Amoeba Music

Dance, No One's Watching is a strong contender for feel-good album of the year. UK jazz quintet Ezra Collective draws inspiration from Afrobeat, soul, calypso, and hip-hop to create songs that are a pure pleasure to hear. The album is a celebration of the simple, joyful act of dancing — it's also a pretty darn good excuse to get out on the dancefloor. Guest vocalists Yazmin Lacey, Olivia Dean, and M.anifest & Moonchild Sanelly bring an assured confidence and beauty to their various vocal turns that'll bliss you out instantly. A gorgeous treasure of an album. More

The latest from Being Dead is just ridiculously good. On Eels , the Austin rockers deliver a delightfully unpredictable, totally intoxicating collection of songs that effortlessly segues from downcast post-punk to near-dreampop. Dark and light frolic hand-in-hand through these arresting, devastatingly lovely tracks. Gleefully experimental and unafraid to swim through the shadows, Eels is a must-hear. More

Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1 is the sound of a legend. Released shortly before Lil Peep's untimely death in 2017, the album is an angst-ridden but droll account of heartbreak, drug use, and emotional darkness. The melodies effortlessly fusing hip-hop, punk, and metal into a one-of-a-kind, incomparable sound. When Lil Peep goes introspective, his lyrics tap into something difficult, deep, and true. Fans will be glad for this new release of an old favorite. More

Kate Bollinger's full-length debut is assured, distinctive, and enchanting. Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind will remind listeners of the sophisticated, suave classic pop of yesteryear. Opener "What's This About (La La La La)" calls to mind the effortlessly cool milieu of '60s Brit girl pop and French yé-yé. Simmering intensity underlies the honeyed lounge atmospherics of "Sweet Devil." Songs is a total dream of an album and unlike anything else you'll hear this year. Get ready for your new sonic addiction. More

Two giants of the game shine on The Auditorium Vol 1 . The dream team of Common and Pete Rock have crafted a smart, lush record with laid-back grooves and sultry retro-flavored sounds. Common's flow sounds timeless, whether he's tackling themes of resistance and transcendence or delivering an exquisitely touching love song. Pete Rock's production is vivid and joyful, informed by his rich knowledge of musical history. In short, it's everything you want from these two legends — and working together, they've created a soon-to-be classic. More

It's here: the life-affirming, eclectic, electrifying second album from the ultra-talented, gone-too-soon Sophie. This self-titled sophomore album was almost done when Sophie tragically passed; to bring her music to fans, some of her closest collaborators provided the finishing touches, in accordance with how she envisioned the sound. The mix takes listeners on a sonic journey, from hushed, intimate beats to woozy retro bangers to fierce, propulsive dancefloor rhythms. Sophie is a dazzling listening experience, blending light and dark, euphoria and melancholia. This is the type of album that makes your life better for having pressed "play." More

Innovative and compelling, the latest release from Montell Fish sounds like music from the future, from another planet, from another dimension entirely. Charlotte Purified Deluxe is a masterful, avant-garde blend of R&B and electronic. With gauzy melodies, soulful vocals, and hypnotic, haunting lyrics, these songs will send an arrow to your heart. This otherworldly album is one of the year's best and Montell Fish deserves to be on your radar. More

Bloom is an appropriate title for the latest from Ben Böhmer. These tender, wondrous electronic tracks feel like the soundtrack to new growth, to life and hope springing up from the dirt. Guest appearances from Lykke Li, Oh Wonder, JONAH, Malou, Erin LeCount, Enfant Sauvage, and Max Milner add varied emotional layers to the compositions, while at the same time each voice seems to embody the same questing, thoughtful, resilient nature. The lovely Bloom is an album that'll sneak up on you, the tranquility of its melodies belying the emotional complexity of its lyrics and vocal performances. More

The Grammy-nominated pianist/composer’s new album is an expert blend of neo-soul, gospel, acoustic jazz, mid-tempo swing, and more. Like a film soundtrack, it offers a variety of moods: “Divergent Journeys” is rich in swooning atmosphere, while “MMC” is a vibrant toe-tapper that will instantly lift your spirits. Joining Sands on the album are guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, drummer Ryan Sands, and harmonica player Grégoire Maret. More

The third album from indie folk singer/songwriter Christian Lee Hutson was inspired by his move from L.A. to NYC, and the welcome new perspective he gained. Featuring collaborations with artists like Phoebe Bridgers (“Flamingos”) - who also produced the record - and Maya Hawke (“Carousel Horses”), Paradise Pop. 10 offers gentle introspection and a relatable wistfulness. Highlights include the shimmering ballad “After Hours” and the lively closing track “Beauty School,” featuring Katy Kirby. More

