CHARLES WALKER & THE DYNAMITES Love Is Only Everything thedynamites.net Pair a 70-something soul survivor with a pack of reverent young virtuosos, and you’ve got a couple of options. One is to make gritty, lo-fi recordings slavishly indebted to some romanticized past. The other is to admit the times have changed and go slightly more modern, and that’s what Nashville’s Dynamites and their veteran frontman do here. Walker was buds with James... 

KING DJANGO Anywhere I Roam kingdjango.com For two decades, Stubborn Records founder Jeff “King Django” Baker has kept the East Coast safe for ska and traditional Jamaican music. Here, the singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist pulls together a dozen tracks cut with friends and associates, and while all feature variations of the island’s distinctive offbeat bounce, Django keeps things as diverse as possible. In addition to swift,... 

SANDERS BOHLKE Ghost Boy sandersbohlke.com No amount of sonic ambiance—not amplifier hiccups, feedback blasts, cello hums or eerily childlike piano tinkling—can distract from the sentiments driving Sanders Bohlke’s music. On his first album in seven years, this 21st century Southern folkie threads together songs of love and Armageddon, promising, “I’ll rip your heart out like you want me to” on one track, then observing, “The devil is... 

JELLO BIAFRA White People and the Damage Done alternativetentacles.com No surprises here: “Werewolves of Wall Street,” “Mid-East Peace Process,” and the title track are about exactly what their titles suggest, and as anyone familiar with Biafra’s oeuvre might guess, these and others are irreverent hardcore ragers informed by pop, surf rock and even circus music. Biafra has been flinging these goofball grenades since the ’70s, when he was... 

PALENKE SOULTRIBE MAR palenkesoultribe.com There’s a tune here called “This Song Is for Whoever Feels Lonely,” and those eight words might preface any of the dozen tracks on this album. On the second part in a planned trilogy, this Colombian-born, L.A.-based electronic duo aims for inclusiveness at the risk of abrasiveness, honoring Old World traditions by completely uprooting them. Hip-hop, pop and EDM fans will dig the synthetic squiggles,... 

THE REV. JIMMIE BRATCHER Secretly Famous jimmiebratcher.com The God-versus-devil dynamic one might expect from a Midwestern preacher who’s also an ace blues guitarist doesn’t really come into play here, and that’s fine—there are plenty of conflicted souls making the rounds, exorcising demons through music. Bratcher is mostly upbeat on these dozen tunes, and even when he’s not—”When I Fall Apart,” “Nowhere to Go but Down”—he’s... 

TARMAC ADAM The History Effect tarmacadam.com.au That Tarmac Adam can reform after a decade away and pick up where they left off speaks volumes about their music. Warm, well crafted and slightly adventurous, theirs is a timeless sound reminiscent of ’60s pop, ’70s folk-rock and jangly ’80s indie—and of fellow Aussie rockers Crowded House. In fact, that band’s Nick Seymour sits in on bass, reprising his role from Tarmac’s 2003 debut, but... 

THE SO SO GLOS Blowout thesosoglos.com Better known for running (and living in) a series of DIY music venues than for making records, these Brooklyn punks know all about late-night parties, next-day cleanup and the cost-benefit calculation that makes it all worthwhile. And the costs can be high. “It’s never been such a crime to be free,” they holler on “Speakeasy,” a tune about getting hassled by police. While they occasionally tangle with... 

STAN KILLIAN Evoke stankillian.com On his second set with this quartet, the NYC-via-Texas tenor saxophonist soundtracks his surroundings. The piano on “Kirby” is a mile-a-minute subway chatterer, while guitarist Mike Moreno’s liquid-cool playing is consistently harried and elegant. Killian adds melodic flourish, beauty amid the hustle-bustle.    Read More →

GUNSLINGER Breaking Through thelastgunslinger.com The two DJs—one Californian, the other Portuguese—behind this “rocktronica” act have better taste in electronica than they do in rock, but that’s cool. Slick, mainstream alt-rock pairs nicely with electro-bombast, and if any Soundgarden fans are still unsure about EDM, this is a way in.    Read More →

