A press release that accompanies Alyssa Graham's new "Lock, Stock & Soul" quotes the singer as saying she was tricked into doing "scratch vocals" (basically, trial vocals that she expected would be overdubbed or re-recorded) for her new "Lock, Stock ...

Novalima dresses up ancient music without disrespecting it.

Van Halen's back with "A Different Kind of Truth," and why not?

The Fray is a good band, if not a great one, and its new “Scars & Stories” is a good release, if not a great one. The group plugs along on its third album in an effort to build on ...

Nada Surf’s latest release is built on searing guitars and soaring melodies, lively rhythms and absorbing refrains. But to concentrate on the structure of “The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy” is to miss the bigger picture: The deft arrangements are ...

Good news for those absorbed by the months-long, pre-release hype for Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die”: The singer is totally committed to the vibe and persona she puts forth on the advance singles “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans.”

Despite what the calendar says, it’s always summer-like in most of Brazil. And the nation’s most famous music forms are sultry, evoking feelings of sensual, tropical warmth. So the new compilation “Brazilian Beat” could be as effective an anti-winter remedy ...

If music genres were blood types, Jeff Lorber’s redefined version of “jazz fusion” would be O positive: It’s universal and it blends with everything.

Attack Attack! lives up to its name, full-throttle, by aggressively blazing through its 10-track would-be concept album "This Means War."

It’s good of Liftoff to include a suggested listening time in the title of the group’s new “Sunday Morning Airplay.” Playing it at the wrong hour could lead to dire circumstances: For example, those who operate heavy machinery wouldn’t want ...

It’s hard to reconcile Madi Diaz's storied background with her new “Plastic Moon,” which sounds like the humble project of a small-town girl with little experience in the music industry.

Yo Gotti’s new “Live From the Kitchen” sounds like something from years ago — and not just because it has reportedly been delayed from release by a couple of years. It sounds older than that, like from more than a ...

SafetySuit may be fractured on “These Times,” but its heart is in the right place. The Nashville-based band's new “These Times” is loaded with radio-friendly songs, though they don’t fit together for a satisfying whole.

Sure, Kathleen Edwards is one of the many low-key, brooding singer-songwriters who cross genres and overshare about themselves via intimate lyrics. But few of them do downcast confessionals like Edwards does on her new “Voyageur.”

Some mainstream observers might mistakenly regard Skrillex as this year's Esperanza Spalding, who last year was a surprise Best New Artist Grammy nominee against much-higher-profile competition.