Jake Blount is joined by Indigenous roots musician Mali Obomsawin for a new collaboration entitled Symbiont . Combining elements of traditional African American music with Afro- and Indigenous futurism, this album is a fascinating listen. Here synthesizers meet banjos and chants float above shakers and drum machines, casting a unique spell over both the past and future. The duo’s hypnotic vocals complement each other, and there are unexpected touches everywhere, like when “Live Humble” careens off into raw electric guitar. More

Grammy-winning bluegrass artist Billy Strings returns with a new album of skillful, often lightning-fast picking, with a good dose of soulful melodies. “Leadfoot” is a lively, jangly tune that sounds appropriate for any front porch session, while “Seven Weeks in County” is a bluesier, country/folk number. “Stratosphere Blues/I Believe In You” reflects Strings’ psychedelic and classic rock influences, making this a fun and eclectic set. More

This box set of newly remastered albums celebrates the progressive rock band’s 50th anniversary, and it’s a real treat for fans. The set features bonus live tracks, alternate mixes, and studio outtakes, along with the band’s first four albums plus their 2018 release, Prodigal Dreamer . From the dramatic and urgent “Julia” on Pampered Menial , to the romantic strains of “The Winds Wild Early” on Prodigal Dreamer , this is an impressive collection of music. More

Big Sigh is very beautiful...and as you can probably guess from the title, very sad. Marika Hackman has been through the wringer for these songs. The grandiosity and strange beauty of grief interplay with the relief and release of reaching the end. The album is powered by these transmutations. These songs may be propelled by pain but they never sink beneath the waves; there's a transcendent, awe-inspiring quality to Big Sigh that makes it an incredibly powerful, emotionally delicate, lovely listen. More

On Flood , Hippo Campus gets vulnerable and introspective. The songwriting is as tight as ever, with undeniably catchy choruses, layered compositions, and thoughtful lyrics. The band had originally intended to release a very different album but had ultimately decided the songs were too slick, without enough soul. So, back to the lab they went, to take a long hard look at life's more challenging moments, compelled by the recent death of a close friend. Affecting and irresistible, Flood is what they came up with when the band decided to go internal and urgent, and it's a testament to their bravery as artists and their skill as songwriters. More

Flow Critical Lucidity is some of Thurston Moore's most moving work in recent memory. "The Diver" is hypnotic and elegiac, an undercurrent of beautiful melancholy unfurling as the song progresses. "Sans Limites" finds Moore collaborating with Laetitia Sadier on a driving, nostalgia-tinged dream of a song. Flow Critical Lucidity is an all encompassing listen, the type of album you can get lost in without noticing the fading daylight. This is some of Moore's best. More

Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall deliver another stunner of an album as The WAEVE. City Lights is a tribute to the grit and glamour of city life, a thesis that works well with the pair's fuzzed out, swirling, potent blend of shoegaze and post-punk. The duo trades off vocals, the songs building in intensity as they crank up the tension through angst-ridden guitars and dreamy soundscapes. The songs move from fierce and abrasive to hazy and romantic, creating a listening experience that mirrors the excitement and the edge of late downtown nights. More

The legendary Manu Chao is back with his first album in seventeen years. Viva Tu is a joyful, eclectic affair, with the artist singing in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English over lush, lovely globally-inspired melodies. The songs are inspired by Chao's experiences traveling and by the everyday lives of ordinary people. Willie Nelson and French singer Laeti both contribute memorable turns on "Heaven's Bad Day" and "Tu Te Vas" respectively. An upbeat, dynamic, life-affirming listen from one of the best. More

Will Anything Happen , the sole release from Scottish indie darlings The Shop Assistants, got a new coat of paint, so to speak. First, they remastered the original 1986 album. Next, they piled on the extras, such as B-Sides and Demos, Studio Outtakes, and 11 live tracks from 1987. Time has aged this album like a fine malt, with their singular blend of indie pop with hues of punk, new wave, and rock with an ethereal, dream-poppy-Cocteau-Twinsy thread throughout. Perhaps something would have happened had The Shop Assistants stuck together, but instead we have the ahead-of-its time Will Anything Happen as their musical star gone supernova. More

Back with their first album in six years, pop-punk idols The Story So Far have reemerged different but the same. I Want To Disappear marks the departure of founding bassist Kelen Capener, with drummer Ryan Torf handling bass duties on the album. No longer twenty-somethings, this is an older, wiser band, but the potency is still in abundance, and it's evident on high-energy bangers like "Big Blind" and "Watch You Go," while the aforementioned maturity is no more apparent than on the titular album closer, "I Want To Disappear," a lush acoustic ballad sent straight from the heart. More