KENNY ROBY Memories & Birds kennyroby.net On this terrific disc of country-soul laments, Roby battles a host of beastly creatures, some metaphors for love and prejudice, others ugly sides of himself. “The Monster,” meanwhile, might actually be about something lurking in the woods. Scary stuff—but he sings so pretty.    Read More →

ANDY POXON Tomorrow andypoxon.com Pay no mind to the ginger afro: Poxon is a serious singer, songwriter, guitarist and arranger. Just 18, he’s absorbed blues, classic R&B and Jerry Lee Lewis rock ’n’ roll. The references scream yesterday, but Tomorrow introduces a guy with a future.    Read More →

THE COPPER GAMINS Los Ninos de Cobre facebook.com/thecoppergamins Whether it’s because Spanish is their first language or lucidity isn’t their principal concern, this pair of Mexican junk-punk bluesmen create songs that are as lyrically dreamlike—often in a jarringly romantic way—as they are musically fierce. The White Stripes meet Gabriel Garcia Marquez.    Read More →

THE FLAMING LIPS The Terror [Warner Bros.] No matter how much melancholy courses through their catalog, the Flaming Lips will always be known as a celebratory band. That’s more a product of their live shows—confetti-strewn freak-outs that feature frontman Wayne Coyne rolling over fans in a giant plastic ball—than it is their albums, though career highlights The Soft Bulletin (1999) and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) offset sadness with... 

THE STROKES Comedown Machine  [RCA] The fifth album from these lo-fi New York City garage heroes clocks in at a mere 40 minutes, and for the first eight songs, it’s classic Strokes: an energetic romp that’s equal parts scratchy austerity and voltaic pop. After an opening screech, the trebly guitars on “Tap Out” smooth into something vaguely reminiscent of disco, while instantly appealing lead single “All the Time” finds frontman Julian... 

ROBBEN FORD Bringing It Back Home [Provogue] The title suggests that sometime during his four-decade career, Robben Ford abandoned the blues, but that’s not true. Even while immersed in jazz—he played with Miles Davis and was a member of the Yellowjackets—the gifted guitarist never completely strayed from the genre. Still, this is his most blues-saturated record in some time. Whether turning to established songsmiths (Earl King, Allen Toussaint)... 

ALICE IN CHAINS The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here [emi] “Hollow,” the opening track on AIC’s fifth album, is a fitting title for a band that conveys emptiness like no other. Though half the original lineup has succumbed to a shared demon—substance abuse—the enduring Seattle grunge group retains its distinctive sound. It’s almost as if late frontman Layne Staley has returned for the infectiously kinetic “Stone” and the title track’s foreboding... 

ICEAGE You’re Nothing [Matador] Barely into their 20s, the four Danish punks behind Iceage have already figured out what a cruel, alienating place the world can be. They radiate rage, but fortunately, they’ve found no shortage of ways to unburden themselves. On the follow-up to their stunning 2011 debut, New Brigade, the band once again smashes and refashions post-punk hallmarks, using the terse sounds of Gang of Four and Wire as rough templates... 

EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL  Old Yellow Moon  [Nonesuch] Thankfully, the second posthumous Winehouse release isn’t filled with scraps that didn’t make last year’s Lioness. Drawn from BBC appearances, it reminds listeners what a charismatic vocalist Winehouse was. The early material, recorded circa 2004’s Frank album, showcases Winehouse’s jazz roots, pairing her sultry, scat-like singing with big band arrangements. The handful... 

JOHNNY MARR The Messenger [Sire] Since leaving the Smiths in 1987, guitarist Johnny Marr has made a career of playing nice with others. He’s guested with such heavies as Talking Heads and Pet Shop Boys and even served stints with relative whippersnappers Modest Mouse and the Cribs. Through it all, he’s seemingly made a conscious effort to avoid his signature sound—that rolling, bittersweet jangle that defined not only the Smiths, but also indie... 

