Amoeba Music

Jazz fusion quintet Butcher Brown returns with new album, Letters From The Atlantic , spotlighting many talented female vocalists. That roster features Yaya Bey, Leanor Wolf, Mia Gladstone, Melanie Charles, and Victoria Victoria. "Unwind" feat. Melanie Charles is hypnotic, soulful, and slinky with a foot-tapping beat and fluttering flutes. "Montrose Forest" features Grammy Award-winning trumpet player Nicholas Payton and it's another strong track, an instrumental with a throwback, and laidback, '70s funk vibe. Psych-rock and soul artist Neal Francis also makes an appearance on "Something New About You." More

For You is the debut solo release from Little Dragon's Yukimi. It's quite the sonic evolution. Yukimi's voice is instantly recognizable...the melodies branch out into the worlds of jazz, alternative R&B, electronic, and hip-hop. These vibrant, gorgeous compositions serve as an upbeat counterpoint to Yukimi's lyrical focus on love, loss, and the eventual rise and renewal of the spirit after wading through the depths. This is an album for lifting the mood, creating a vibe, and bringing a jolt of color into an ordinary day. For You is a gem. More

The Darkness heard the world was in desperate need of "rock sweet rock," as the band put it. And so they hunkered down, rocked out, and brought us the rollicking, riff-heavy masterpiece that is Dreams on Toast . The band drinks heavily from the overflowing fountains of '70s rock elysium, delivering full-throttle tunes with addictively upbeat choruses, drawing from stadium rock, glam, metal, and even some vintage radio rock. Your toes will tap, your heart will rise, your fist will be unable to resist punching the air. Pure, unadulterated, non-stop fun. More

Sicksense get epic and emotive on Cross Me Twice . Featuring intense riffs, riveting percussion, and the dual voices of Rob the Ripper and Killer-V, the songs are intensely beautiful and punishingly brutal. Killer-V's poison-sweet vocals soar above the mayhem, while Rob the Ripper growls, raps, and leaves it all on the floor. Their dynamic works perfectly for the album's themes: emotional betrayal, manipulation, and ego-driven decisions. Cross Me Twice is nu-metal reborn, inspired by the '00s-era greats, with a modern, urgent feel. More

The new solo album from rock veteran Ricky Warwick is straightforward and heartfelt with catchy melodies and plenty of grit. The Almighty's frontman shows no signs of slowing down or losing that rock n 'roll punch to his voice. "Don't Leave Me In The Dark," which features Lita Ford on guest vocals, is soaked in a satisfyingly anthemic '80s pop/rock atmosphere. Warwick also teams up with Billy Duffy for the fiery "The Hell of Me and You," a healthy blast of classic guitar rock. Elsewhere, "The Crickets Stayed in Clovis" is a jangly pub-stomper sure to live rent-free in your head. More

After 14 years, Alison Krauss has teamed back up with bluegrass and Americana band Union Station for a lovely new album, Arcadia . Few projects capture such a perfect collaboration of talent and sensibilities, so fans will be delighted by this follow-up to the impeccable Paper Airplane. Album opener, "Looks Like The End of The Road," is a true gem - a haunting ballad helmed by Krauss's angelic vocals. Another highlight is "Granite Mills," a melancholy folk song with a gothic vibe, sung by new member Russell Moore of Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out. More

On Dead Channel Sky , experimental hip-hop group clipping. has created a riveting futuristic universe, mashing together razor-sharp rhymes and head-bopping beats with cyberpunk and elements of techno, acid house, drum & bass, and more. These thrilling tracks with their bouncing lyrical flow feature guests as disparate as Nels Cline, Aesop Rock, and Bitpanic. "Change the Channel" evokes the slamming energy of Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" but with rapid-fire rhymes about digital anxiety and brainwashing. Elsewhere listeners are mesmerized by the intense industrial sounds of "Go" and the skittering beats and suddenly melodic interlude within "Mood Organ." It's a fascinating listen throughout. More

Coheed & Cambria's The Father of Make Believe is hard to resist. The guitars are driving, the mood wistful yet winning, the vocals ready to hook straight into your heart. The band deftly blends harder sounds with melodic choruses into tracks that serve up surprise gut punch after gut punch. With moments fusing stadium rock, hardcore, and even a bit of nu-metal, The Father of Make Believe is Coheed & Cambria at their very best. More

The spirit of rock 'n' roll is alive and well on Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes' Live At The Greek . Recorded during a 1999 performance at LA's Greek Theatre as well as at a concert in Long Beach, CA, the album is gritty, epic, and outstanding. This remastered edition features pristine-quality, scorching blues rock from the Black Crowes plus legendary Led Zeppelin songs — and a decent amount of unreleased tracks, too. An electrifying, powerful listen that'll make you feel like you're right there in the middle of the audience. More

The Seldom Scene are back with their first album since the death of founding member/ banjo player Ben Eldridge. Remains to Be Scene is a feast for the ears, with versions of bluegrass standards and covers of tracks by The Kinks, Bob Dylan, and Jim Croce. From picaresque to plaintive, rollicking to downbeat, there's an underlying authenticity to the album that'll enthrall listeners new and old alike. With gripping storytelling, delightful strings, and just straight up excellent songwriting, this is essential listening for any bluegrass fan. More

