Editors' Choice for October 2021

Album cover for Talk Memory

Talk Memory

XL

The Canadian jazz group return to their instrumental roots on their fifth album, which features guests such as Arthur Verocai and Laraaji.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Where I Left You

Where I Left You

Foreign Exchange Music
R&B

Replayable first LP from R&B singer/songwriter Bianca Rodriguez, executive produced by Phonte of Little Brother and the Foreign Exchange.

— Andy Kellman

Album cover for Shadow Plays

Shadow Plays

ECM

On his second solo date for ECM, the pianist displays his dazzling improvisational acumen and compositional thought simultaneously.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Actually, You Can

Actually, You Can

Joyful Noise

The band's 18th album challenges conformity and the issues of the 2020s with brashly hopeful, genre-mashing experimental pop.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Modern Fiction

Modern Fiction

Carpark Records

On their debut full-length, this Toronto duo looks to jangle pop royalty for inspiration while writing songs with emotional angles all their own.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for 1971-1974

1971-1974

Bureau B

Along with Faust's essential first four albums, this box set includes an album recorded at Giorgio Moroder's studio and other fascinating unreleased material.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Far In

Far In

4AD

Roberto Carlos Lange follows the critically acclaimed This Is How You Smile with a gently ambitious album that puts joy first.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Let Me Do One More

Let Me Do One More

Hopeless Records / Snack Shack Tracks

Producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Tudzin delivers an embarrassment of smart pop riches on her great third LP.

— Mark Deming

Album cover for SuperBlue

SuperBlue

Edition

Potent funk and neo-soul vibes mark the singer's first collaboration with guitarist Charlie Hunter.

— Matt Collar

Album cover for La Luz

La Luz

Hardly Art

The band's fourth album is a psychedelic departure from their surf rock sound that relies on vocal harmonies, arrangements, and a strong batch of songs.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for The Path of the Clouds

The Path of the Clouds

Sacred Bones

Inspired by binging Unsolved Mysteries during lockdown, the Gothic folk artist's wired ninth LP features members of Cocteau Twins, Midlake, and more.

— Marcy Donelson

Album cover for Hushed and Grim

Hushed and Grim

Reprise

The Atlanta power quartet chart the stages of grief, and the journey of a soul on their most musically varied -- and focused -- set to date.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for 1940 Carmen

1940 Carmen

Latino / Universal

The Chilean singer/songwriter delivers her second album in five months; it was entirely written and recorded in a Los Angeles Airbnb.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Carnegie Hall 1970 [Live]

Carnegie Hall 1970 [Live]

Reprise / Warner Records

Previously unreleased recordings of the first of two legendary nights at Carnegie Hall find this classic songwriter solo and in his prime.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for 16 Rayos

16 Rayos

Daptone

On their sophomore long-player for Daptone, the Cuban big band reaches deep into the spiritual heart of the mambo.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Sympathy for Life

Sympathy for Life

Rough Trade

On their seventh studio album, this mutable indie band twists the celebratory funk of their last album into strange, more cerebral forms.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for Expressions of Interest

Expressions of Interest

Upset the Rhythm

The Melbourne quartet's darkly driving debut delivers timely and timeless expressions of post-punk doubt, paranoia, and isolation.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Colourgrade

Colourgrade

Domino

The project's hypnotic second album is a strikingly honest audio portrait of love, creativity, and the effort that goes into both.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Vengeance

Vengeance

Volkanik

Leaping beyond genre limitations, the Australian fusion metal quartet concocts an epic concept opus where more is indeed better.

— Neil Z. Yeung

Album cover for Ookii Gekkou

Ookii Gekkou

Fingertips / Fire Records

Written and recorded during COVID-19 lockdowns, the band's third album captures the weirdness of lockdown life with boundless imagination.

— Heather Phares