MATT AND KIM Sidewalks [Fader] There’s a “grab the world by the tail” message tucked into the third full-length effort from the Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim. Singer Matt Johnson is so busy painting the town that he claims not to have time to stop and photograph any of it. But that fearless adventurousness isn’t transferred to the sound of the new songs. Other than the startlingly bare “Northeast,” this is nearly the same keyboard-driven,... 

EVEREST On Approach [Vapor/WBR] From the opening snare drum slam of “Let Go,” this second album by L.A.’s Everest finds ensemble playing and melodic hooks taking precedence over flashy soloing. That’s not to say this is merely living-room rock—with its propulsive backbeat and cascading guitars, “Let Go” sounds like a stadium anthem in waiting. Ditto for the hard-rock gestures of “I’ve Had This Feeling Before” and the lush closer,... 

CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET Mirror [ECM] Rabo de Nube, Charles Lloyd’s previous release with pianist Jason Moran, double-bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, was so well received—awards galore, rave reviews—that it’s not surprising to find the same lineup returning for an encore. Mirror is more subdued than its predecessor—nearly all of the tracks are ballads, and while the musicianship is of course exemplary, it’s a relatively tamer... 

DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND What Goes Around Comes Around [Pravda] Iowa City’s Diplomats of Solid Sound have been plying their trade for more than a decade now, so they’ve been at it since the early days of the soul revival that currently is fully dialed up. The band’s first three records were purely instrumental; they expanded their membership and their scope in 2008 with the addition of a trio of vocalists dubbed “the Diplomettes.” Two of... 

OLD 97’S The Grand Theatre Volume One [New West] While earlier albums found them etching their own variation on the roots-rock template, The Grand Theatre Volume One suggests the Old 97’s have again chosen to pursue a more rambunctious direction. The three songs that open the album—“The Grand Theatre,” “Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)” and “The Magician”—constitute a rowdy triple threat that soars on rapid-fire refrains... 

SYD BARRETT An Introduction to Syd Barrett [Capitol] The driving force behind just three full-length albums—Pink Floyd’s 1967 masterpiece The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and the 1970 solo albums The Madcap Laughs and Barrett—the late Syd Barrett nonetheless had a profound impact on rock. This 18-song collection, culled from the above albums and fleshed out with three essential singles, shows why Barrett remains such a revered cult figure. “Arnold... 

CORIN TUCKER BAND 1000 Years [Kill Rock Stars] The solo debut from Sleater-Kinney founding member Corin Tucker may not be instantly comparable to the aggressive work of her famous riot-grrl band, but it doesn’t qualify as a startling departure either. Despite being short on screams and relatively eclectic in its choice of instruments, 1000 Years channels the do-it-yourself spirit of punk rock during every second of its running time. Alongside the... 

LORETTA LYNN AND FRIENDS Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn [Columbia Nashville] This all-star salute commemorates the 50th anniversary of Loretta Lynn’s debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” along with the 30th anniversary of her biopic Coal Miner’s Daughter. Top female country singers—Carrie Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Faith Hill—offer up their heartfelt and mostly faithful covers of Lynn classics alongside... 

BRYAN FERRY Olympia [Astralwerks] The guest list for Bryan Ferry’s first batch of (mostly) original material in eight years is star-studded to the point of practically begging for attention. There’s Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood—and those are just the guitarists. But if you don’t have the liner notes handy, the sidemen won’t matter, and your mind will stay focused on a single thought:... 

NORAH JONES …Featuring [Blue Note/EMI] For an artist with such a distinctive style of her own, Norah Jones is quite an adaptable character. …Featuring collects 18 tracks she has recorded with other artists over the last nine years, and her roster of musical partners has been remarkably diverse. Here we find Jones teaming with acts ranging from Foo Fighters and Willie Nelson to Outkast and Herbie Hancock, and sounding perfectly at home alongside... 

NEIL DIAMOND Dreams [Columbia] Neil Diamond has made a remarkable resurgence as a songwriter during the past decade, but this album of covers finds him paying tribute to material that helped shape that songwriting brilliance in the first place. Diamond instills these classic tunes from the ’60s and ’70s with an after-hours ambiance that spotlights their melodic strength and lyrical power. High points include an Americana-tinged take on the Beatles’... 

TAYLOR SWIFT Speak Now [Big Machine] “There is nothing I do better than revenge,” warns Taylor Swift on Speak Now, in one of many observations that demonstrate she’s still fond of wielding her smartly crafted pop-country songs as weapons against those who have wronged her. But her third and darkest album yet scales up the drama, her oversize emotions matched by full-bodied arrangements. During her teen years Swift took aim at classmates who...