Jethro Tull's latest is enchanting. Curious Ruminant is the type of album that feels as if it's building its own storybook world. Folk-rock numbers feel lifted from a fantastical fairytale setting, with elements of pastoral English folk expertly melded with driving prog. Rollicking flutes blend with Celtic-tinged melodies before driving percussion kicks in, building towards an overwhelming emotional impact. The album is beautiful, urgent, and filled with pleasant surprises. What a gift it is to have a third, excellent album from the band within the past few years after nearly two decades without a new studio album. More

Jason Isbell returns with a fantastic new acoustic album, Foxes in the Snow . The songs are sparsely beautiful, the guitar work getting right down to the bone, while the vocals and lyrics feel pregnant with emotion. Isbell has always been lauded for his songwriting but Foxes in the Snow feels like a standout. On this new record, he seems to channel the classic country singers of yore, whose straightforward approach to loss and love, with their expressive, plainspoken melodies, made them legends. Foxes in the Snow will stick with you long after the last plaintive notes have faded away. More

Blood on the Silver Screen is the bold, jewel-like new album from Sasami. A conservatory-trained classical musician, when it comes to her contemporary oeuvre, Sasami's a chameleon. Whereas she previously toured with a metal band, on her latest, she's going full-in glossy alt-pop. The songs are glittering and catchy-as-hell; they're also earnest, thoughtful, and smart. These tracks are total earworms that'll get you in the gut while you're singing along at the top of your lungs. A compelling, addictive album. More

Hamilton Leithauser lets loose on This Side of the Island . Having come to fame with the wound-up, high-energy post-punk of The Walkmen, Leithauser leans more into the shambling, unpredictable energy of '70s rock 'n' roll on this one. The songs are eclectic and experimental; they make use of classic funk vocals, fever-pitch falsetto, garage rock grunginess, and lounge crooner ambience. This Side of the Island is heartfelt and gripping, imaginative and just straight up fun. A record that's a pure pleasure for listeners. More

Deep Sea Diver's Billboard Heart is eclectic and electrifying, the kind of album that'll make you want to pick up a guitar yourself. The title track opens the record with a dreamy, undersea vibe before morphing into a full-throated, emotionally gripping indie rocker. "What Do I Know" starts with brittle beats, crunchy guitars and shoegaze-y vocals taking over to create a driving, epic atmosphere. "Shovel" is a post-punk-influenced dose of sinister swagger. These are songs that go straight to your heart, a gut-punching, glorious testament to the power of music. More

Uplifting, soulful, and life-affirming, Aloe Blacc's Stand Together is guaranteed to make you feel good. It's also an album that DOES good, with each song dedicated to a different organization or cause. Case in point: lead single "Don't Go Alone" is inspired by the African proverb ("If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”) and spotlights sober-supportive community The Phoenix. Kindness, community, and connection are the underlying themes as Aloe Blacc deftly blends soul, R&B, and pop into an album that feels very much like what the world needs now. More

Temporary , the new record from producer Richard Russell's Everything is Recorded project, is a jewel of an album. XL Recordings says it "might be one of the gentlest records ever made about death"...it's also probably one of the most vibrant. Grief and loss are underlying themes; there are jarring moments as well as tender, sweet moments and fantastically experimental ones. Russell's eclectic cast of collaborators is filled with heavy hitters, each of whom leaves their own signature on the album's sound. Kamasi Washington, Sampha, Bill Callahan, Noah Cyrus, Maddy Prior, Berwyn, Alabaster Deplume, Jah Wobble, Yazz Ahmed, Laura Groves, Rickey Washington, Roses Gabor, Jack Pe?ate, Samantha Morton, Clari Freeman-Taylor, Nourished By Time, and Florence Welch all make appearances on this astonishing album. More

Architects return with a blistering, disturbingly beautiful album. On The Sky, The Earth and All Between , the band's fierce, pummeling sound is punctuated by anguished, sweeping choruses and quieter moments of introspection. Architects skillfully juxtapose the album's most intense, growling, threatening heights with addictive, anthemic melodies that give the record its emotional center. A punishing, powerful collection of tracks that will keep fans returning. More

Sharon Van Etten returns with a new band and a new sound. Her new self-titled album with The Attachment Theory is grandiose, exhilarating, and no holds barred. Rooted in post-punk, the album is cinematic and moody, with moments bridging shoegaze, Krautrock, goth rock, and bristling electronica. Rich in atmosphere, with sweeping soundscapes and bigger than life choruses, these songs will make you swoon. More

Maribou State return with Hallucinating Love , an album celebrating kindness, companionship, and care — just when it seems like the world is in short supply. The album was written after a particularly challenging period for Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, both on a personal and a global level. Their solution? Write an album “about being in a dark place, a place of struggle, and then looking forward to bright futures,” as Davids put it. That's the vibe of this gentle, gorgeous electronic album. With guest appearances from Holly Walker, Andreya Triana, North Downs, and Gaidaa, Hallucinating Love feels as warm and welcoming as the ecstatic and enveloping love it describes. More