The country supergroup of Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby—the Highwomen—mercifully isn't about girl power. Theirs is a show of strength by four grown-ass women and their mighty voices. They harmonize like nobody's business (the '80s-tinged "Redesigning Women," rodeo-sweetheart track "Heaven Is a Honky Tonk") but it's just as fun when they trade verses, as on the wickedly swinging "My Name Can't Be Mama" and lonesome-West title track, co-written with Jimmy Webb (who composed "Highwayman," made famous by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, who adopted the moniker in 1985 for their quartet). Morris takes center stage for "Loose Change," highlighting her clever-metaphor lyrics: "I'm gonna be somebody's lucky penny someday / instead of rolling around your pocket like loose change." Carlile exudes star power for the excellent "Wheels of Laredo" and "If She Ever Leaves Me"—a claim-staking weepie told from a lesbian POV. While not as famous, Shires ("Don't Call Me," a real spitfire) and Hemby (the Anne Murray-esque "My Only Child") prove much more than supporting players. And when all four voices come together with no solo turns for the angelic "Crowded Table," it's truly a high. © Qobuz

Changestwobowie, the follow-up to 1976's Changesonebowie, was released as David Bowie's RCA contract entered its final months, and a certain rancor began to permeate the relationship. The label did not even consult the star over the makeup of this collection, and the result is a strangely disjointed ragbag of tracks scraping through the past decade with little regard for either continuity or, perhaps surprisingly, the hits. Any cohesion that might be detected, then, tends to be in the eye of the beholder, although there's no denying that, with songs the quality of "Aladdin Sane" and "Oh You Pretty Things" onboard, there should be little room for rubbish. As with Changesonebowie, RCA appealed to collectors via the inclusion of one non-LP cut, in this case the 1975-era remake of "John, I'm Only Dancing" -- long legendary as an outtake, a single had finally appeared in 1979. Further attention was garnered after "Wild Is the Wind" was lifted as a single. With Bowie agreeing to cut a very striking promotional video to accompany it, this most un-Top 30-like ballad reached number 24 in the U.K.© Dave Thompson /TiVo

Given Adam Naas’ voice and the stripped down visuals on this second album, you might have expected a load of stripped-back and post-soul gems, or perhaps even a disco revival. The Frenchman’s first EP appeared in the autumn of 2016, just months after Prince’s death—difficult to believe that was mere coincidence. Two years later, his début album landed somewhere between glam, pop and soul, serving only to confirm this princely lineage. Today, however, Adam Naas shows that if there’s one thing he’s learned from the Kid of Minneapolis, it’s his taste for freedom and artistic independence. He’s defined in equal measure by his characteristic fluidity between genres and influences.On Goldie and The Kiss of Andromeda, he loses (for the most part) the electronic sounds, or any other gimmicks from the 2010s, in favour of guitars (acoustic, electric and pedal-steel), piano, violins, backing vocals—all infused with this feeling that all the musicians are swaying gently behind their instruments. The album has an old-fashioned feel to it, but it doesn’t sound retro or nostalgic. Adam Naas has set sail, floating off into a musical territory which borders 60s country-pop, 80s new wave, choral gospel and 90s/2000s indie folk.With guitars that twinkle like fireflies in the moonlight, Adam Naas reveals himself to be something of an offbeat folk songwriter. Think Sparklehorse or Mac DeMarco. Although you won’t be thinking most of the time… Unplug and let yourself drift away to these dreamy, cottony songs. They’ll sound even better this summer, shirtless under the stars. Qobuzissime! © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

When it came time to cut a live album documenting his supporting tour for his excellent 2011 album So Beautiful or So What, Paul Simon did what he always does: he set up shop in his hometown of New York City. Previously, he -- either with or without Art Garfunkel -- released albums recorded at massive venues like Madison Square Garden or Central Park, but Hear Music's 2012 Live in New York City -- available either as a two-CD/one-DVD set or simply as a double CD or single DVD -- was recorded at the comparatively intimate Webster Hall and, appropriately enough, the performance feels comparatively cozy, Simon striking just the right blend of playing for himself and playing for the audience. He showcases a nice chunk of So Beautiful or So What -- "Dazzling Blue," "So Beautiful or So What," "Rewrite," "The Afterlife," roughly half of the album -- and about half of Graceland, often opting for album tracks over hits (no "You Can Call Me Al" or "Graceland," but "That Was Your Mother" and "Gumboots" both make the cut), and when he does dip into such standards as "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," "Mother and Child Reunion," "Slip Slidin' Away," and "Still Crazy," he finds subtle little ways to inject a bit of groove into their well-worn contours. Simon is pleasing the crowd without pandering, and he winds up with a live album that's lively, slightly surprising, warm, and undeniably fun.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Aided by nearly two dozen guest musicians, this effort from the Afrocelts (aka the Afro-Celt Sound System) veers off in a slightly different direction from previous releases. Still present are the multi-culti layers of sound, the club-friendly beats, and the ethereal vocalists. What's missing is some of the hyper-kinetic energy and heavy drum presence that helped the first few Afro-Celt releases grab their audiences; in their place is a gentler, more soothing feel. Fiddler Eileen Ivers and flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook both make major contributions to the colorations of this new sound, while never quite upstaging the core bandmembers. © Stacia Proefrock /TiVo

