Ken Tucker

A laid-back, generous spirit pervades many of the songs on Vile's latest album. Critic Ken Tucker says the singer/songwriter "sounds like one of the most well-adjusted pop musicians around."

The country-music star returns to the basics in a new album that reflects some of the life-altering experiences he survived this past year. Ken Tucker says Desperate Man is an impressive achievement.

Dickens and Gerrard were successful solo folk musicians who also shared an eclectic approach to music. A new album of previously unreleased recordings feature the pair "unvarnished" and "unplugged."

Tasjan has played in bluegrass festivals and also opened for punk bands. Critic Ken Tucker says regardless of the musical genre, the singer-songwriter's third album "proves its worth."

Miller, who died in 1992, had a career that spanned three decades. A new 36-track tribute album features a very eclectic line-up, including Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr and actor John Goodman.

Linda Gail Lewis and Robbie Fulks have teamed up on a shrewd, witty album that's a throwback to the earliest era of rock n' roll — but it's not pickled in nostalgia.

No one's voice has ever soared like this.

The singer-songwriter-producer just released OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES. Rock critic Ken Tucker finds an undercurrent of serenity in the organized chaos of SOPHIE's playful brand of noise pop.

The quintet known as The Internet emerged from the Los Angeles music collective Odd Future. Ken Tucker says their fourth album offers "music for modern lovers who are too smart to settle for less."

A Massachusetts native who struck gold further South as a country music songwriter, McKenna solidifies her status as a recording artist in her own right on her latest album.

Co-created by visual artist Jamie Hewlett and musician Damon Albarn, Gorillaz is fronted by four animated characters — but critic Ken Tucker says there's "nothing cartoonish" about the new album.

Drake explores the quality and variety of his own moodiness on a new double album. Critic Ken Tucker says that Scorpion has staying power — despite the fact that it sometimes feels "too long."

Rock critic Ken Tucker listens to new songs by My Morning Jacket's Jim James, the Danish band Iceage and George Clinton and Parliament. As each song shows, "there's an art to summoning up chaos."

The Carters, who married in 2008, celebrate their union with a heavily autobiographical new album. Critic Ken Tucker is impressed by the record's easy shifts between hip-hop and R&B.

Critic Ken Tucker says Father John Misty's new album offers a "roundabout, melancholy" acknowledgement of the artistic selfishness that often accompanies confessional songwriting.

Eighteen-year-old Lindsey Jordan, who records under the name Snail Mail, has been playing guitar for 13 years. This combination of youth and experience creates a distinctive sound on her new album.

Barnett sings about fame, feminism and self-doubt on her new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Ken Tucker says the songs are like "inner monologues, shaped and sharpened for public consumption."

Though Cardi B's instinctive pose is that of a tough realist, her debut album allows for more vulnerable moments. Critic Ken Tucker calls Invasion of Privacy a "statement of principles."

Critic Ken Tucker says that Monroe's moody new album proves that the singer/songwriter is "working in a space that's almost entirely separate from anyone else in country music right now."

Rock critic Ken Tucker shares some hits he's listening to, including BlocBoy JB and Drake's upbeat "Look Alive" and the moody sound of Post Malone's "Walk It Talk It."