Aldous Harding
Designer
The New Zealand singer/songwriter's third effort eschews the last-call darkness of 2017's Party for something a bit sunnier, though no less peculiar.
Alex G
House of Sugar
A suffocating, strange, and affecting eighth album from lo-fi pop experimenter Alex Giannascoli reflects an upgrade in recording equipment.
Altin Gün
Gece
The second album of lovingly updated Turkish psych from ex-members of Jacco Gardner's band.
Angel Olsen
All Mirrors
Risks pay off on a highly stylized album with lavish orchestral arrangements that only elevate the singer's trademark vulnerability.
Avey Tare
Cows on Hourglass Pond
Solo work from Animal Collective founder sounds more grounded and inspired than much of his usually cluttered and abstract output.
Big Thief
U.F.O.F.
The indie folk-rockers' impressionistic third album is a foray into artful album rock that incorporates improvisation and samples.
Bill Callahan
Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
The singer/songwriter's first album in six years tackles life, love, and death with a refreshing and thought-provoking lightness.
Cate Le Bon
Reward
The fifth album from this Welsh songwriter trades guitar rock for risky, open-ended songs, resulting in some of her best work.
Comet Gain
Fireraisers Forever!
The long-running band have never sounded punker, sadder, or more alive than on this excellent album.
Danger Mouse / Karen O
Lux Prima
The singer/songwriter's first album in five years is a sophisticated, sonically adventurous collaboration with Danger Mouse.
Deadbeat Beat
How Far
The excellent third album by a Detroit trio whose sweet and bouncy noise pop has a dark lyrical undercurrent.
Deerhunter
Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
The band's fascinating eighth album examines impermanence, inhumanity, and death with songs that sound deceptively life-affirming.
Dehd
Water
The reverb-doused Chicago indie trio funnel the complicated feelings of an intra-band breakup into their strongest songs yet.
Eerie Wanda
Pet Town
The band's second album creates a wistful, quiet mood unbroken by drums and buoyed by lilting melodies.
Empath
Active Listening: Night on Earth
The excellent debut album from the Philly noise punks tempers chaos with vulnerability.
Ex Hex
It's Real
The trio's second album is a shiny love letter to rock & roll's transporting magic.
Field Medic
Fade Into the Dawn
The lo-fi singer/songwriter creates a warmly intimate environment on an album of vulnerable and optimistic folk songs.
FKA twigs
Magdalene
Musically wide-ranging and emotionally naked, Tahliah Barnett's breathtaking second album focuses on wounded yet resilient feminine energy.
Florist
Emily Alone
A devastating, unapologetically vulnerable set of quiet songs home-recorded by bandleader Emily Sprague following personal losses.
Fly Pan Am
C'est ça
The Montreal-based group return from an extended hiatus with a dense, unpredictable noise-pop suite.
Foxes in Fiction
Trillium Killer
Lush electro-acoustic production and complex songwriting make the third album from this dream pop project a genre standout.
Froth
Duress
The L.A. trio's fourth album finds them scaling back their shoegaze approach to something home-cooked and proudly lo-fi.
Grandchildren
Grandchildren
A moody, sonically mature fourth set from the Philadelphia band, and first with added vocalist Shari Bolar.
Helado Negro
This Is How You Smile
The project's sixth album offers gently powerful songs that sustain a sense of identity, family, and love through difficult times.
Jenny Hval
The Practice of Love
The multi-talented artist sets her musings on love as an action to '90s trance music with serenely complex results.
Julia Jacklin
Crushing
The sophomore LP's raw performances, complex emotional honesty, and themes of female autonomy set it apart from other breakup albums.
Lachlan Denton / Lachlan Denton & Studio Magic
A Brother
The second album from this Australian indie pop songwriter is a tribute to his departed brother, overflowing with gratitude and warmth.
Lightning Bolt
Sonic Citadel
This multi-faceted and curious collection finds the noise rock institution still growing and developing nearly a quarter century in.
Lisel
Angels on the Slope
The otherworldly, ethereal solo debut of Eliza Bagg (Pavo Pavo), who puts her voice, including experiments with vocal samples, front and center.
Lost Under Heaven
Love Hates What You Become
The Manchester duo deliver a cathartic, emotionally raw sophomore album that's as moving as it is artful.
Nilüfer Yanya
Miss Universe
The West Londoner's full-length debut frames themes of anxiety, ambition, and self-image in eccentric, staccato guitar pop.
Orville Peck
Pony
Striking debut from a deep-voiced Canadian singer whose take on country music tropes reveals he's no ordinary cowboy.
Patience
Dizzy Spells
After a batch of brilliant synth pop singles, the former Veronica Falls member makes good on a full album of brilliant synth pop.
Pip Blom
Boat
The Dutch quartet are students of '90s indie rock and invest their nostalgia with heartfelt imagination, strong dynamics, and deep feelings.
Purple Mountains
Purple Mountains
Singer/songwriter David Berman's final album is filled with lonely songs that are as warm as a hug from a long-lost friend.
Rocketship
Thanks to You
The band's third album harkens back to their '90s indie pop glory while adding new tricks, nearly topping their brilliant debut.
Rozi Plain
What a Boost
The fourth solo album by the This Is the Kit collaborator adds a stronger jazz presence to her gentle, textured indie rock.
Sacred Paws
Run Around the Sun
The duo's second album has all the giddy exuberance and infectious songs of their debut, plus slightly upgraded production values.
Simon Joyner
Pocket Moon
Decades into a revered catalog, storied Omaha singer/songwriter offers up one of his best, most focused collections.
Stroppies
Whoosh!
For their first album, the Australian band traded home recording for a studio, tightened up their sound, and made a jangling, warm-hearted Flying Nun-styled classic.
Susanna / Susanna & the Brotherhood of Our Lady
Garden of Earthly Delights
The singer/songwriter creates a richly symbolic, mysterious world where paradise and perdition overlap.
that dog.
Old LP
The band's first album in 22 years is a near-flawless blend of experience and exuberance.
The Mattson 2
Paradise
The sibling duo conjure an intoxicating dream of late-'60s California romance and trippy AM pop vibes on their follow-up to A Love Supreme.
The New Pornographers
In the Morse Code of Brake Lights
Cars and love are on A.C. Newman's mind in another offering of his group's clever and ambitious indie pop.
Vampire Weekend
Father of the Bride
The band returns from a six-year hiatus with some of their most eclectic and satisfying music.
Vanishing Twin
The Age of Immunology
The group responds to late-2010s xenophobia with beguiling psychedelic pop that's equally welcoming and unusual.
Vivian Girls
Memory
The band's first album in eight years is their best yet, filled with sharp songs and haunting performances.
Weyes Blood
Titanic Rising
Fourth album from this versatile indie-bred songwriter leans into orchestral soft rock touches for some of her most direct and fully formed work.
Young Guv
GUV I
Brilliantly written and executed lo-fi power pop from the restless musical mind of Fucked Up's Ben Cook.