Kelly Finnigan’s first Christmas album. After a splendid solo stint in 2019 with The Tales People Tell and five albums with the Monophonics, the son of organists Mike Finnigan, who played with greats like Etta James, Jimi Hendrix and Joe Cocker, has chosen to try his hand at the end of year festivities. A Joyful Sound is made up of original compositions in pure 70s soul tradition, a tradition Kelly and his soulful falsetto tried to avoid when he was younger. But the rap samples eventually pointed him in the right direction, towards greats like Curtis Mayfield, Nat King Cole and Marvin Gaye. In eleven concise tracks featuring wind, brass and glockenspiel instrumentals, the Californian performs some funk (Just One Kiss) and rhythm’n’blues with the help of some of the best musicians on the scene: Dap-Kings, Delvon Lamarr and Ghost Funk Orkestra. The album peaks with the languorous No Tim To Be Sad where Finnigan excels. A flawless soul gem, more than a simple Christmas album. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

As part of his lifelong tour dusting off chunks of the past, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys has made a second album with his excellent side band The Arcs—following up 2015's Yours, Dreamily with another "neo-psychedelic soul-rock odyssey." (Though it comes after the death of drummer Richard Swift from complications of chronic alcoholism in 2018, Electrophonic Chronic was primarily recorded beforehand so that Swift is, gloriously, all over the record.) The Arcs tend to get pigeonholed as "garage rock" (that catchall for much of Auerbach's personal work), but there is so, so much more to this. Call it heresy, but it must be said that the spaced-out soul of "Heaven Is a Place" is almost Prince-like, with red-hot guitar and Auerbach hitting some deliciously nasty "oohs." "Rollin' through the clouds/ Lean back in my dove white Cadillac/ Just cruisin' slow/ Heaven is a place I know where all the lovers go," he sings. He plays old-school crooner on "Eyez," with its slow-cruising rollercoaster of bass and synth. "River" is David Ruffin-esque and layers on shimmering, tentative Hammond B3—courtesy of Leon Michels—for a dose of drama; "A Man Will Do Wrong" is Miracles-smooth with its Motown romance and harmonies. Reeking of woozy B3 and a hit of flute, "Backstage Mess" evokes doo-wop's shuffle-and-shoop. Detroit is not the only reference, as you can hear plenty of Memphis Stax soul—that extra-heart wrenching, drunk on the blues style—on "Only One for Me." Punched up by spritely glockenspiel, it's a lonely-boy love song with a twist: "I got a feeling I'm the only one for me." After all, Auerbach sings, "No one's ever made me feel much better/ Stay with me through all the stormy weather." "Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore," meanwhile, loops in haunted mellotron for its pragmatic plea for peace in the wake of a break-up: "We should take care of one another/ Not destroy each other … What are we fighting for?/ Love doesn't live here anymore." Bright and '70s laid-back "Sunshine" lives up to its name thanks to a childish "sha la la" bridge and punch-drunk horns that will crack open your heart. Offering an intriguing left turn, "Behind the Eyes" mixes vintage soul and an almost The Band shamble, proving that soulfulness is all over the place. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

In the two-and-a-half years between his first single, the urgent and atmospheric "Play God," and the release of his full-length debut in 2019, much was made of U.K. singer and songwriter Sam Fender's relatively young age -- 23 by the arrival of the latter. After all, he was drawing frequent comparisons to influence Bruce Springsteen, both for the sound of his early singles and for the working-class compassion on display in his lyrics, and he won the Critics' Choice Brit Award in late 2018, an honor previously bestowed upon, among others, Adele and Sam Smith. He opened for Bob Dylan and Neil Young in Hyde Park in July of 2019, two months before the arrival of Hypersonic Missiles. Recorded in his own studio in his hometown outside of Newcastle, and produced by his longtime friend, engineer Bramwell Bronte, its 13 songs include "Play God" as well as selections from his 2018 EP, Dead Boys. Fender's sticky melodies, assertive tone, and gritty guitar hooks are evident from the opening moments of the title track, a song that offers lines like "Dutch kids huff balloons in the parking lot/The golden arches illuminate the business park/I eat myself to death, feed the corporate machine." Its rousing chorus asks, "When the bombs drop, darling/Can you say that you've lived your life?" Later, the striking "White Privilege" is a voluble entry along the lines of a more-ruminative "It's the End of the World as We Know It" or "We Didn't Start the Fire." It goes on record with: "The patriarchy is real; the proof is here in my song." Hypersonic Missiles isn't all political; romantic interests and the healing powers of music are also topics at hand. In fact, as the album unfolds and traverses sociopolitical angst, romantic infatuation ("Call Me Lover"), and the urge to let loose (the infectious "Saturday"), it reveals itself to be a fitting soundtrack to the weekend, addressing hopes and frustrations with a persistent intensity and rousing melodies that fall in line with the catharsis at hand. The album ends with an impressive live performance (the piano ballad "Use"), which demonstrates that Fender's soaring vocals are just as authentic as his sentiments. Taken altogether, Hypersonic Missiles is smart, passionate, and loaded with rock-solid anthems that surpass the "promising" designation.© Marcy Donelson /TiVo

