Verging on a concept album, The National’s eighth studio release reflects a ripening extension of their estimable talents and evolving style, bringing into the foreground the band’s collaborations with women—particularly the many musicians and featured ...

Like Bizarro World Frank Sinatras on acid, the Flaming Lips have always done it their way. This longstanding alt-rocking Oklahoma collective consistently paint their music outside the lines of sonically acceptable society, and they’re at ...

Housed in a circular tin shaped like a NYC manhole cover, the expanded edition of Zappa in New York commemorates the 40th (technically 41st) anniversary of the original live double album released in March 1978 ...

For their 13th LP, the Ohio-based husband-and-wife team of bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist Karin Bergquist offer 11 meditations on love and loss. The sparse arrangements—marked by Bergquist’s aching vocals, chiming acoustic guitar, and Greg ...

This is soulful music played by gifted artists who bring vision and virtuoso chops to their work. The contemporary-folk group Ranagri enchants while living up to the promise of the SACD stereo format, putting the ...

Kudos to Mobile Fidelity for this extraordinary release of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 masterpiece, What’s Going On. A major artistic step, this brilliant psychedelic-soul song-cycle’s themes of social and economic injustice, the horrors of war, displaced ...

It’s hard not to feel a little conflicted about aging in tandem with a musical hero. But Wilco founder Jeff Tweedy, now nearly a rock elder statesperson, aims to soothe his longtime listeners into bittersweet ...

Exploring the themes of unity, inclusiveness, and social justice from a spiritual perspective, Eric Bibb delivers a double-disc masterpiece in Global Griot, an album ideally suited to the temper of progressive times, or “challenging times,” ...

Father John Misty is the alter ego of Josh Tillman, who played drums for the Fleet Foxes before becoming a popular indy rock singer-songwriter. His studio albums favor a soundscape so lush and dreamy that ...

The best, most affecting singers tend to meet us at the intersection of Nuance and Intimacy Street, a corner the folk-leaning vocalist Meiko has clearly made her home. For this tight-knit collection of an even-dozen ...

With his baritone voice, haunting melodies, brooding stage presence, and dark lyrics, Peter Murphy was tailor made to perform goth rock, a musical style he helped usher in while a member of Bauhaus. Peter Murphy—5 ...

The 1970 release of the James Gang Rides Again helped define 70s rock and served as a calling card for guitarist Joe Walsh, who went on to greater fame as a solo artist and member ...

Chicago blues guitarist and vocalist Buddy Guy honed his chops during the 1960s as house guitarist for the legendary Chess Records. The electric blue pioneer’s blistering chops have influenced everyone from Eric Clapton and Jimi ...

When music labels search for unreleased tapes connected with memorable albums, the results can be less than scintillating: an inferior take here, a poorly-recorded demo there, perhaps some performances that should have stayed on the ...

Jacintha’s first album in ten years, Fire and Rain pays homage to James Taylor. As everyone familiar with the Singapore-based singer knows, she can really put over a song, especially in the torch, blues, and ...