Jimi Hendrix – Valleys Of Neptune What if Hendrix had collaborated with Miles Davis, gotten into synthesizers, put together that big band he’d been planning at the time of his death? Would rock as we know it be different now? What would Hendrix have made of hip-hop? Would he have had a hand in inventing it? Something about his music points so strongly toward unimaginable next accomplishments that it’s hard to consign him to the past.

Hendrix’s estate was a mess for years, and many shoddy reissues tugged his spirit into dingy corners. With the release of “Valley of Neptune,” a new phase begins. This album of previously unreleased studio material is the first in a new campaign from Experience Hendrix, the company led by the artist’s stepsister Janie. Deluxe reissues of the three sets Hendrix made with his band the Experience will be released on the same day, and Janie recently said that there’s enough unheard stuff in the vault to make for a decade of new releases. Read The Full Review

Broken Bells – Broken Bells Calling Broken Bells “the new Postal Service” is really kind of a lame comparison. It conveys a significantly different musical style and evokes an era-specific pop culture phenomenon that doesn’t need to be replicated. But like Benjamin Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, Burton and Mercer are an immensely talented pair who’ve made a really great album. And we hope it’s not their last.

If you’ve heard “The High Road,” the group’s single that dropped in December, then you’ve already heard the best track on the record. That may make for a slightly anti-climatic listen for those most anticipating the release, but that’s not to say there aren’t numerous musical gems to be enjoyed. Read The Full Review

Liars – Sisterworld As they’ve done previously with Berlin and Salem, Liars drew inspiration from a specific location for Sisterworld, cocking a wary eye at Los Angeles—though it’s hardly the L.A. Randy Newman would recognize. This is a place of profound alienation, a pothole-cracked parallel City Of So-Called Angels where the fringe elements lurk in the shadow of Hollywood glitz. Like most Liars albums since the group’s disco-punk false start, that fringe is certifiably lunatic: Here, Liars’ usual creeping unease turns seductive—the increasingly rational voice of the inner psychopath, Charlie Manson whispering in your ear. Read The Full Review