Amoeba Music

Pat Metheny's new album MoonDial is atmospheric, mellow, and magical. The compositions are nuanced and moving, the type of tracks that enhance your surroundings and instantly lift your mood. On MoonDial , the legendary Metheny experiments with tuning, finding delightful, evocative harmonies and creating mood music that sets the tone but doesn't disappear into the background. An enchanting, gently beautiful album that you'll want to hear again and again. More

Fantasy meets ferocity on the latest from Powerwolf. Wake Up the Wicked is every bit as epic as you'd expect from its title, with thundering riffs, soaring choruses, and intense theatricality. Of course it's heavy, of course it's catchy...of course it's the ideal soundtrack for embarking on a medieval quest into a realm of dragons, hellfire, and badass sword-slingin' babes of all gender expressions. Wake Up the Wicked is loud enough and powerful enough to do just that, and you'll have a hell of a good time while you're listening. More

Sparkle Jets UK are back with their first full-length record of originals since 2002. Box of Letters is addictive, timeless power pop. Featuring dual singers Susan West and Michael Simmons, the band builds a high-octane, ridiculously hooky, and ultra cool vibe that doesn't quit. The mood moves from sharp-witted and punky to wistful and romantic, all with driving riffs and catchy as hell choruses. Box of Letters  is pure rock 'n' roll excitement in the way only Sparkle Jets UK can bring it. More

Originally released in 2006, Land of Talk's Applause Cheer Boo Hiss is still as electrifying and entrancing as it was nearly 20 years ago. Elements of breathless dream pop, driving post-punk, and fierce, gritty punk combine in these overwhelmingly beautiful songs. The Definitive Edition expands nicely on the original LP, with a very cool gatefold jacket featuring new/updated cover art and pink and green vinyl. The first LP consists of the remastered original EP, plus five live tracks and remixes as a downloadable bonus. The second LP consists of a remastered version of limited release acoustic album L'Aventure Acoustique that contains the Applause Cheer Boo Hiss songs plus acoustic versions of “Young Bridge,”“Some Are Lakes,” and a cover of Wintersleep’s “Weighty Ghost.” More

On X's , the tenderly seductive milieu of Cigarettes After Sex moves from dream pop to emotional nightmare. Written as a way of coping with the collapse of a four-year long relationship, the album moves from love-drunk early days to relentless, creeping loss. Cigarettes After Sex has always trafficked in the slow burn; these songs take that simmering tension to a new height. Inspired by melancholic slow dances of the '70s and '80s, X's is moody and quietly devastating. More

L.A. Times is the eclectic, excellent new album from Scottish indie rockers Travis. "Gaslight" is catchy as hell while "Bus" is romantic and wistful. "Raze the Bar" is a '90s style alt-rock anthem while "The River" is a Gaelic folk-inflected rocker. Each song feels like its own world, sometimes its own genre, yet as part of the album, they all build off one another and create their own cohesive, compelling listening experience. The record touches on frontman Fran Healy's experiences living in Los Angeles, a city as diverse and dynamic as these tracks, filled with all the high-highs and low-lows reflected in these songs. Travis continues to evolve and L.A. Times is some of their best, most intimate work in years. More

Charm is an appropriate title for Clairo's easy-to-love latest. These atmospheric indie pop gems are warm, inviting, and intriguing. Clairo brings a pastel-hued '70s sound to the proceedings, fusing languid lounge music, groovy soul, lush jazz, and summery folk. Listeners will want to immerse themselves in the dreamy, hazy worlds Clairo creates via Charm . Clairo long ago transcended her early career internet buzz and with Charm , she moves in inspired new directions. More

Southern-fried rock meets blistering blues rock on Robert Jon & The Wreck's latest. Red Moon Rising is packed with evocative storytelling, red hot riffs, and grooved out basslines. The band incorporates funk flourishes, sing-a-long-ready choruses, and imaginative, urgent lyrics into truly electrifying tracks that'll scratch your blues rock itch. Red Moon Rising is the sort of mood-setting album that'll transport you to a sweatier, sultrier, more down-and-dirty rock 'n' roll world. More

Languid, dreamy, and wistful, Horsie might be the left-of-center album of the summer. Homeshake's sound has evolved into a hazy, textured, beautiful mélange of shoegaze, electronica, and quiet storm. Yes, as in Sade meets My Bloody Valentine, with a bit more emphasis on Sade. The album was written in response to the loneliness and anxiety Peter Sagar found rising up when he considered returning to touring. Those undercurrents haunt this sensual, slow burn of an album. Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and highly recommended. More

Live at the Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra is a real gift to fans of Joe Bonamassa. Captured during Bonamassa's first ever Hollywood Bowl performance in August 2023, these moving, soulful recordings will transport you to a balmy summer evening beneath the stars. The 40-piece orchestra adds a whole new dimension to the modern blues-rock legend's oeuvre: the arrangements are sweeping, emotionally affecting, and bigger than life. It's an impressive feat, a beautiful album, and a performance that feels a little bit closer to heaven. More

