October 21, 2008
New Releases

Featured Albums AC/DC Black Ice Columbia Black Ice, AC/DC's first album in seven years, sounds a lot like the last one, Stiff Upper Lip and pretty similar to the one before that, 1995's Ballbreaker. This isn't a big surprise, as AC/DC has worked the same territory for over 30 years now, and that rude, raunchy sound can still be invigorating, as the best moments of Black Ice prove. Too bad, then, that most of the album doesn't sound rude and raunchy, but rather too polished and polite. Aussie Rock, Album Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Arena Rock The Dears Missiles Dangerbird The Dears' fourth album oozes the kind of romantic, apocalyptic melancholy that has become the Canadian outfit's forte since 2003's No Cities Left, but the constant barrage of raw, one-take desperation and meandering song structures yields wildly uneven results. Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock Of Montreal Skeletal Lamping Polyvinyl Of Montreal get simultaneously sexy and artsy with Skeletal Lamping, the band’s most ambitious album to date. While tracks like “An Eluardian Instance” are fueled by Kevin Barnes' usual buoyancy, the bulk of Skeletal Lamping is vastly different from Of Montreal’s past catalog, focusing on experimental structures and short melodic snippets rather than traditional songcraft. Depending on your preference, this is either the apex of the band’s career or the most erratic they’ve ever sounded. Indie Pop, Neo-Psychedelia Original Soundtrack High School Musical 3: Senior Year Walt Disney The third installment of High School Musical finds the cast celebrating their senior year through a set of songs that emphasize the "musical" as much the "high school." There are only two songs with a real pop hit potential here -- both not so coincidentally sung by the movie's two leads, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens -- but the singer that really makes an impression is Ashley Tisdale, probably because she fully inhabits (and perhaps identifies) her stage-brat character. Teen Pop, Original Score, Musicals, Pop/Rock Wilbert Aerts Violin Faces Fuga Libera Modern and Contemporary Music for Violin Pierre-Laurent Aimard Hommage à Messiaen Deutsche Grammophon Modern Music for Piano Roy Ayers Ubiquity Change Up the Groove Verve Soul-Jazz, Instrumental Pop Azymuth Butterfly Far Out UK Brazilian Jazz, Fusion, Jazz-Funk Ray Barretto Jazz Universal Afro-Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz, New York Salsa, Salsa Anthony Braxton The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton Mosaic Structured Improvisation, Creative Orchestra, Experimental Big Band, Avant-Garde Jazz Camerata Berolinensis Johann Stamitz, Christoph Willibald Gluck: Sinfonie a tre Musikmanufaktur Berlin Classical Orchestral and Chamber Music Dead Trees King of Rosa Milan Indie Rock, American Trad Rock Brett Dennen Hope for the Hopeless Dualtone Contemporary Folk, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Folk-Rock Lucky Dube Retrospective Rykodisc Contemporary Reggae George Duke I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry Verve Crossover Jazz, Jazz-Pop Electric Six Flashy Metropolis Dance-Rock, Indie Rock Escape the Fate This War Is Ours Epitaph Screamo, Post-Hardcore Gang Gang Dance Saint Dymphna Social Registry Downtempo, Experimental Dub, Experimental Rock, Electronica, Ambient Dub, Post-Rock/Experimental Stan Getz Stan Getz in Stockholm Verve West Coast Jazz, Cool, Mainstream Jazz Tom Glazer Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGG and Other Favorites Smithsonian/Folkways Children's Folk, Novelty, Sing-Along, Educational, Traditional Folk Sebastien Grainger Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains Saddle Creek Indie Rock El Guincho Alegranza XL Indie Electronic, Indie Pop Gyptian I Can Feel Your Pain VP Contemporary Reggae Daniel Harding Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd Virgin Classics Modern Opera Jazzanova Of All the Things Verve Jazz-House, Downbeat, Acid Jazz, Trip-Hop, Broken Beat Waylon Jennings Waylon Forever Vagrant Outlaw Country, Progressive Country Montell Jordan Let It Rain Native Contemporary R&B Kiss Ikons Island/Mercury Pop-Metal, Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Pop/Rock, Album Rock Lake Oh, the Places We'll Go K Indie Pop Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins Clutch of the Tiger Ubiquity Experimental Ambient, Funky Breaks, Electronica, Downbeat, Trip-Hop Gary Louris Acoustic Vagabonds Rykodisc Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Americana Mary Mary The Sound Columbia Contemporary Gospel, Contemporary R&B Craig Morgan That's Why BNA Contemporary Country Morley Seen Seen Alternative Pop/Rock Pygmalion Bach: Missae Breves, BWV 234 & 235 Alpha Baroque Choral Music Various Artists Black Orpheus [Universal] Verve Original Score, Film Music, Soundtracks Parts & Labor Receivers Jagjaguwar/Brah Indie Rock, Noise-Rock The Peppermint Rainbow Will You Be Staying After Sunday Collectors' Choice Music Sunshine Pop, Bubblegum, Baroque Pop Pit Er Pat High Time Thrill Jockey Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental The Sea and Cake Car Alarm Thrill Jockey Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Experimental Rock Jimmy Smith Hobo Flats Verve Orchestral Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul-Jazz, Big Band, Jazz-Funk Various Artists Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples Numero R&B, Soul Various Artists Love Train: The Ultimate Sound of Philadelphia Sony Smooth Soul, Pop-Soul, Quiet Storm, Philly Soul, Disco, Soul Jimmy Webb Live and at Large Jimmy Webb Singer/Songwriter White Hinterland Luniculaire Dead Oceans French Pop, Indie Rock, Avant-Garde Hank Williams III Damn Right, Rebel Proud Sidewalk Americana, New Traditionalist, Outlaw Country Lee Ann Womack Call Me Crazy MCA Nashville Contemporary Country, Country-Pop