An absolute delight, the first full-length album from singer-songwriter supergroup boygenius truly plays to its members' individual and collective strengths. (Credits extend to Autolux's Carla Azar on drums and Jay Som's Melina Duterte on bass.) Each is allowed to shine equally, taking lead on their own songs—but also bring out surprising, shining qualities in the others. "True Blue" sounds like a track from one of Lucy Dacus' solo records, filled out with pure harmonies and grand, low-key drama. Dacus is brilliant at pinpointing fine, evocative details—bandmate Phoebe Bridgers says of her, "Lucy's a noticer"—and there's no shortage in this tale of real, messy friendship that thrills and bruises: "When you moved to Chicago/ You were spinning out … When you called me from the train/ Water freezing in your eyes/ You were happy and I wasn't surprised." Julien Baker's vibrant "$20," likewise, delivers her trademark nervous edge, but the trio take it to unexpected places: First, Bridgers and Dacus thread a gossamer string of ethereal sweetness through Baker's earthiness; later, the three sing over each other in a glorious round robin of conversation until Bridgers, desperate to get her message across, shreds her throat raw yelling out "Can you give me $20?!" They trade lines on "Not Strong Enough," playing around with Cure guitars (acknowledged in Baker's verse: "Drag racing through the canyon/ Singing 'Boys Don't Cry'") and interpolating Sheryl Crow ("Not strong enough to be your man/ I tried, I can't"). That one builds to an excellent '80s anthemic bridge, with the three chanting "Always an angel, never a god." "Cool About It" summons a Simon & Garfunkel-style folk melody and layers on 2023 cleverness with thoughts like, "I took your medication to know what it's like/ Now I have to act like I can't read your mind." "Satanist" delights in off-kilter and herky-jerky chords à la early Weezer, before sliding sideways into a woozy dreamscape. Even a tossed-off lark like "Without You Without Them"—with sweet, a capella Andrews Sisters harmonies—charms. Bridgers' "Emily I'm Sorry" is particularly moody and moving, while stoic "We're in Love" is a stark portrait of Dacus and a guitar for nearly eight tear-jerking minutes before the others float in for support. Perhaps the most revealing is "Leonard Cohen," so intimate you can hear fingers sliding on strings. It's a true story about the trio's friendship and a time Bridgers was so excited to play an Iron and Wine song for her bandmates that she lost track of her surroundings. "On the on-ramp you said/ 'If you love me you will listen to this song'/ And I could tell you were serious/ So I didn't tell you you were driving the wrong way on the interstate/ Until the song was done," Dacus sings, before showing off their grateful love for each other: "Never thought you'd happen to me." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz 

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After a period of introspection, personal as well as artistic, Korean musician Youn Sun Nah returns to her first loves as a “jazz singer” by coming out with a new album, soberly titled Elles. During this period, she travelled to the US for the duration of a collaboration with Jamie Saft, focused on a repertoire of pop-rock songs in English (She Moves On), and then definitively affirmed her talents as a songwriter with the release of a record composed entirely of her own pieces for the first time in her career (Waking World). This new album takes the intimate duo format which suits her so well, as she is accompanied on the piano - as well as on the Wurlitzer keyboard and Fender Rhodes - by American Jon Cowherd (member of the Brian Blade Fellowship since 1998 and sought-after partner of singers like Cassanfra Wilson and Lizz Wright). With the vocal expertise we know to expect from her, Youn Sun Nah interprets the abounding seductiveness of an eclectic repertoire consisting of great jazz, pop, and chanson classics made famous by iconic female artists. Passing masterfully from Björk (“Cocoon”) to Édith Piaf (“La Foule”), from Grace Jones (“Libertango”) to Nina Simone (“Feeling Good”), from Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane (“White Rabbit”) to Roberta Flack (“Killing Me Softly”), the singer yet again her imbues very personal interpretations, magnificently orchestrated by Cowherd’s various keyboards, with an emotional intensity that is so unique. It is paradoxically supported by a sort of expressive modesty founded on a greatly precise sense of phrasing, and uses the subtle art of vibrato to allow the unfathomable depths of these songs that we thought we knew by heart to surface. © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

With Iechyd Da - “good health” in Welsh as he comes from West Kirby, a small town nestled in the Wirral peninsula between Wales and Liverpool - Bill Ryder-Jones begins 2024 with grace. This fifth record follows the hazy shoegaze of Yawn, released 5 years earlier, and Yawny Yawn, his stripped-back piano version. The ex-guitarist of The Coral embarked on his solo journey in 2008 with a definitive departure from the rock quintet, whose glory had become as overwhelming as its stresses. These difficulties and his own melancholy have formed the basis, throughout his career, of the Englishman’s intimate music of languid, chamber-like folk ballads.They roll out here with an immensity that is more organic and luminous, releasing the pain of thwarted love with soaring strings. Opting for orchestral pop, sometimes reminiscent of the 60s, the gritty songwriter always writes of his struggles but is now fuelled by hope. Mirroring contortions of the heart and mind, the rhythms speed up and fade out, and the orchestration builds and diminishes, illustrating his emotions with melodic precision and luxury. In this optimistic production, the mixing once again entrusted to James Ellis Ford, we hear for the first time a village children’s choir (“We Don’t Need Them”, “It’s Today Again”), which brings an innocent warmth. The whole thing gently closes with the delicate notes of the instrumental song “Nos Da” (“good night” in Welsh). Astounding. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

