Ken Tucker

The dB's, led by singer-songwrter-guitarists Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, hasn't made an album with the original line-up in 30 years. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the band's new album, Falling Off the Sky, sweeps aside decades and nostalgia to achieve a vital sound for today.

Apple's new album, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, is her first in seven years. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the frequently stripped-down sound is a backdrop for her thoughts about the complications of love.

Banga is Smith's 11th studio album, her first collection of original material since 2004 and the first record she's released since the publication of her memoir Just Kids. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the music on Banga is marvelously uneven and frequently transporting.