Editors' Choice for May 2023
Alex Anwandter
Elements of disco, '80s pop and soft rock, along with a very 2020s anything-goes sonic approach, combine for a thrilling, emotion-packed listening experience.
Compass
On her first recording in eight years, the restlessly creative banjoist, quintet, and special guests deliver an innovative, wildly diverse set.
Sonic Cathedral
A member of shoegaze deities Ride teams with the harp/electronics duo for an album of metered, thoughtfully arranged ambient instrumentals.
Transgressive
The singer/songwriter follows her Mercury Prize-winning debut with a more emotionally urgent, stylistically varied second album.
Blue Note
The vibrant sophomore album of post-bop jazz from the all-star jazz sextet.
Matador
The London trio brings clarity and haunting emotion to their mercurial mix of post-punk, lo-fi, and shoegaze.
Ninja Tune
The U.K. band distills the essence of a wild and chaotic year with a live album of all-new material.
Brownswood
The South African musician's Brownswood debut album weds township traditions to jazz, soul, funk, Latin, and slinky Afrobeat.
Warner Music / Warner Records
Clark's steady lyrical hand and clear voice are placed at the forefront,
conveying a sense of quiet strength that seems to call out for the kind
of unvarnished production that producer Brandi Carlile provides.
Throttle
For the first time, the producer adds his own voice -- as well as Thom Yorke's and Anika's -- to his music, with creatively liberated results.
Rock Action
Recorded with producer Ali Chant, the Glasgow duo's spellbinding second album adds more color and emotion to its minimalist indie rock.
Blue Note
The Detroit saxophonist's star-studded second offering of Grateful Dead covers frames them in contemporary jazz-funk.
Temporary Residence
The ambient composer reflects on humankind's troubling relationship with technology on an album rich with strings and sophisticated electro-acoustic arrangements.
Carpark Records
The Brooklyn band's offbeat debut impresses with its complex merger of sunny and angular sounds as well as its solid songs.
Arts & Crafts
A punchy and life-affirming collaboration between two Canadian rock totems.
Sub Pop
The studio debut from the Texas-raised artist, whose introspective, sweetly catchy songs recall the dreamy side of '90s alternative.
Tin Angel
An understated, gorgeously written set that plays almost like an anthology of the singer's various modes.
Warp
On his WARP debut, the Seattle-based drummer and rapper assembles an excellent cast to showcase his illuminating jazz-hop.
Duophonic Super 45s
Laetitia Sadier and the Brazilian group Mombojó combine summery sounds and pensive lyrics into a lovely, thoughtful statement of purpose.
XL
The debut album from the celebrated U.K. dance duo mixes moody, after-hours melancholia with hook-driven club rhythms.
Verve
A heartfelt comeback from a former African folk star, now based in Nashville.
Salinas Records
The fifth album from this Philly D.I.Y. pop band adds experiments with drum machines and synth to their established hyper-melodic style.
New West
The great Texas tunesmith heads to Chicago to record with Jeff Tweedy, and the result is an LP of casual yet committed excellence.
Brainfeeder
Another cosmic earth-rot fantasia from sci-fi synthesist Lindsay Olsen, this one involves around a dozen collaborators who add rhythmic intricacy and might.
Karlrecords
Levitating drones and harsh, spacy dubscapes created using customized electro-acoustic guitars.
Island
The venerable duo continue their 2020s winning streak with songs that combine cinematic flair and witty historical perspectives.
![Space Is the Place [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] [Deluxe Edition]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0005963560/front/220/EaLGVzA_M2lVaKo46fTl09_M69_UI9rrJSVvWL2-yAg=.jpg)
Modern Harmonic
The soundtrack to the Afrofuturist cult classic, along with 40 minutes of previously unreleased material as well as the film itself.
Edsel
Four-disc set that compiles Tanx and Zinc Alloy, plus demos, outtakes, singles, and an unreleased album, to present a comprehensive view of a transitional year.
Merge
A reflective yet still deeply anthemic third album from the Brooklyn duo.
Captured Tracks / Universal
The fourth album from this New York power pop band explores a more sentimental side of their '70s-informed songwriting style.
ATO
The band capture the swagger of the Faces on a set of classic rock songs that detail the uneasy state of the world around them.
Various Artists
Two Piers Records
A sprawling compilation acknowledging the long shadow shoegaze's initial wave cast on alternative and indie rock.