West restricts his palette and creates his most expressive work to date.

— Paul Simpson

Moving on from folk, this Ohio band delivers a spiraling exercise in focused, ambitious, well-produced indie pop.

— Thom Jurek

Double-disc compilation of Sam Phillips-produced rockabilly, country, blues, R&B, and rock & roll.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sparkling debut album from a Montreal trio with a firm grasp on how to make killer rock & roll of all sorts.

— Tim Sendra

Jørgen Munkeby's ever-evolving "Blackjazz" ensemble add hard rock to their provocative meld of noise, punk, metal and jazz.

— Thom Jurek

Rich and eclectic fusion of blues, soul, R&B, and hip-hop from writer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Livingston.

— Mark Deming

Expanded reissue of Jay Farrar's post-Uncle Tupelo debut includes a fiery 1996 live show and Farrar's songwriting demos.

— Mark Deming

Difford and Tilbrook reunite for Squeeze's first album in 17 years and it's a lively, wry delight.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Recorded mostly live in the studio, the Baltimore band's infectious debut launches bright, surfy pop with a colorful, punk-edged spin.

— Marcy Donelson

An acid-soaked, pop-savvy, '90s dance-club fever dream where trip-hop beats chase ambient guitar riffs down the rock & roll rabbit hole.

— Matt Collar

Tamsin Waley-Cohen explores the influence of César Franck on the violin sonatas of Karol Szymanowski and Reynaldo Hahn.

— Blair Sanderson

Easygoing but committed set from these alt-country survivors shows they write about working-class life better than nearly anyone.

— Mark Deming

After moving to L.A. in 1967, Carole King started an excellent singer/songwriter meets AM pop band, then recorded this lost gem of an album.

— Tim Sendra

The family band's long-shelved 1998 album finally sees a belated (and most welcome) release.

— Mark Deming

The band's third album is another hooky, warmly felt batch of tunes influenced by Flying Nun and the paisley underground.

— Tim Sendra

Rousing second album from the Heath siblings and their band, inspired by C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters and its themes of refusing temptation and the devil inside.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Guitarmonies, stadium-ready singalongs, boogie rock backbeats, and stories about good times gone bad/bad times gone good.

— James Christopher Monger

Energetic, emotionally powerful set of songs that deal honestly with gender and sexuality, while still being super-hooky indie pop gems.

— Tim Sendra

The Detroit garage punks up their game on their meaty debut for Third Man Records.

— Timothy Monger

No horns, no guests, no gimmicks. Raw and loud, the bluesman's first self-produced album is one of his best.

— Thom Jurek

A warm, sunny, and rhythmic album that easily conjures memories of mid-'70s Dead.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Quirky, campy, and funky all at once, this kitschy electro album features guest appearances from Lady Bunny and Mocean Worker.

— David Jeffries

Frederic Rzewski's 36 Variations on The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is revisited by Ursula Oppens, who gave the premiere in 1976.

— Blair Sanderson

A painterly, introspective album that trades in musings and austere arrangements.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

This is a unique perspective on one of the most famous Baroque works.

— James Manheim

After a detour into murky overproduction, the band returns with their most straightforward, hookiest, and brightest-sounding album yet.

— Tim Sendra

The slacker thrash-punks go big with a proper studio album and it totally works.

— Timothy Monger

Hooking up with Jack White's label hasn't changed these trip metal warriors, who continue to deliver a bracing aural chaos.

— Mark Deming

The duo takes a giant step closer toward the heart of pop, with a lot of electro-disco to boot.

— Tim Sendra

An exceptional package that should rightly put Ma and Stott back at the top of the charts.

— James Manheim

Launching his Chopin Project with the Préludes, Yundi offers introspective and controlled performances that the composer likely would have approved.

— Blair Sanderson