Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, “I Said I Love You First.” Some newly engaged couples spend their days meticulously planning their wedding or dreaming up ideas for a honeymoon. For singer-actress Selena Gomez and musician-producer Benny Blanco, it was all about making new music. I Said I Love You…

My Morning Jacket, “Is.” Listening to My Morning Jacket’s new record Is makes you realize there’s a lot of good news there. Is My Morning Jacket ATO, March 21 8/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. First, it’s their 10th record. For a band that hasn’t caved to big…

Japanese Breakfast, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)” Japanese Breakfast, the project of vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Michelle Zauner, has been in the indie spotlight for almost a decade. Her debut, 2016’s Psychopomp, brought instant success and acclaim for her poignant style. Six years later, the band was nominated…

St. Lucia, “Fata Morgana: Dawn.” Synth-pop band St. Lucia took an unusual timeline releasing its fifth album, Fata Morgana: Dawn. The material was constructed mostly prior to making its last album, 2022’s Utopia, but was temporarily shelved as the pandemic made many look at life a different way. Fata Morgana:…

clipping., “Dead Channel Sky” Dead Channel Sky, the fifth album by hip-hop trio clipping., is really great. But first, a history lesson; please bear with me. Dead Channel Sky Clipping Sub Pop, March 14 9/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction that’s…

Lady Gaga, “MAYHEM.” Don’t let the title fool you. Lady Gaga is the most grounded she’s been in the entirety of her career. Her seventh album, Mayhem, explores themes of chaos and transformation, as well as showcasing the return to her dance-pop roots. It’s her most personal album, drawing…

Jennie Kim, “Ruby.” Blackpink’s Jennie Kim is the last member of the K-pop group to release a solo album. Like her group-mates, Jennie’s Ruby incorporates a who’s who of the pop world. The collection is high on gloss, well-constructed pop venturing into rap and even electronica. It’s loosely inspired…

Jason Isbell, “Foxes in the Snow.” The lyrics of Jason Isbell — intimate, confessional, vulnerable — haven’t always been as one with the music that enveloped them. While that has rarely, if ever, dulled those words’ impact, Isbell’s new solo album, Foxes In The Snow, presents the artist in…

Neil Young, “Oceanside Countryside.” Neil Young has returned with what is to some a holy grail, another unreleased album from the 1970s. Oceanside Countryside Neil Young Reprise, March 7 8/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. Much like Chrome Dreams, reissued in its original intended form a couple of…

Lisa of Blackpink, “Alter Ego.” As fans anxiously await a series of reunion concerts by K-pop superstars Blackpink this summer, its members are venturing out with solo projects. Rapper and singer Lisa offers up a juggernaut with Alter Ego. Alter Ego Lisa RCA, Feb. 27 7/10 Get the album…