New Music CDs

For their first album in six years, Joshua Homme's mighty Queens Of The Stone Age called back classic members Dave Grohl and Joey Castillo on drums, and Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan on vocals. In addition, some big names came in to perform: Elton John, Trent Reznor, Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), James Lavelle (U.N.K.L.E.) and more. Of course the current lineup of Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman and Dean Fertita also featured throughout.

From classic Broadway tunes to the contemporary songs of Michael Nyman, Ute Lemper has been dazzling audiences with her amazing performances. Here, the first 12 years of her career are chronicled with performances in English, German, and French.

Arctic Monkeys release their highly anticipated fifth album, which features eleven new songs and the single R U Mine? The album also includes a guest appearance from Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.

Anti- Records is pleased to announce the signing of acclaimed Los Angeles based duo The Milk Carton Kids. The ensemble's album The Ash and Clay; is set for release. Culminating a whirlwind first year of the band's existence, the duo of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan have built a vibrant following with the simple purity of their music.

The New York Times called Jonas Kaufmann "the hottest tenor in opera". This collection showcases the unique variety and quality of his acclaimed recordings with highlights from his many operatic roles.

"4 1/2 out of 5...The heartbreak and indignation in Lauren Mayberry's laser-precise voice make her an imperfect protagonist..." - Alternative Press
"...a band ready for the world; one that bridges styles and eras on the strength of its own charisma." - NPR Music
"8.5 out of 10...is a seamless fusion of emotive theatrics, hook-loaded songwriting, and some of the more forward-thinking sonics in electronic music right now." - Pitchfork
"Grade of B." - Entertainment Weekly
"4 out of 5....full of incisive, sweeping songs made from last-ditch emotions...." - Rolling Stone

The Book of Secrets, the follow-up to 1994's The Mask and Mirror finds Loreena McKennitt in the same musical vein, mixing Celtic, Spanish, Italian, and new age to create her own distinct sound. The only problem is that she did not seem to progress much during the time between releases. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since she still knows how to write incredible melodies and layer instruments to produce peaceful images. "Night Ride Across the Caucasus" and "Dante's Prayer" are just two prime examples of this.

For the first time, Carlos Santana and his namesake band release a Latin music album. It features collaborations with some of the biggest names in the genre, including Juanes, Romeo Santos, Gloria Estefan, Pitbull, and many more

Carl Davis' score for the epic 1921 silent movie Napoleon has come to be recognized as a milestone in modern-day scoring for silent films and helped lay the groundwork for the film scores of today.

Guitarist Stuart Smith (Sweet), singer Joe Retta(Sweet), bassist Chuck Wright(Quiet Riot), drummer Richie Onori(Sweet) and keyboardist Arlan Schierbaum, fuse elements of hard rock,blues and bits of classical with bravado and a razor-sharp focus.

Engineered by Steve Albini, this album explodes with the exuberance of a live performance, leaving in the sour notes and call-and-response verses that are equally infectious and endearing. The title track kicks off the set in a breakneck speed that never lets up, decrying the ills of modern society whilst drowning sorrows, hopes, and fears in alcohol and camaraderie. "Death Valley Queen" is a dirge of Dylanesque proportions where King bemoans the rejection he suffers from a not-so-fair maiden with courage and deep sorrow. But misery, no matter how temporary, loves good company. And there's plenty to be found on Drunken Lullabies.

Global music sensation Celtic Woman creates newly reimagined performances of fan favorites from their treasure chest of Celtic songs. Included are inspiring new renditions of Amazing Grace; You Lift Me Up; and the ever-haunting Danny Boy.

Each track on Evil Friends is as different from the next as Portugal. The Man's previous records were from each other, which is to say a piece of a growing mindscape, and wholly a part of the group's tumbling fever dream.

The band is comprised of four musicians from New Albany, IN, across the river from Louisville, spent the past year building a passionate following in their hometown and touring with the Alabama Shakes, the Lumineers, Grace Potter, and the Drive-By Truckers. The 12 original songs on this CD are packed with tales of down-on-their-luck drug runners, casinos, riverboats, recession-era scraping, and more.

One of the best recordings of Handel's large scale and impressive oratorio, Jephtha is played on period instruments by the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin. In the title role is renowned British lyric tenor John Mark Ainsley, who continues to enjoy an active international career.

Three-time Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore has created all the music for the recent big-screen adaptations for The Lord of the Rings. He continues with an epic score for the second part of the new Hobbit film trilogy. Also included is a new track from Ed Sheeran.

The music gathered and interpreted on this thoroughly winning disc all comes from a period before the emergence of the big-band jazz sound, a time when horn sections were smaller, rhythm sections less strictly codified, and the jazz sound itself much less regimented and refined. In fact, the word "jazz" hardly seems to apply here; this is romping, stomping, whinnying, exuberant dance music that sounds like it's more interested in promoting a sort of low-grade dancehall mayhem than in doing anything as decorous and refined as swinging.

One of the most anticipated movies of 2013 also comes with one of the most talked about albums of the year. Along with Coldplay's Atlas, their first new material since 2011, it boasts tracks from Christina Aguilera, Imagine Dragons, and more.

Features the finest opera arias recorded by Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux for Naive, ranging from Vivaldi, Handel and Mozart to Saint-Saens, Massenet and Berlioz. It gathers tracks from six recordings released between 2003 and 2012, resulting from collaborations with some of the finest orchestras of the time.

The debut album from the a capella group that won the 2011 singing competition, The Sing-Off on NBC.

The third EP from the a capella group that won the third season of The Sing-Off, a vocal competition on NBC.

Future Islands release their debut album for 4AD. Despite the kind-of-just-a-little-bit-confusing title, it is not a collection of singles but is, in fact, a completely new full-length record. The Baltimore trio consists of enigmatic frontman Sam Herring, bassist/guitarist William Cashion and keyboardist/guitarist Gerrit Welmers. Herring's poetic tales of heartbreak, love and loss are finally up front and in high fidelity, thanks in part to a newfound creative partnership with producer Chris.

Three years after the release of their debut CD, Foster the People returns with their highly anticipated sophomore album. Among the tracks is the brand new single, Coming of Age.

Three years after the release of their Grammy Award-winning album El Camino, the Black Keys return with one of the most anticipated albums of 2014. Among the CD's eleven tracks is the new single Fever.

Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, it captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.

In its third and fourth seasons, the music from AMC's wildly popular zombie series The Walking Dead got more adventurous, featuring songs from artists like Waxahatchee and the Mountain Goats along with the gritty fare reflecting the show's setting in rural Georgia.

Wardruna releases a strikingly beautiful and intense continuation of what was started with their first album, but without falling into the trap of merely repeating themselves.

Plácido Domingo and Pilar Lorengar perform arias and duets from the Spanish operatta, Zarzuela, in this live performance from the 1983 Salzburg Festival. Repertoire includes Torroba's Luisa Fernanda; Serrano's La Dolorosa; and Giménez's La Bodas de Luis Alonso.

The original soundtrack recording from the 1969 animated film, performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

A fun-loving, finger-picked romp through childhood. With a basic ensemble of finger-picked guitar, banjo, ukelele, tuba, and piano, these songs capture the essence of the American songwriting tradition from Woody Guthrie to Harry Nilsson.

A playful collection of Spanish songs that combines physical activity with learning as young children extend patterns, name body parts, discover opposites, mimic animals, grow like trees, incorporate simple props, and move rhythmically.

Grammy Award winning duo The Okee Dokee Brothers bring their Americana folk style to another musical adventure. This time they explore the Appalachian Mountains with songs like Jamboree; Ruby Jane; and Echo.