It's no secret that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel didn't end their partnership on the friendliest terms. Despite a brief reunion every decade or so -- most notably in the fall of 1981 at The Concert in Central Park -- Simon & Garfunkel were notorious for not speaking to each other, so their reunion at the 2002 Grammy Awards, opening the show with "The Sound of Silence," was a big deal. It was a good performance, too, whetting the appetites of an audience eager for a full-fledged reunion tour, which the duo delivered in 2003 and into 2004. This tour is documented on the appropriately titled (and none too surprisingly titled) Old Friends: Live on Stage, a double-CD set that culls highlights from a series of concerts they performed at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey and Madison Square Garden between December 3 and 8, 2003. There's also a deluxe version of the concert containing a DVD that recreates the entire set list of the show, adding six songs to the concert, including "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and two additional Everly Brothers songs. In either incarnation, the same holds true: it's a warm, enjoyable slice of nostalgia. Simon & Garfunkel make no attempt to hide their age -- during the show, they recall meeting each other in sixth grade in a production of Alice in Wonderland, offhandedly mentioning the 40 years that have passed since they started their professional musical career. This is a smart move, since the point of the entire tour and by extension this album is nostalgia, to gain comfort in reminiscing and revisiting the duo's generation-defining songs. This is made explicit on the intro to the DVD, which recaps the cultural shifts from the '50s to the 2000s, all peppered with photos of Simon & Garfunkel as boys, first-time fathers, and senior citizens. This may be unapologetically sentimental, even sappy, but anybody who had Simon & Garfunkel songs as the soundtrack to their life -- particularly Baby Boomers, but to a lesser extent their children, as well -- will find that it tugs on their heart strings all the same, and gets them ready to enjoy this stroll down memory lane. (Nevertheless, it sure is weird to hear the hometown crowd hoop and holler at the "come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue" line in "The Boxer.") As music, Old Friends isn't quite as successful, even if it's still a pleasurable experience. Simon & Garfunkel's voices have aged, lowering a bit in range, and Simon's pitch isn't as strong as it once was, but when they harmonize, the chemistry is still apparent; if anything, the changes in their voices only adds to the nostalgic appeal of the music, since it makes it clear just how much time has passed and how much things have changed. Musically, the biggest flaw is that, apart from the handful of solo acoustic numbers, the arrangements are slickly professional -- well done, to be sure, but just a shade too glossy. But that's a minor complaint, since this overall is a very enjoyable listen. Perhaps it's nostalgia, but it does its job exceptionally well. [Two final notes: The CD contains a new song, "Citizen of the Planet," which is pleasant, but not remarkable. The DVD, however, has an exceptional series of clips from the 1970 TV special Songs of America that contain footage of Simon & Garfunkel performing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in the studio, traveling across the U.S., playing in hotel rooms, and being interviewed. For any dedicated fan, it's worth the price of admission, but hopefully the entire special will be released on DVD someday.]© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

The first album by Necrophagist, 1999's Onset of Putrefaction, was actually a completely solo recording made by Turkish guitar prodigy Muhammed Suicmez, who also handled the vocals, bass guitar, and drum programming. Slowly but steadily, that album became legendary in the death metal underground for its over-the-top technical excess and death-defying guitar heroics. As a result of that notoriety, Suicmez was able to put together a full four-piece band of live musicians with enough skill and endurance to play his difficult, fast, and intricate compositions. Epitaph is the first album by this full lineup, and as expected, it features an almost nonstop assault of complex, technical death metal with an emphasis on Suicmez's lead guitar. And indeed, on a technical level, Necrophagist outpaces just about every death metal band out there, including the likes of Anata, Cephalic Carnage, and maybe even standard-setters Cryptopsy. The guitars race in tandem, delivering airtight 32nd and 64th note runs in odd time signatures, with flawless double-bass drumming and gurgling slap basslines underpinning it all. As technical as it is, this album is surprisingly melodic, with a mix of Gothenburg-tinged and neo-classical-type melodies weaving their way in and out of the stop-start rhythms. Meanwhile, Suicmez fills just about every available space with his legato, ultraclean, and controlled soloing. (Guitar buffs looking for a death metal version of Yngwie Malmsteen need look no further.) The vocals, which are not the featured instrument by any means, are generic but serviceable growls in the time-honored Cookie Monster style. The main drawbacks to this album are the overly clean production and mechanical, bordering-on-robotic musicianship. Listeners who prefer a few more rough edges to their death metal may tire of Epitaph after a few songs, or at least wish there were a few mistakes here and there to give it more of a human feel. However, fans of unapologetically technical death metal will eat it up.© William York /TiVo