Presented alphabetically:
Mature follow-up album from the Athens, AL Americana band.
Standout track: "Over My Head"
Swedish quintet, featuring members of Dungen, strumming out mellow rootsy jams on their 4th full-length.
Standout track: "Picture You"
Assured debut album of deadpan, Dylanesque rockers from the Australian songwriter.
Standout track: "Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go to the Party"
Gentle grooves on this established soul singer's recent mixtape; conceptually about communication in the modern era.
Standout track: "Cel U Lar Device"
Britpop band's first album in a dozen years is largely the result of being stranded in Hong Kong for 4 days, and the looseness serves them well.
Standout track: "Lonesome Street"
Producer out of Austin, TX makes hip-hop soundscapes.
Standout track: "No Translator (w/Milo)"
Bow & Spear - Into (self-released)
Chicago group debuts with a cross-pollination of shoegaze and grunge that works.Standout track: "Paper Tones"
Boise indie rock masters acquit themselves nicely on their 8th studio full-length.
Standout track: "Living Zoo"
Quiet, fingerplucked folksy numbers; debut solo album from the lead singer of La Luz - this is better.
Standout track: "Holy Rollers"
New release from this songwriting veteran is more classic piano pop featuring strings, including full-on orchestral movements at the end to showcase his growth.
Standout track: "Capable of Anything (feat. yMusic)"
Debut album of garage rock from L.A. One or more of these kids are descended from a member of The Knack.
Standout track: "Head"
English singer-songwriter's sophomore full-length is all dark acoustic folk.
Standout track: "Before I Sleep"
Chicago-based indie musician delivers a pleasant collection of mostly self-recorded, comtemplative tunes on his 2nd record.
Standout track: "Flare Gun"
Rock duo, brothers, neither of whom is named Jeff, continue to peel off catchy riffage with a buzzy ease.
Standout track: "What's a Creep"
Chicago band, originally from Iowa, debuts after umpteen EPs with a rock-solid album of power pop, produced by Jim Eno of Spoon.
Standout track: "Sting's Teacher Years"
Seattle's longrunning heavy rock project stands strong with a new slab of instrumental heft.
Standout track: "Detroit Trickle Down"
This live album from the singer-songwriter who plays a lotta violin in the studio, performed here with an actual string quartet, serves as a fine overview of his best work so far.
Standout track: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"
Los Angeles' best-kept secret, a singer-songwriter who continues down a more pop-oriented path with breezy, rootsy, jazzy, classic-sounding compositions.
Standout track: "Someone to Love Like You"
Toronto trio peel the paint off the walls on the blistering follow-up to their blistering debut. Not grunge, but, you know..
Standout track: "Acetate"
If it ain't goddamn broke, why goddamn fix it? Goddamn.
Standout track: "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box"
Electronic pop from one of the longest-running bands in the biz, missing one cantankerous member, is a fun addition to their catalog.
Standout track: "People on the High Line (feat. Elly Johnson)"
Fast-paced garage rock out of Milwaukee, a peppy and infectious debut.
Standout track: "Can't Get Through"
On her sophomore full-length, this retro-folk L.A. singer-songwriter is quiet, haunting, and compelling.
Standout track: "Back, Baby"
Massachussets 80's garage psych-rockers were so inspired by the reissues of their old shit that they decided to make some new shit!
Standout track: "Weirdoz Everywhere"
Electronical hip-hop producer makes fascinating, fractured jams.
Track: "Applauded Assumptions"
Traditional Ethiopian music with a Western, rock element out of Addis Ababa.
Track: "Kemakem"
This tremendous overview of Jamaican religious music from 3 decades is probably a lot more diverse and interesting than many non-reggae listeners expect.
Standout track: Winston & Ansell - "Zion I"
The debut full-length from this Chicago quartet is self-described as "progressive sci-fi yacht metal", a semi-accurate explanation for their moody, atmospheric, effects-laden rock with high moments of dramatic riffage.
Standout track: "Inland Sea"
Young 2-piece from the U.K. (Glagow and London) play Afrobeat-inspired indie rock that is catchy and intricate and smile-inducing on this EP.
Standout track: "Vince"
The first album from the Dapettes, aka Sharon Jones' backup singers, is a lovely bit of traditional soul and R&B out of New York.
Standout track: "Big Wheel"
The newest offering from this Springfield, MO power pop indie quartet is best when it's loudest.
Standout track: "Step Brother City"
It's been 15 years since French producer Ludovic Navarre has released any new stuff, and this time around he's inspired by, and heavily sampling, traditional Malian and American blues music.
Standout track: "Real Blues (feat. Lightnin' Hopkins)"
The SF-based retro-songwriter keeps on issuing classy albums of catchy, 60's-inspired rock.
Track: "Cut Me Baby"
L.A. rapper refuses to be boxed in, and his darkness is bleak, but his rhyme skills are undeniable.
Standout track: "Wool (feat. Vince Staples)"
On their 5th album, the Austin, TX stoner metal band choose to pursue a broader range of styles, while making sure to meet their heavy-rock riff quota at the same time.
Standout track: "High Country"
Nigerien (as in, from Niger, not Nigeria, which is an entirely different country) group gives us a vibrant, kinetic romp distinguished by rhythmic complexity, powerful vocals, and hypnotic, interweaving riffs.
Standout track: "Zoy Zoy"
SF pop band, featuring members of Swingin' Utters, has a real gift for uptempo, hummable rock that reminds me of a sunny Strokes or something.
Standout track: "Roller Coasters"
This is the first album in almost 20 years from the original lineup of this Chicago-born post-grunge alt-rock quartet, and the results gave me nostalgia chills.
Standout track: "The Gospel According to Saint Me"
These local dudes refuse to bow to convention and just follow their muse where it leads, which is usually somewhere a little weird, but strangely familiar.
Standout track: "Magnetized"
