Eric Bachmann – Eric Bachmann CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

Twenty-five years after Archers Of Loaf broke onto Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s vital indie scene, frontman Eric Bachmann is recording the rawest, most honest work of his career under his own name. The release of Eric Bachmann marks the end of his post-Archers solo project Crooked Fingers, and the beginning of a candid new sound. “To me, the ’90s were for the Archers… The 2000s were for Crooked Fingers,” says Bachmann. “I feel like now—in 2015, 2016—it’s time to metamorphose. When you do this for a long time, you feel a strong pull to reinvent things from time to time, or at least to reconfigure them. There is resistance, of course, from many places to remain the same. But after a while the dam breaks, and the compulsion to change becomes overwhelming. You just have to do it or you sort of feel like you’re not being true to yourself.”

Birdy – Beautiful Lies CD (Atlantic)

English singer/songwriter Jasmine van den Bogaerde, who goes by the stage name Birdy, was born in 1996 in Lymington, Hampshire. Precocious from the very start, Bogaerde began composing her own songs at the age of seven and in the coming years frequently posted her music and performances on YouTube. By the time she was 14, Birdy had signed a publishing contract with Warner Chappell. In early 2011, she independently released her first single, a cover of American indie rock outfit Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love,” which peaked at number 17 on the UK pop charts. Her self-titled full-length debut arrived in November of that year and was a huge success, particularly in Australia, Belgium, Holland, and France. Fire Within, the follow-up to her debut, presented a new phase in Bogaerde’s development, displaying her evolving songwriting talent. Her third album, Beautiful Lies, was produced by collaborators including Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys/Adele) and Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire/Florence And The Machine).

The Joy Formidable – Hitch CD (C’Mon Lets Drift)

Welsh trio The Joy Formidable return with their highly anticipated new album Hitch. Once described by Rolling Stone as “wickedly bracing and Himalaya-huge,” the fantastic live band went to work on their third studio album with one mission: to make sure their unique live performance and energy was captured on record. “We realized we needed to build a space and do it ourselves, go back to being three people in a room again” said Ritzy Bryan regarding the band’s decision to self-produce Hitch. Following suit with their decision to take the reigns on the record, The Joy Formidable chose to “work with people who feel as strong as we do about the music, who listen to albums, love the art and let that take control.” One such early supporter was the legendary Alan Moulder (The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins) who mixed the album. The band states “on this album, we’ve been lucky enough to feel that same enthusiasm from everyone involved.”Vinyl version due April 15.

Lody Kong – Dreams And Visions CD (Mascot)

The Cavalera Clan takes another step towards complete worldwide metal domination with this release. Dreams And Visions is the focal project of Igor (vocals/guitars) and Zyon (drums) Cavalera, sons of Max and Gloria. It’s no secret that the two boys have been raised in an atmosphere so full of metal that their lungs are probably coated in steel. What is interesting is what has come out of this. Lody Kong seem to snatch little pieces of metal history and place them into a dirty, down-tuned mixture.” – The Moshville Times

Lontalius – I’ll Forget 17 CD/LP+MP3 (PTKF/Partisan)

“Lontalius is Eddie Johnston, a New Zealand teenager who came up covering pop songs on YouTube. Lorde and Troye Sivan are among his fans, and as of today, so am I. The first single from Johnston’s debut I’ll Forget 17 is ‘Glow,’ a sad, sweeping, guitar-driven track that strikes me as a post-Drake take on depressive Scottish rock bands like Frightened Rabbit and the Twilight Sad. It’s a seriously pretty epic ballad about how love and honesty can lift you out of a funk.” – Stereogum

Bob Mould – Patch The Sky CD/LP+MP3 (Merge)

Patch The Sky follows Bob Mould’s 2014 LP, Beauty And Ruin, and marks his 12th solo effort overall. Mould recorded the album with bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster, both of whom played on Beauty And Ruin and 2012’s Silver Age. Lead single “Voices In My Head” “finds the former Husker Dü and Sugar frontman flying through familiar fuzz-drenched territory. Though the track has an undeniable pop sheen, Mould balances it with sharp, introspective lyrics, ragged glory vocals and a decidedly fiery guitar solo.” – Rolling Stone

