This Month's Picks

Bright Future (CD)

Adrianne Lenker
Adrianne Lenker's Bright Future is a testament to growth, resilience, and the transmutation of emotions. That's transmutation in both the musical and the emotional sense: the second track is titled "Sadness as a Gift," if you needed a case in point. There's a tears-in-your-eyes clarity to the heartbreak detailed in these songs with their keening strings, tender guitars, and Lenker's sweetly bitter vocals. Bright Future is an album that finds meaning in the temporality of both pain and pleasure. An album that feels like a companion for the days you're looking for something or someone to hold onto. More
Genre: Rock

Change The Game (CD)

Cody Jinks
Cody Jinks has a rare gift for writing tracks that feel both contemporary in worldview and classic in sound. Change the Game is chock-full of authentic, evocative songs that find the outlaw country singer-songwriter reaching for the stars and grappling with the rock-bottom moments. "Outlaws and Mustangs" is impossible not to like, with scorching guitar licks, swooning fiddle, and a gospel-tinged finale. "Sober Thing" is raw, introspective, and deeply affecting. Change the Game is a solid album that proves once again nobody's doing it like Cody Jinks. More
Genre: Country

Untame The Tiger (CD)

Mary Timony
Cult favorite Mary Timony returns with her first solo album in fifteen years. On Untame the Tiger , Timony sings of ephemerality, loneliness, and romantic misadventures. Despite the challenging themes, however, these tracks are immediately likable, with upbeat, driving melodies. Timony fuses college rock confessionalism with grungey riffs and forlorn country guitar. Timony fans will dig this one. More
Genre: Rock

Gangbusters Melody Club (CD)

Caravan Palace
Caravan Palace's Gangbusters Melody Club is pure fun. The French electronic group blends swing, jazz, French House, Big Beat, and international styles to create songs that feel cinematic, addictive, and eminently danceable. The vibe is Jazz Age meets late '90s electronica in modern Paris; it's a euphoric, hands-in-the-air, shaking-that-booty listening experience. This is an album that has to be experienced for yourself, though, so don't just take our word for it. Turn this one up when you need a strong groove and a huge smile. More

Girl With No Face (CD)

Allie X
Allie X's Girl with No Face is going to blow your mind. The songs are strangely beautiful and very, very strange: is the world ready for darkwave pop? Allie X's vocal gymnastics are impressive, her voice candy-sweet, sultry, menacing, and operatic. The melodies will lure you immediately to the dancefloor with their pounding percussion, buoyant synthlines, and atmospheric washes of sound. The lyrics get weird, the music gets dark, and the whole listening experience begins to feel like a haunted carnival funhouse. Allie X is an artist to watch and Girl with No Face an album to savor. More
Genre: Rock

Luther's Blues (CD)

Bernard Allison
Bernard Allison puts his own spin on his father Luther Allison's oeuvre via Luther's Blues . This is a scorcher of an album, fusing Chicago blues with hard and heavy, almost psychedelic rock 'n' roll. Luther's Blues is thoroughly enjoyable, a high-octane thrill ride that sounds like the wildest night of your life. Turn this one up loud and crank the AC because things are about to get sweaty. More
Genre: Blues

The Roof Is On Fire (CD)

Mitch Ryder
The inimitable Mitch Ryder delivers on a dose of what makes his work so unforgettable on The Roof is on Fire . This essential double live album features covers (Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues") and Ryder classics ("Betty's Too Tight"). The melodies are blistering, gritty, and guaranteed to turn up the heat. Ryder is a legend and The Roof Is on Fire is a fitting celebration of his storied career. More
Genre: Rock

Blue Raspberry (CD)

Katy Kirby
The soft, sweet indie of Katy Kirby's Blue Raspberry feels as lovely and easy-going as a summer's day. But these tales of love, growth, and questioning are no syrupy fun fair concoction: there's a lot of depth to these low-key charmers. The melodies are playful, the lyrics thoughtful. ("Party of the Century" ponders the ethics of having children in this world.) It's a celebration of queer love, an evaluation of how romance and challenge work — or don't work — together, and a masterful release from an ultra-talented singer-songwriter. More
Genre: Rock

