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Frank Ocean | Nostalgia, Ultra

Self-released (2011)
If anyone's earned the right to bitch about the limitations of being slotted "R&B," it's Frank Ocean.

By: DAN WEISS | July 27, 2011

Golden State | Division

State Champ (2011)
A California-themed moniker isn't the only thing frontman James Grundler has carried over from his past.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | July 26, 2011

The In Out | The Venal Column

Sell You (2011)
The In Out are one of Boston's true underground rock bands.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | July 26, 2011

The Horrors | Skying

XL (2011)
Skying is an epic swash of shoegaze, Britpop, and succulent reverb rock.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | July 19, 2011

Lil B | I'm Gay (I'm Happy)

Amalgam Digital (2011)
Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.

By: CARRIE BATTAN | July 19, 2011

Lefse (2011)
"Murder of the Most Artful" is the most pop-leaning, a three-minute wobble that slowly morphs into a blip-groove romp, and the atmospheric "Ringer Park Girls" is a synthed-out, swagged-out analog boast that's impossible to pin down.

By: MICHAEL MAROTTA | July 19, 2011

Reptar | Oblangle Fizz, Y'all

Vagrant Records (2011)
"Blastoff" (bonus points for perfect song titles) is simply an un-fucking-believable opener — an exercise in demented excess that only gets better the more you peel it apart.

By: RYAN REED | July 19, 2011

The Cool Kids | When Fish Ride Bicycles

Green Label Sound (2011)
As you'd expect from the name, the Cool Kids have a fascination with social status and trends as well as with rebelling against them.

By: DAN WEISS | July 19, 2011

Crystal Antlers | Two-Way Mirror

Recreation Ltd. (2011)
Crystal Antlers' latest can be a pretty frustrating record — not because of what it is but because what it isn't.

By: REYAN ALI | July 19, 2011

Ash Borer | Ash Borer

Flenser (2011)
NorCal black-metal trio Ash Borer's debut full-length is as diminutive as their namesake (limited to a 150-cassette run) but no less destructive or striking as they hurtle through three tracks in 40 minutes.

By: JANSSEN McCORMICK | July 12, 2011

Assaf Kehati - Flowers and Other Stories

Assaf Kehati Quartet | Flowers and Other Stories

AKJazz (2011)
The Boston-based Israeli guitarist Assaf Kehati and his quartet know how to straddle the great divide.

By: JON GARELICK | July 12, 2011

New album from Little Dragon called Ritual Union

Little Dragon | Ritual Union

Peacefrog Records (2011)
On Ritual Union, the third full-length from these mechanical soul weirdos, Little Dragon have managed to get way catchier and also a great deal stranger.

By: RYAN REED | July 12, 2011

Random Axe | Random Axe

Duck Down (2011)
It's no wonder that it takes a 10-ton Uzi to get rap fans psyched about posse cuts these days.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | July 12, 2011

Various Artists | True Soul: Deep Sounds from the Left of Stax

Now-Again (2011)
Soul hounds love deep, obscure shit — the deeper it is, the more obscure it is, the funkier it is, the more Southern it is, the better.

By: ZETH LUNDY | July 12, 2011

Washed Out | Within and Without

Sub Pop (2011)
Two summers ago, a number of glo-fi buzz bands surfed trendy chillwaves around the blogosphere, reaching mild popularity amongst fans of subtle, retro dance beats and laid-back vibes.

By: LIZ PELLY | July 13, 2011

Nadia Oh | Colours

Tiger Trax (2011)
Tiger Trax (2011)

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | June 29, 2011

Peter Murphy | Ninth

Nettwerk (2011)
It used to be that casual music fans knew Peter Murphy only as the singer of Bauhaus's archetypal goth piece "Bela Lugosi's Dead." Times change, even for the undead, and since Murphy appeared in last year's Twilight Saga: Eclipse as the Cold One (a vampire, natch), horny pre- and post-pubescents now associate him with that dreadfully goth-lite world.

By: MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | June 29, 2011

Sebadoh | Bakesale [Reissue]

Sub Pop (2011)
Generally, Lou Barlow's sad-sack lyrics and confused-young-man shtick are most potent to the young and overemotional. But compared to 1996's Harmacy , Barlow's maudlin tendencies are relatively reined in throughout Bakesale's 15 straightforward rockers.

By: GARRET MARTIN | June 29, 2011

Ty Segall | Goodbye Bread

Drag City (2011)
At just 23 years old, Ty Segall is on his fifth LP, and that's not counting more than a dozen releases with Sic Alps and his four other bands. But Goodbye Bread — his first record for Drag City, in which he plays every instrument — is his most scrupulous work to date.

By: LIZ PELLY | June 29, 2011

Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Fat Possum (2011)
Fat Possum is having perhaps its best year . . . well, ever. Not only will the Mississippi label turn over a new leaf by releasing the debut album from Odd Future duo MellowHype later this month, their 2011 batting average for jangly little lo-fi gems has been, to say the least, reliable.

By: JILLIAN MAPES | June 29, 2011

Vast Aire | OX 2010: A Street Odyssey

Man Bites Dog (2011)
Although it's an imperfect effort in some regards, the somewhat conceptual OX 2010: A Street Odyssey testifies to Vast's highly developed steez, and does so with complements from MCs who effortlessly jibe with his arcane rhyme selections.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 29, 2011

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