Avett Brothers – Live, Vol. Four CD+DVD (Republic)

Continuing the tradition of official concert releases, Live, Vol. Four captures last year’s sold out New Year’s Eve concert in Raleigh, NC at PNC Arena. This set contains two new songs; “Satan Pulls The Strings,” and “Rejects In The Attic.” Vinyl edition (and a new Avett Brothers LP!) due sometime in 2016.

Baroness – Purple CD/LP+MP3 (Abraxan Hymns)

Baroness return with their first new music in three years. (Limited copies pressed on purple colored vinyl.)“These are some of the biggest, strongest songs that Baroness has written; it’s rock music that folds in their more metal leanings, along with something more delicate and spare. The hooks and melodies are their best.” [BNM] –Pitchfork

“Cage The Elephant found great success with 2013’s Melophobia, which nabbed for a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album. The Kentucky garage rockers are hoping to garner similar acclaim for their follow-up, titledTell Me I’m Pretty. The new record, which was produced by former tour mate Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys/The Arcs, was recorded at Easy Eye Sound in Nashville and draws from the sounds that initially inspired them to start making music.’” – Consequence Of Sound

“Cudder’s sixth studio effort is a hard left turn more than a departure — the sound has a precedent in 2012’s WZRD, which was presented as a side project with longtime collaborator Dot da Genius. Cudi’s experimentation with mind-altering substances has been part of his DNA since day one; alienation and internal turmoil remain integral parts of his motif. But Speedin’ is more well-formed than anything he’s done before in his genre experimentation, even eliciting a throwback to MTV’s 90s heyday down to its running commentary from Beavis And Butthead, courtesy of Mike Judge. The album wouldn’t sound out of place on a re-airing of Alternative Nation, and it’s a smart move — by embracing punk mores, Cudi sidesteps deep scrutiny. Speedin’ is about message, not methodology: expression, not execution” – Billboard. (Vinyl edition TBA.)

Cass McCombs – A Folk Set Apart CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

The Cass McCombs’ anthology, A Folk Set Apart, is subtitled Rarities, B-Sides & Space Junk, Etc. which is, on the surface, true but it’s so much more than that. It’s an alternate retelling of the last decade and a half of an enigmatic career built on immaculate songwriting but short on “breakthrough success.” While it contains none of McCombs’ better known songs from his seven full-lengths, he would have you believe this is his favorite album.

Dave Gahan & Soulsavers – Angels & Ghosts LP (Columbia)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Listeners can expect to be led through an aural mix of dark, brooding sounds, elements inspired by gospel and blues, and the stark beauty that has become a signature of Dave & Soulsavers works. Dave Gahan’s emotionally powerful voice has never sounded better, and drives the album forward over a landscape of meticulously crafted instrumentation.A transatlantic collaboration, the writing process started with Dave Gahan and Soulsavers’ Rich Machin exchanging demos and ideas from their respective studios in lower Manhattan and rural England. They then recorded the album with additional musicians in studios around the world, including classic locations such as Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and Electric Lady in New York. The end result is a vibrant, live-sounding album, and proof of the “instant and obvious fit” Machin felt writing with Gahan.

The Garden – Haha LP+MP3 (Epitaph)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. The Garden is a constantly evolving, conceptual punk band based in Orange County, CA. Established in in 2011 by twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, The Garden consistently defies categorization and continues to break ground: auditory invaders of the new world, borderless, released from all constraint and old ideologies. The twins draw inspiration from a background in punk classicism but remain unfettered and unselfconscious enough to infuse elements of ‘90s hip-hop and big beat electronica. Their two-piece bass and drums essence is dirty, raw and very immediate, but equally nuanced with echoes of the hive mind, the ephemeral architecture that exists both inside and outside of the duo that the listener enters and never quite escapes. Together the twins are an acidic concoction; unstable, sexy and probably toxic.

Imagine Dragons – Smoke + Mirrors 2xLP (Interscope)

Deluxe vinyl pressing. On Smoke + Mirrors, Imagine Dragons use the frenetic energy of life on the road to infuse their music with both raw tension and intense vulnerability. As on their full-length debut Night Visions, the band works with sharply crafted beats and grooves to dream up rhythm-driven rock music that’s artful yet visceral.