Shout Sister Shout (CD)

Ghalia Volt
Ghalia Volt has to be one of the most electrifying, innovative artists working in blues today. On Shout Sister Shout , the Belgian-born guitarist and singer creates smokey, scorching hot tracks that'll keep listeners coming back for more. The album calls to mind some of the all-time great modern blues artists while adding some distinctive, unexpected flair all Volt's own: it's perhaps no surprise she grew up listening to punk before getting into rockabilly and psychobilly and discovering the blues. Shout Sister Shout is guaranteed to heat up your day. More
Genre: Blues

Lahai (CD)

Sampha
Sampha's Lahai works some powerful sonic magic. These underground R&B meets electronic tracks are the type of low-key feel-good tracks that up the mood for any occasion...but this listening experience is no short-lived high. Inspired by the passage of time and by finding joy and creativity in the midst of chaos, the South London singer/songwriter/producer brings curiosity and beauty to the everyday. These songs feel sensual, comforting, and optimistic. On Lahai , Sampha seems to be marveling at the wonders of a day-to-day that may at first seem anything but marvelous when you're in the thick of it. Put this album on and you'll be able to transmit some of that wonder into your own environment. More

Javelin (CD)

Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens's Javelin is a beautiful heartbreaker. These tracks feel like some of his deepest, most vulnerable, devastating work, yet this album is no downer. Buoyed quite literally by the lovely backing vocals of his five-part vocal choir of friends (adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui, and Nedelle Torrisi), the tracks embody the incredible human ability to reach up from the gutter, towards the stars. Javelin is a soft-voiced companion for tough times, gifted with a sense of the sacred and sublime. More
Genre: Rock

End (CD)

Explosions In The Sky
The enigmatic new album by Explosions in the Sky is a loud, dramatic, wild rumination on life and death. Melding the quiet restraint and crushing feel of the band's early releases with the sonic texturing and ornate experimentation of their later releases, End is also influenced by everything from classical to soul to experimental ambient music. More
Genre: Rock

Still Love (CD)

Teenage Wrist
Grunge. Alt-rock riffs. Punk influences. Angsty, guitar-fueled ballads. Teenage Wrist's Still Love is everything you love about the '90s. On their third full-length, the band sounds better than ever. The songs are tightly-crafted, with melodies that'll knock you out emotionally and keep you coming back. Still Love is a record that feels written from the heart, the type of album that reminds you of the power of music to capture our most inexpressible thoughts, wants, and needs. Featuring guest appearances from SA Martinez of 311, Softcult, Sister Voice, Fear Before The March Of Flames, and Heavenward. More
Genre: Rock

Capricorn (CD)

Eddie 9V
Taking its name from the infamous Georgia recording studio, Capricorn is a big step in the evolution of Atlanta bluesman Eddie 9V. Whether it’s the N’awlins funk of lead single “Yella Alligator” or the simmering ‘70s soul of “Are We Through” or “How Long,” Eddie 9V spreads his wings and flies across the genres and decades on Capricorn . More
Genre: Blues

Hot Rocks 1964-1971 [180 Gram Vinyl] (LP)

The Rolling Stones
Certified at 12x platinum, this best-selling compilation is the definitive collection of Rolling Stones hits! Whether it’s the iconic album cover or the mind-blowing tracklist, this remastered 2CD release of Hot Rocks is a must for any Stones fan, new or old. More
Genre: Rock

Diaspora Problems (CD)

Soul Glo
Philly four-piece Soul Glo have created a beast of an album with their first for Epitaph, Diaspora Problems . This is hardcore in the purest sense of the genre: all rage, frenetic riffs, abrasive vocals, relentless percussion, and incisive takedowns of politics, society, and oppression from a Black punk POV. The record isn’t just radical politically, it’s also radical in its vulnerability and its honesty. Loud, fast, and infuriated, Diaspora Problems is one of the year’s best. More
Genre: Rock

Beggars Banquet [180 Gram Vinyl] (LP)

The Rolling Stones
The Stones are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of their hit album, Beggars Banquet , with a fresh reissue for 2022. All-time classic tracks like “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Street Fighting Man” have never sounded better. More
Genre: Rock