Augustines – This Is Your Life CD (PIAS America)

“Despite our constant collective quest for The New, we’ll always return to those musicians who imbue their work with only themselves, vulnerability and popularity be damned. On This Is Your Life, Augustines continue to mine adversity for glimmers of hope. There’s more of an electronic presence and more influence drawn from outside the indie-rock sphere, but it remains resolutely an Augustines record. If you’ve been on the fence about the band thus far, this isn’t going to change your mind, but they continue to grow in sound and scope, with each LP bringing bigger ambitions and production that could comfortably be labelled bombastic. With each record the band releases, they inch further from the tragedy and pain that initially threatened to define them. It’s still there, but sits comfortably alongside thankful depictions of events which led them to this point. No longer having to scream to be heard, they’re able to imbue their music with the elegance necessary to create the truest representation of its message: it’ll be okay” – Drowned In Sound. [Vinyl edition due July 8.]

The Avett Brothers – True Sadness CD (Republic)

Seth Avett says that True Sadness is a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically. Wherein a myriad of contrasting fabrics make perfect sense on the same plane, the album draws upon countless resources from its writers and performers. He cites pervasive and cornerstone influences such as Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimmie Rodgers, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, Aretha Franklin, Walt Disney, Pink Floyd, Kings Of Convenience, calypso of the 1950s and country of the 1930s. Most importantly, he assures, “Throughout the album, we stitched together the boldest red and the calmest green, polka dots and stripes, the roughest denim and the smoothest velveteen. They came together because they are the best patterns we have and because each of us brought our own fabric to the quilting frame.”

Claudia Quintet – Super Petite CD (Cuneiform)

Ostensibly the Claudia Quintet is a jazz band, with the music on Super Petite ranging from the frantic deconstructed bebop of “Philly” to the appropriately dreamy “Nightbreak.”

Deerhoof – The Magic CD/LP+MP3/Cassette (Polyvinyl)

“Deerhoof’s never-look-back aesthetic has become a calling card, and its unpredictability a point of pride. Time and again, the San Francisco band has surprised listeners and pushed them in new musical directions they might not immediately want to go, and yet it’s hard not to loyally follow along with each sonic jump. Still, when a group has churned through as many bizarro ideas as Deerhoof has over the course of a brilliant run of albums that date back to the mid-1990s, you have to wonder how it keeps coming back with something different.To follow up 2014’s excellent La Isla Bonita, Deerhoof’s members ditched the comforts of a traditional studio, rented a sterile abandoned office in the New Mexico desert and, with nothing written beforehand, just played. Seven days later, Deerhoof reemerged with its 14th album, The Magic, an eclectic 15 songs inspired by the music each member — vocalist and bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, guitarists and multi-instrumentalists Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich, and drummer Greg Saunier — grew up loving.More than just the sound of loud, off-kilter textures colliding, The Magiccaptures a love for pop melody that provides a perfect antidote to the dissonance, with songs that are as catchy as they are noisy” – NPR. [Limited purple color vinyl pressing also available.]

DJ Shadow – The Mountain Will Fall CD/2xLP+MP3 (Mass Appeal)

“Josh Davis, aka DJ Shadow, has been relatively quiet, having been on tour since 2014’sThe Liquid Amber EP, and his last proper full-length was The Less You Know, The Better, which came out in 2011. But it seems the time away has served him well, as he’s come back more confident in the announcement of his new album The Mountain Will Fall. The producer told Pitchfork: ‘Sometimes records are a struggle. This record, I knew exactly what I wanted to get across.’ The new album’s title is a hint at revisiting and besting his seminal classic Endtroducing 20 years after its release. The couple of years he spent touring on DJ gigs, returning to the tactile familiarity of his decks has inspired the look back while pushing forward featuring the likes of labelmateRun The Jewels.The first foray into the new album is the opening title track. It’s a slow-building, slow-winding joint that churns bouncy synths, off-time-on-purpose drums, and big, lingering atmospheric sweeps together for a slight scoring feel. The track oscillates, swelling into a huge moment in the middle and dissipating into subdued intricacy. This first indication is nice step toward Shadow returning to classic form.” –Stereogum

The Felice Brothers – Life In The Dark CD/LP (Yep Roc)

The Felice Brothers return with nine songs in their unique style, a blend of folk, country, rock and soul.