UNPLUGGED & ON FIRE Ed Sheeran pushes acoustic boundaries to find new musical territory He arrived on the mainstream music scene three years ago with a massively successful debut album of delicately crafted acoustic ballads. So it might have been understandable if the world had gotten used to thinking of Ed Sheeran as a laid-back, reliable balladeer. But the 23-year-old troubadour has since emerged as a pop phenom, a creative dynamo whose varied... 

PORTUGAL. THE MAN Evil Friends [Atlantic] On first pass, listeners with no knowledge of this band might hear Evil Friends and wonder if it’s a man or a woman singing. Not only is it a man—it’s the man. Portugal. The Man’s John Gourley has a high-pitched voice that’s among the most distinctive in indie rock, and on his group’s eighth studio record, it proves a striking instrument. Generally faster and more aggressive than previous PTM releases,... 

THE JOY FORMIDABBLE Wolf’s Law [Atlantic]  The sophomore effort from these Welsh alt-rockers offers guitars that crunch at heavy metal levels and vocals that soothe to the point of hypnosis. Mega distortion gives way to dreamy interludes and ethereal harmony, and frontwoman Ritzy Bryan’s voice conjures the drama and enchantment of Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan. On such tracks as “Tendons,” guttural bass lines drop to the depths of... 

KID ROCK Rebel Soul [Atlantic] On his ninth studio album, Kid Rock lightens up. He’s never exactly been a brooding singer-songwriter, but after stepping up his game with 2010’s Rick Rubin-produced Born Free and dabbling in politics during last year’s Mitt Romney campaign, he seems ready to fling off the fedora and let his hair down. He leads listeners right into the party with “Chickens in the Pen,” a solid Southern rock foot-stomper. He’s... 

SANTIGOLD Master of My Make-Believe [Atlantic] Four years is an eternity in pop music, yet Santigold sounds as distinctive on her second album as she did on her first, 2008’s Santogold. (Born Santi White, she changed her stage name slightly in 2009 to avoid legal entanglements.) Like her debut, Master of My Make-Believe is a mix of styles, blending elements of new wave, dub reggae and electro-rock into a compelling hybrid, with writing and production...