RICHARD THOMPSON Electric [New West]  Recorded in a few days at producer Buddy Miller’s Nashville home, Electric sounds more live than Thompson’s Dream Attic(2010), an actual live album. Perhaps it’s because he didn’t overdo it in the studio. Thompson has said that he and his trio banged out the recording with minimal fuss, and the lack of embellishment does these songs good. Fortunately, austerity doesn’t come at the price of substance,... 

THE CULT Choice of Weapon [Cooking Vinyl] It’s been more than 20 years since the Cult achieved platinum success with Electric and Sonic Temple, records that appeared to establish the band as goth-metal’s reigning power. Unable to sustain the momentum, the group ultimately disbanded in the mid-’90s, with frontman Ian Astbury going on to gain notice as the fill-in for Jim Morrison in touring configurations of the Doors. The group’s latest album...