Louis R. Carlozo
Blaze, by David Wilcox
David Wilcox has planted something complex and beautiful with Blaze. It displays his gifts as a first-rate storyteller who marries arresting narratives with alluring melodies.
Tempo Antico, by Newpoli
The eight musicians who compose Newpoli take on a host of southern Italian folk songs on this project, playing traditional instruments....
Experience, by Natalie Mann and Jeffrey Panko
Fresh off her successful solo debut at Carnegie Hall, soprano Natalie Mann tackles an ambitious project—the songs of Lori Laitman and Richard Pearson Thomas—with palpable confidence and a thrilling...
Our Roots Are In You
These 17 songs are inspired by the psalms, and the musical settings recall Michael W. Smith and Phil Keaggy....
The Complete Recordings, by the Paley Brothers
Though Andy Paley later enjoyed acclaim as a producer, the power-pop group he led with his brother Jonathan faded, as so many of them do....
Bella Ciao, by Barbez
In the digital age, music albums are often seen as quaint, obsolete. Yet a well-crafted collection of songs often carries with it a narrative arc, even when the compositions lack words.
Deep Roots, by Steven Curtis Chapman
This album variously rolls with the calming reassurance of a Dixie river and chugs along like a steam engine....
Life and Rhymes, by Phil Angotti
Midwestern rocker Phil Angotti dishes sweet sunshine on a disc redolent of 1970s pop textures à la Todd Rundgren and the Raspberries—though “Goodbye Never Said” has a timeless chamber-pop quality, ...
Babel, by Mumford & Sons
Not since U2 has a pop music act with decidedly Christian leanings generated as much discussion, derision and delight as Mumford and Sons.
Lullaby Confessions Presents Tropical Encouragement, by various artists
For this second disc in the Lullaby Confessions series, producer-songwriter Barrie Buckner Jr. delivers something unique: lullabies with an easy, breezy tropical bent....
What We Lost, by Ben Bedford
Ben Bedford creates cinematic folk music with the wisdom and depth of someone twice his age....
Kindred Spirits, by Carrie Newcomer
This collection draws on Carrie Newcomer’s dozen releases on Rounder, adding two new tracks that continue in her tradition of exploring spiritual dimensions in everyday life....
Feeling Mortal, by Kris Kristofferson
It’s easy to write Kris Kristofferson off as another country songwriter trawling the shallows of whiskey, diesels and cornpone imagery. But that’s a myopic read of the Rhodes scholar, William Blake devotee, Golden Gloves boxer and helicopter pilot.
The Beautiful Old, by various artists
This project by producers Paul Marsteller and Gabriel Rhodes is an admirable tribute to pre–World War I popular music....
I Have Big Plans for the World, by Beki Hemingway
The latest six-song effort by Beki Hemingway—a distant relative of Ernest—finds her in fine voice, singing with a poised balance of tough and tender....
Depending on the Distance, by Jimmy LaFave
The acclaimed Austin singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave sticks out from the country crowd thanks to his frayed tenor and penchant for taking chances....
Renaissance Man, by Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band
Founding Allman Brothers Band drummer Jaimoe (aka Jai Johanny Johanson) treats listeners to an accomplished mix of blues, jazz-pop and jam-band music....
Psychedelic Pill, by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
While many of his contemporaries have ossified, Neil Young claws at the marrow like a deranged miner, digging deep in ways that confound expectation. He launches his new double album with a track that’s almost 28 minutes long—and that largely revolves around two chords. It’s one of three songs on this nine-track effort that top 16 minutes.
Lullaby, by Justin Roberts
Cleverly disguised as bedtime music for young ones, Lullaby doubles as an album of exquisite, dreamy chamber pop that showcases Justin Roberts backed by a string quartet, trumpets and Fren...
For a While, by Dolly Varden
Steve Dawson of the five-piece band Dolly Varden shows sharp lyrical skill on the plaintive “Del Mar, 1976,” which invokes water towers and “the sad songs of the ’70s playing soft from a radio at t...