Night Moves – Pennied Days CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

The second album from Minneapolis band Night Moves, Pennied Days, is a distinctly modern album and a sonic break from their 2012 debut. Written and recorded by principle members John Pelant and Micky Alfano, and produced by John Angello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, The Walkmen), the album shows the band’s deep appreciation for rock & roll’s most storied songwriters while maintaining their own voice. You can hear tinges of Leon Russell and The Band to Curtis Mayfield and Sly Stone to pre-punk experimentalists Suicide disassembled and rebuilt into their own sound. It is a striking leap forward from a promising young band.

Margo Price – Midwest Farmer’s Daughter CD/LP+MP3 (Third Man)

First impressions matter. Especially on a debut album. Time and attention-strapped listeners size up an artist within a song or two, then move on or delve in further. Fortunately, it only takes Margo Price about twenty-eight seconds to convince you that you’re hearing the arrival of a singular new talent. “Hands Of Time,” the opener onMidwest Farmer’s Daughter, is an invitation, a mission statement and a starkly poetic summary of the 32-year old singer’s life, all in one knockout, self-penned punch. Easing in over a groove of sidestick, bass and atmospheric guitar, Price sings, “When I rolled out of town on the unpaved road, I was fifty-seven dollars from bein’ broke . . .” From the honky tonk comeuppance of “About To Find Out,” to the rockabilly-charged “This Town Gets Around” to the weekend twang of “Hurtin’ (On The Bottle)”, Price adds fresh twists to classic Nashville country, with a sound that could’ve made hits in any decade. Meanwhile, the hard-hitting blues grooves of “Four Years Of Chances” and “Tennessee Song” push the boundaries further west to Memphis (the album was recorded at the legendary Sun Studio).

Radical Face – The Family Tree: The Leaves CD/LP+MP3 (Nettwerk)

More than 10 years ago, Radical Face started crafting the story of a fictitious, sometimes otherworldly 19th century family called The Northcotes. He brought these characters to life in a three-part album series he created and recorded alone in Jacksonville, FL. Certain instrumentations and melodies were used to represent various “family members” and each album was recorded using only the instrumentation available during the era represented. The Family Tree: The Leaves brings the series to a close.“Instantly captivating…a layered, dark fairy tale – with pianos weaving in and out of lyrics that unravel slowly and poetically.” –The Wild Honey Pie on “The Road To Nowhere”

The Range – Potential CD/LP+MP3 (Domino)

“James Hinton, the Brooklyn-based producer who records as The Range, doesn’t do anything new, but his music crackles with the air of discovery. Potential recalls the optimistic rave moment when the right combination of people and the right DJ could make you feel like you were part of something that mattered. Hinton crafts songs, full of house piano loops, clapping drum sounds, and tightly sequenced synth patches. This is music designed for uplift, with carefully plotted builds yielding to big choruses, and it taps into electronic music’s sense of possibility not by pushing things further, but by simplifying and paring back. Hinton brings to mind specific eras not from direct reference or slavish devotion to genre, but by striving to remember the historical moment when a specific element of sound first clicked—the squelching synth in ‘Genius Of Love,’ the ghost vocal loop in ‘Xtal,’ the piano in ‘Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt.’ Hinton has an ability, not unlike the Books when they first hit the scene 14 years ago, of making shopworn techniques in sound manipulations seem strangely fresh, and Potential is the kind of music that makes you think about what your own part in a seemingly passive musical transaction of music might mean.” [8.0] – Pitchfork

RJD2 – Dame Fortune CD/2xLP (RJ’s Electrical Connections)

The new studio album from RJD2 continues the sonic exploration that was started 14 years ago on his seminal debut Deadringer. An entirely self-produced and engineered affair, long-time vocal collaborators appear here: Blueprint, Son Little (aka Aaron Livingston, the other half of the Icebird duo), Phonte Coleman and Jordan Brown, along with newcomer Josh Krajcik (runner up on the 2011 season X-Factor). Always soulful, perpetually psychedelic, this album has found the lost threads connecting Aloe Blacc, Tangerine Dream, and King Crimson. From the jagged, angular deconstruction of “A New Theory” and “The Sheboygan Left,” to the poignant elegance of “Peace Of What” and “We Come Alive,” the album Dame Fortune further cements RJD2 as a force to be reckoned with behind the boards.