Hot off his appearance on Beyonce's Cowboy Carter comes Shaboozey with his top-notch new album, Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Goin g. Shaboozey fuses classic country sounds with indie Americana, adds in a dash of hip-hop, and occasionally even some pop. In Shaboozey's hands, this modern melange feels natural, affecting, and utterly satisfying. This is an album with a capital "A," the type of front-to-back listening experience that creates a mood and tells a story that'll stick with you. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" is a down-and-out anthem that's irresistible and infectious. "Anabelle" will break your heart and "My Fault" (featuring Noah Cyrus) will break it into even smaller pieces. You've got to hear this album: you'll be glad you did. More

On their new album V , Black Country Communion conjures up some of their fiercest, grittiest, down-and-dirty work yet. "Stay Free" blends hard rock, blues, and gospel-tinged backing vocals into a driving, compulsive track that's a true force of nature. "Red Sun" is a scorcher, with relentless riffs, epic vocals, and moody atmospherics. "Enlighten" gains tension from the interplay between its driven, aggrieved verses and soaring, cathartic choruses. If you're hankering for the intensity of grunge and the no-holds-barred force of '80s metal, you've got to hear V . More

Northern Ireland's Kneecap are the kind of once-in-a-generation group that'll make you reimagine the possibilities for rap. On Fine Art , the trio cannonballs off the diving board of grime and 2-step, creating unpredictable, relentless tracks that juggle unhinged irreverence and laser-focused insights. The group members' flows accent each other nicely, the beats shift from simmering Beastie Boys'-esque minimalism to hands-in-the-air dance to moody, bass-heavy garage. Fine Art is a woozy and wonderful thrill ride. You've got to hear this one. More

Toronto indie rockers Good Kid are masters at writing ultra-catchy, upbeat indie meets emo that'll keep listeners coming back for more. Their short but sweet Good Kid 4 EP is filled with a ridiculous amount of earworms. The band's ability to create consistently irresistible hooks is their superpower — surely no band of mere mortals should be able to write such ridiculously good, addictive tracks. And yet, here they are. Good Kid 4 deserves all the buzz. Fans of '00s indie and emo won't be able to get enough of this fast, fun listen. More

When you're listening to NxWorries' latest, life is good. Why Lawd? feels like the album of the summer, with lush, soulful beats, vibey atmospherics, and a throwback, feel-good mood. Anderson .Paak and producer Knxwledge have created something truly special on their second collaboration as NxWorries. This is soul meets hip-hop at its finest: the songs feel contemporary and cool yet they already seem like stone cold classics. Featuring guest appearances from Dave Chappelle, Thundercat, H.E.R., Snoop Dogg, and Earl Sweatshirt. More

L'Imperatrice is about to make all your French house, nu-disco, and Italo dreams come true. Pulsar is a sweeping dancefloor epic, filled with alluring beats, breezy vocals, and glamorous '70s on the Riviera vibes. The songs are soulful and dreamy, enticing and emotional. Pulsar sounds like the best night of your life: warm summer breezes in the air, hands lifted high, those blissful moments as the mirrorball's light shimmers over your face. A blissful, delightful release from a band we can't get enough of. More

Angélica Garcia's Gemelo will make you stop in your tracks and take notice. These arresting songs will tap into something deep inside, as the East LA native sings of loneliness and loss in the enchanting, almost delicate first half of the album before moving into the wilder, witchier themes of liberation and healing on the second half. Produced by Chicano Batman's Carlos Arévalo, it's Garcia's first album sung almost entirely in Spanish, a kaleidoscopic, dazzling, powerful melange of Hispanic musical influences and shimmering alt-pop. Garcia has gotten a lot of buzz and for good reason: she's a distinctive, enthralling artist and Gemelo is fantastic. More

With the release of their fifteenth studio album, it is one again Eels Time ! Written in the wake of the pandemic, these new Eels songs feel contemplative, gentle, and ever so slightly off-kilter. E and the band sing about the temporality of life, finding the courage to choose love, and the comfort of pet fish. The deceptively simple lyrics are always eminently relatable and often lead to a surprise gut punch. Eels Time! is one of those albums that perfectly captures certain elements of the human experience: the doubt, the longing, and the emotional connections that make it all worthwhile. More

Wow. Expectations for a Beth Gibbons solo album were always going to be high and the great news is that Lives Outgrown delivers. The Portishead singer's voice has exceptional power, the arrangements are layered, haunting, and affecting, the songs will take your heart in your hands just as Gibbons' earlier work did. These ten chamber pop and art folk tracks were recorded over a decade, with production from Gibbons herself with James Ford, plus additional production by Lee Harris (Talk Talk). Lives Outgrown captures something about the experience of aging, mortality, and farewells that's difficult to articulate in words. Of course Beth Gibbons does it with devastating beauty and a sparse but lovingly-held sense of light. More

Maria Chiara Argiro's Closer is pure leftfield pop bliss. The London-via-Rome singer, pianist, composer & producer wrote the album to evoke the dreamlike feeling she experienced in the time leaning up to its creation — and that's exactly what it feels like. Argiro is a familiar force in the UK jazz, electronic, and classical scenes and while these lovely tracks have pop bones, they're dressed up with hypnotic electronic beats, jazz trumpet, and gauzy synths. Closer is a refreshing listen, the type of album that just hits a little deeper and makes you glad to be alive. More