BUCKCHERRY  Confessions [Century Media] On Buckcherry’s sixth album, frontman Josh Todd reveals—but doesn’t necessarily repent for—his forays into the seven deadly sins. The tattoo-laden rocker is well qualified for such narratives. Through hard-hitting guitar, trenchant vocals and sleazy lyrics, he gives depravity a sonic correlative, presenting various forms of vice as a kind of musical slideshow. Opener “Gluttony” sets the template,... 

10CC In Concert  [Wienerworld] They’re usually described as “art-rock,” or some variation of that term, but more than anything, 10cc was a smart English pop band. After releasing a handful of well-crafted, durable AM radio hits and deceptively sophisticated albums in the ’70s, they said their goodbyes in the early ’80s. While the original quartet—Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart and Lol Creme—reunited in 1991 for one album,... 

JOE LOVANO Cross Culture [Blue Note] Over the course of his 22 previous Blue Note albums, Joe Lovano has proven one of the most versatile musicians in contemporary jazz. The formation of Us Five has invigorated the saxophonist and composer, and the quintet’s third album is astoundingly moving. Accompanied by his regulars—pianist James Weidman, bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummers Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela—as well as bassist Peter... 

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS Push the Sky Away [Bad Seed] Though he’s demonstrated a penchant for sonic mayhem over the years, Nick Cave is often at his most unsettling when he turns down the volume. In fact, some of the songs are downright menacing on his latest with the Bad Seeds, their first new album since 2008’s Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! These nine new tunes simmer darkly, as spacious minor-key arrangements flow around Cave’s smooth, foreboding... 

DUANE ALLMAN Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective  [Rounder] Just how prolific was Duane Allman in his few years? Amazingly so. From the time he first recorded and performed publicly in the mid-’60s until his death in 1971 at the age of 24, Duane—older than brother Gregg by a year—was one busy fellow. Attempts have been made through the years to chronicle the work of “Skydog,” as he was called, both within and outside of the Allman Brothers... 

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB Specter at the Feast [Vagrant] Inspired by the popularity of his old-timey sets on his last tour, Andrew Bird returns less than a year after his last record, Break It Yourself. For this eight-song companion piece, the violinist and his band recorded in a barn around a single microphone. The approach was old fashioned, but the song selection was anything but. On the lone traditional tune, “Railroad Bill,” Bird’s jaunty... 

CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN La Costa Perdida [429] It’s not really a surprise Camper Van Beethoven’s first new album in nine years is full of quirky sounds and whimsical, borderline satirical lyrics. Effectively the mischievous older sibling of founding frontman David Lowrey’s other famous band, Cracker, CVB sounds as if they never went on hiatus. Following in the lyrical footsteps of its best-known songs—”Where the Hell Is Bill?” and “Take... 

KELLY WILLIS & BRUCE ROBISON Cheater’s Game [Premium] Willis and Robison may be new duet partners, but they have no less chemistry than country music’s classic pairs Johnny and June and Dolly and Porter. The husband-and-wife duo’s first album features seven stellar tunes written or co-written by Robison and a half-dozen by Dave Alvin, Razzy Bailey and Hayes Carll. As Robison’s loping Texas singer-songwriter sound combines with Willis’... 

DALE WATSON El Rancho Azul [Red House] Texas troubadour Dale Watson is a master storyteller who navigates his own plot twists with offhanded ease. He’s equally capable of wise-guy attitude and wistful nostalgia, and his generous spirit shines through on this, a set of hardcore honky-tonk spiked with traditional Western swing and Bakersfield country. This is Watson’s first recording with regular touring band the Lone Stars, whose rowdy twang is... 

DROPKICK MURPHYS Signed and Sealed in Blood [Domino] If the title of Dropkick’s last album, Going Out in Style, hinted that the Boston Celtic-punk band’s career was over, this one’s rousing opener, “The Boys Are Back,” sets the record straight. It’s a foot-stomping rallying cry, cut with whirring bagpipes. Whereas Out in Style centered on a fictional character, Signed and Sealed finds the septet telling personal tales wrapped in frenzied... 

