Three new releases picked by the Soundcheck staff. Read the full reviews of our picks here.

Brighton Port Authority, "I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat" (Southern Fried Records)
--picked by John Schaefer [Amazon]

Joshua Redman, "Compass" (Nonesuch)
--picked by Brian Wise [Amazon]

Animal Collective, "Merriweather ...

Three outstanding new releases, as picked by the Soundcheck staff. Read the full reviews here.

"DG Concerts: Shostakovich & Mosolov, In the Shadow of Stalin," Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon) --picked by Brian Wise

Bill Alves, "Imbal-Imbalan: New Music for Gamelan" (Spectral Harmonies)--picked by ...

Each week, the Soundcheck staff digs through our inbox for three outstanding new releases. Today, we present the best of the year. Read our full picks on the Soundcheck blog.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Bach’s "The Art of Fugue" (Deutsche Grammophon)
--picked by Brian Wise

Girl Talk, “Feed the Animals” ...

Three new releases picked by the Soundcheck staff. Read more about the picks here.

Rodrigo y Gabriela, "Live in Japan" (ATO Records) – picked by Gisele Regatao [Amazon]

Lost In The Trees, "All Alone in An Empty House" (Trekky Records) – picked by John Schaefer [MySpace] ...

We are all a product of our environment. But for many artists, the New York City landscape directly affects their creative life. With that in mind, we invited artists to name their favorite cultural spot in the city. You can view them all on the web map Noteworthy New ...

The Cesarians, (self titled)
From London, a city with an apparently inexhaustible supply of quality rockers, rappers, folkies, and classical musicians, comes a band that is none of the above. The Cesarians describe their sound this way: "Had rock and roll been born in 1930's urban Europe, ...

Skuli Sverrison, "Seria" (12 Tónar)

For a country with such a small population, Iceland seems to have more musicians than it knows what to do with. So some of them have to leave the musical hotbed of Reykjavik backwaters like London or New York. Bassist Skuli Sverrison is ...

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, "Angles" (Strangefamousrecords)

Way back in January, we touted the bearded London poet and rapper Scroobius Pip, with the caveat that he didn’t actually have a cd out yet. Well, that has just changed. The debut album, "Angles," is credited to Dan Le ...

David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today"

Singer David Byrne and producer/composer Brian Eno made a landmark record together in 1979 called "My Life In The Bush of Ghosts" that predated both the sampling technology that would revolutionize hip-hop and the burgeoning interest in the world ...

Renaud Garcia-Fons Trio, "Arcoluz" (Enja/Justin Time)

Think of an instrument that has strings and is common to jazz, flamenco and Middle Eastern music. No, not the guitar, or lute. In the case of this CD pick it’s the double-bass, but just as played by Renaud Garcia-Fons. This French bassist ...

Vladimir Horowitz, "Horowitz in Hamburg: The Last Concert" (Deutsche Grammophon)

In June 1987, the great Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz arrived in Hamburg, Germany at the end of a long European tour. He was 83 and it turned out to be his last public engagement. Fortunately, there were microphones from North ...

Every week, the Soundcheck staff digs through our inboxes for the best new releases.

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, "Two Men with the Blues" (Blue Note)

The iconoclast and outlaw Willie Nelson has a passion for jazz standards. For two nights last January, he shared the stage with bebop ...

Each week, the Soundcheck staff digs through our inboxes to find the best new music.

The Hold Steady "Stay Positive" (Vagrant)

One of indie-rock’s top bands, The Hold Steady has been on a tear since moving from Minnesota to Brooklyn. Their latest, "Stay Positive," still has the band’s ...

Every week, the Soundcheck staff digs through our inboxes for the best new releases.

Al Green, "Lay It Down" (Blue Note)

Four decades into a legendary career, Al Green could just sit back and collect the royalties from his recording catalog. But the Memphis-based singer still loves making records. And ...

"String Poetic," Jennifer Koh, violin; Reiko Uchida, piano (Cedille)

The New York violinist Jennifer Koh and her frequent piano collaborator Reiko Uchida shape a century’s worth of American contemporary music on the new album "String Poetic." The disc features rare and unusual works by Carl Ruggles, Lou Harrison and ...

Avishai Cohen Trio, “Gently Disturbed” (Razdaz)

Several jazz musicians in New York share a country of origin: Israel. Among them, two even share a name: Avishai Cohen. One is a trumpet player and this is a bassist and composer. He has recorded with pop star Alysia Keys, often performed ...

The Weepies, "Hideaway" (Nettwerk)

If you’re looking for an album to put you in a summer mood, The Weepies might have the solution with their new album “Hideaway.” This husband-and-wife duo, originally from Boston and now based in California, has an admittedly silly name but writes insistently well-crafted folk-pop songs. ...

Paul Bailey, "Retrace Our Steps"
The term oratorio historically refers to a kind of unstaged opera, often sacred in nature. Handel’s Messiah is the best-known example. Paul Bailey and his Ensemble have recorded what they term a secular oratorio in 4 acts, and while it is nothing like Handel’s Messiah, ...

Ralph Van Raat, pianist; Frederic Rzewski – "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" and "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" (Naxos)

Composer and keyboard firebrand Frederic Rzewski has written numerous works steeped in left-wing politics but one stands out as a modern classic: "The People United Will never Be Defeated!," ...

Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.

Van Morrison, "Keep It Simple" (Lost Highway)

"Keep it Simple" follows a familiar pattern for Van Morrison: Record a handful of soul, gospel and blues numbers that recall some of his finest moments, then toss in some filler. While this ...