Allen Stone – Radius CD/2xLP+MP3 (ATO)

Deluxe edition of Stone’s 2015 album features six brand new studio tracks in addition to an alternate version of the hit “Freedom.” Stone proves himself deeply devoted to making uncompromisingly soulful music. Made in collaboration with Swedish soul phenom Magnus Tingsek, Radius wholly reveals Stone’s easy grace in blending everything from edgy soul-pop and earthy folk-rock to throwback R&B and Parliament-inspired funk.

The Thermals – We Disappear CD/LP+MP3 (Saddle Creek)

The Thermals are best at making songs you put on mixtapes named Drunken Sing-Alongs When You’re Sad. They specialize in late-night, secret conversations about feeling simultaneously romantic and resentful over being raised Catholic. They’re the soundtrack to breaking glass, and an ode to the beauty of brokenness. They say that the mark of intelligence is the ability to hold two disparate and conflicting truths in the mind at the same time: I am a good person; I am not a good person. We Disappear lives in this delicate, in-between place: at once hard and noisy, while also soft and personal. “Technology, love and death are the three obsessions of the record,” says lyricist Hutch Harris in a statement, adding: “Our privacy used to be so important to us and now everything has changed—we freely offer once private information about relationships and reveal everything about our day-to-day lives. We’re trying to preserve our life digitally so when we’re gone people won’t forget us. We’re using technology to become immortal. You can even set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to continue updating after you die!”

White Denim – Stiff CD/LP (Downtown)

Three years on from their critically acclaimed “barbeque” record Corsicana Lemonade, White Denim are back with their sixth record, Stiff. The album is a return to the Austin quartet’s frenetic rock band roots, and is both a jubilant thrill-ride and joyous celebration of their past ten years.

For the most part, Stiff is an album crammed with adrenaline-fueled sing-alongs that show off the band’s staple technical abilities. But it’s also one that sees some new shades that they’ve developed along the way, too. Citing new wave and the razor-sharp pop punk of Buzzcocks as influences this time round, there’s an addictive Elvis Costello circa This Year’s Model quality to “Real Deal Momma,” a tune that highlights the band’s love for hummable synthesizers and curious, affecting oddities. Then there’s the cow bell calm and backing vocals laden brilliance of “I’m The One (Big Big Fun),”that along with “Take It Easy (Ever After Lasting Love)” (a song guitarist/vocalist James Petralli says “wants to be on a collection of doo wop songs written in 2016”) shows a softer and more intricate side to the band while fully emphasizing Petralli’s vocal excellence. 

Neko Case – The Tigers Have Spoken [Reissue/2004 LP+MP3 (ANTI-)

Limited translucent vinyl reissue, remastered from the original analog tapes. The Tigers Have Spokenwas recorded live at several live shows in Chicago and Toronto in the spring of 2004. Neko’s backing band featured The Sadies and Jon Rauhouse. Guest performers included Carolyn Mark, Kelly Hogan, Jim & Jennie and the Pinetops, Paul Morstad and Brian Connelly.

Max Richter – Sleep Remixes 12” (Deutsche Grammophon)

Sleep, released on the famed classical music label last September, is surely among Richter’s most ambitious works: an eight hour-long “personal lullaby for a frenetic world” meant to be listened to while sleeping. This new EPfeatures five new takes on Sleep,including remixes by Mogwai, Clark, Jürgen Müller, and Marconi Union.