THE WATERBOYS An Appointment With Mr. Yeats mikescottwaterboys.com Had he come along a century later, Ireland’s greatest poet might have been its greatest rock ’n’ roll frontman. Such is the idea behind this, the first Waterboys album in five years, a set of 14 songs adapted from poems by W.B. Yeats. Mike Scott, long the singer and driving force behind this Scottish-born band, makes subtle changes to Yeats’ texts, repeating certain lines and... 

TOM BRISLIN Hurry Up and Smell the Roses tombrislin.com Filled with smart, grown-up pop songs written and performed by a man making sense of the modern world, the debut album from this New Jersey-born, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist is “adult contemporary” in the truest sense. Brislin has played keyboards for the likes of Yes, Meat Loaf and Debbie Harry, and here, amid classical-informed piano figures, unapologetically proggy ’80s synths,... 

GURF MORLIX Finds the Present Tense gurfmorlix.com On the cover of his first album in four years, this country-folk lifer sits in front of a time bomb, head in hands. Listening to these 10 tracks, one suspects he’s longing for the boom, hoping a quick blast will save him from life’s interminable creep. No such luck. “I done some things of which I ain’t proud,” Morlix sings on “Series of Closin’ Doors,” adding, “Nothing I really wanna... 

AFTER SUNDAY After Sunday aftersundayband.com Take this as gospel: The Christian rock that stands the best chance of actually changing lives needs to stand on its own as rock music. That means good hooks, punchy guitars and urgent lyrics, all of which floweth over on this six-song EP. Frontman Mike Ross leaves no ambiguity about his subject matter—he’s singing for Jesus—but “Today” and “Plain Jane” could be popular Train or Bryan Adams... 

BETH HART Bang Bang Boom Boom bethhart.com While not requisite reading, Beth Hart’s bio complements this record nicely, helping to explain the heft of the lyrics and gutsy jumps from brassy jazz to broken-down blues to chest-thumping soul. Taken out of context, these songs suggest an Americana Adele or Amy Winehouse, but Hart has earned her Billie Holiday affectations and bold stylistic leaps. A would-be star who squandered her shot in the ’90s,... 

SUSIE GLAZE & THE HILONESOME BAND White Swan susieglaze.com If Susie Glaze were a newscaster, this crazy world would be a lot easier to take. On grisly murder ballads and carefree romps alike, the Tennessee native sings smooth and sweet, her voice like buttermilk pie. Having appeared on Broadway, Glaze has a knack for theatrics, and that serves her well on “Fair Ellender,” “Evangeline” and “The Dark Eileen,” three of this album’s... 

T.V. MIKE & THE SCARECROWES Weeks to Days bravescarecrow.com Among urban rustics, there’s a tendency toward dourness and musical purism. Witness all those bearded dudes in flannel shirts singing murder ballads. Led by three Indiana transplants, this San Francisco group does the opposite. They’ve got a slide guitar and banjo and harmonies to boot, but their second album veers off the wagon trail and lands someplace—get this—fun. The most... 

CARMEN VILLAIN Sleeper myspace.com/carmenvillain Even pretty people get the blues. Such is the message, evident in both the bummed-out lyrics and washed-out music, of this former model’s debut album. Villain—a half-Mexican, half-Norwegian beauty who has graced such magazines as Glamour and Vogue—plays guitar, bass, keyboards and drum machines, and she approaches them all in much the same way. The instruments coalesce into a disorienting fog... 

WHITE BLUSH White Blush whiteblushh.com On her website, L.A. synth-pop spellbinder Carol Rhyu, aka White Blush, offers up a mixtape of favorite songs. The collection spans gloomy post-punk godheads Joy Division to Julee Cruise—director David Lynch’s go-to artist for nightmarishly beautiful pop songs—with Desire’s Drive soundtrack cut “Under Your Spell” thrown in for good measure. All three inform Rhyu’s debut EP, though her experimental... 

RICKY BYRD Lifer rickybyrd.com Flip on a classic rock station anywhere in America, and you’ll hear Ricky Byrd. This NYC native supplied the chunky, eternally air-guitar-inspiring power chords on Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll,” and while that song is hardly his sole accomplishment—he’s toured with Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter and Roger Daltrey, among others—it’s a good summation of his life. So is Lifer, his solo debut, a... 

THE DEER TRACKS The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3 thedeertracksmusic.com On the final installment of their Archer Trilogy—two albums and an EP culled from sessions held in a remote Swedish cabin—David Lehnberg and Elin Lindfors wig out on elfin electronica, a twitchy, glitchy mix of nightclub gloss and return-to-nature freakiness. Deer Tracks could easily stick to one or the other—the heavier dance bits are positively triumphant, suggesting glow-stick... 

PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold parquetcourts.wordpress.com Why did three-fourths of this band’s lineup move to New York City from the Lone Star State? “As for Texas, donuts only,” frontman Andrew Savage sings on the aptly named “Donuts Only.” “You cannot find bagels here.” As their debut album makes clear, they didn’t just come for the baked goods. Light Up Gold is the work of wordy young strummers obsessed with Gotham greats the Ramones,... 

ELEPHANT STONE Elephant Stone elephantstonemusic.com Even when these Montreal psych rockers break out the sitar—a signature instrument for singer Rishi Dhir—they keep it sweet and poppy, putting drive behind the drone. Elsewhere, it’s all mystical jingle-jangle with the odd blast of fuzz or backward guitar—reverent, sure, but also refreshing.    Read More →

ROBERT “TOP” THOMAS The Town Crier wildrootsrecords.com With his gruff, mush-mouth drawl and sure-handed riffing, Thomas again earns the title of “swamp blues master.” Amid ruminations on freight trains, treacherous women and the healing powers of “blues grass,” he shares the spotlight with harmonica ace Stephen Kampa, a candidate for MVP.    Read More →

DUMBO GETS MAD Quantum Leap dumbogetsmad.com If “Tahiti Hungry Jungle,” a gnawing, grooving psych-rock take on rapper Azealia Banks’ “Liquorice,” were the most inspired moment, album two from these Italian experimentalists would warrant obsessive listening. Rap beats, surf riffs, detuned guitars and ’70s-soul flutes seal the deal—and only begin to tell the story.    Read More →

NEW AMERICAN FARMERS Brand New Day newamericanfarmers.org Paul Knowles and Nicole Storto don’t need help—these insightful folkie rockers hold a mirror to America as well as anyone—but Tom Waits trumpeter Ara Anderson and the Real Vocal String Quartet drop by anyway, making this rich and unique disc that much stronger.    Read More →

NICHOLAS ALTOBELLI Without a Home nicholasaltobelli.com A Dallas-based acoustic folkie heads back to his birthplace, Southern California, and makes a textured electric record indebted to the Byrds, Tom Petty and other sunshine strummers. That some of the songs are bum-outs hardly matters as Altobelli’s voice soothes, and this stuff is sublime.    Read More →

ATOMS FOR PEACE Amok [xl] When Thom Yorke needed musicians to back him on a 2009 solo tour, the Radiohead frontman laid the foundation for one of the more puzzling supergroups in recent memory. Among those he enlisted was Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, a perpetually shirtless slap-and-pop funkateer whose people-pleasing main band couldn’t differ more from Yorke’s. The other members—producer Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney), drummer... 

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... 

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ Give Me All You Got [Ninth Street Opus] A classically trained violinist, Carrie Rodriguez possesses firm command over another instrument: a sultry, Texas-cured soprano voice. Her engaging vocal style is best served without garish musical adornments or modern studio tricks, and on her fifth album, she smartly plays to her strengths, laying out a generous spread of mostly quiet acoustic songs. The simple restraint exercised by Rodriguez...