The first album from the young British conductor Alpesh Chauhan is an instant Qobuzissime! When the Chandos stable signs an emerging artist, we already know that their first release will be full of pleasant surprises. Here, the Birmingham-born conductor and an ardent defender of Russian music chooses Tchaikovsky’s most beautiful pages, skilfully avoiding the overplayed The Nutcracker, Eugene Onegin and Sleeping Beauty. It goes without saying they are classics for a reason, but the rest of Tchaikovsky's repertoire is well worth a deeper look. At the head of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alpesh Chauhan dwells at generous length on the more expressive side of the Russian composer, who excelled in the projection of heart-rending pathos. From the Overture and Polonaise from the opera Cherevichki to the fantasy The Tempest and the Francesca da Rimini suite, Chauhan displays a visionary and circumspect intelligence of the different sections of the orchestra and the sudden diegetic changes, always executed with a hallucinating fluidity. Even more fascinating is the perfect legibility of the different timbres, impeccably individualised while they maintain great coherence within the ensemble. One leaves this disc with the feeling they’ve returned from a long journey, and with the conviction that one has witnessed the birth of a tremendous conductor. Rarely has Tchaikovsky resounded with such a sense of drama or with such inflections of immensity. Alpesh Chauhan will be creating dreams for much time to come. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

Violinist Isabelle Faust and fortepianist Alexander Melnikov have been accumulating a catalog of distinctive historical performances of Schumann. Here, they turn to the composer's most famous chamber works, the Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47, and Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44, bringing on board violist Antoine Tamestit, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, and violinist Anne Katharina Schreiber in the Piano Quintet. Despite the common key and the fact that the two works were written just a few weeks apart, they're quite different, and one strength of these performances is that the players catch the difference. The Piano Quartet is quiet and inward, with Faust's "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius purring in the opening Sostenuto assai passage. The slow movement of this work gets a performance of rare lyricism here. The Piano Quintet looks forward to a more public, orchestral kind of chamber music, and the players succeed in transforming the entire sound environment of the music, aided immeasurably by Harmonia's engineers. The music was recorded at the small hall of the German federal youth music academy in Trossingen, and this is a superb space for the music. Of interest far beyond historical performance circles, these are wonderful performances of Schumann's major chamber works.© James Manheim /TiVo

After the amazing masterpieces of Revolver and Sergeant Pepper's, The Beatles dove back into the art of pure writing, bringing about a certain level of sobriety and leaving aside their recent psychadelic delusions, awesome as they were. Released in November 1968, this double White Album is a return to more refined pop and rock; the essence of their art. The title of the disc, The Beatles, does not manage to hide the growing dissension between the four musicians at the time, and their diverging personalities saw this album herald the beginning of the end for the Fab Four, and the budding of their future solo careers... Despite all of this, The Beatles managed to release a new and totally unique album here, which can be enjoyed step by step as a true emotional rollercoaster: The fantasy of Dear Prudence, the dark madness of Revolution 9, the legendary guitar solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the labyrinth of Happiness Is A Warm Gun and Sexy Sadie, the emotion of Julia (which Lennon dedicated to his mother, who died when he was 17), the purity of Blackbird and the ultra-violent tsunami that is Helter Skelter… the White Album is a brilliant production, a new masterpiece from a group growing apart ...For its 50-year anniversary, this legendary double album makes a return in Deluxe Edition form, a well-deserved title. As well as the stereo remixed version by legendary producer George Martin's son, the original mono version (praised by purists for this format) and the famous Esher Demos there are 27 demo tracks of some famous hits recorded in Harrison’s home and three studio-session CDs. It’s a marvellous collection (107 tracks in total!) which let’s us further explore this glorious piece of work that still fascinates us 50 years after its creation… © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

After two glorious albums devoted to Chopin and Liszt, Benjamin Grosvenor continues his exploration of the Romantic period by tackling the third leading faction of the genre, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms (who was a close friend of both the Schumann’s). The Kreisleriana, like many of Schumann’s other cycles, are a virtuosic reflection on his artistic 'doubles'; Eusebius, the melancholic dreamer, and Florestan, the feverish and passionate rake. The Three Romances Op.28 expresses Schumann's eternal and unconditional love for Clara, who saw in these pieces "the most beautiful love dialogues". In the last movement of the Sonata No. 3 Op.14, Schumann makes an elegant reference to his own Kreisleriana. Clara Wieck's Variations on a Theme of Schumann later inspired Brahms to write his own variations on the same theme. There are similarities in character to his Intermezzi at the end of the album. With his singular and unmistakable touch, Benjamin Grosvenor delivers an interpretation of unadulterated purity, with a simple and luminous audio recording that gives these great passages their deserved nobility. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

A sequel to Nicki Minaj's 2010 debut Pink Friday, this super-stuffed album (22 tracks, 70-plus minutes) finds the rap queen defending her throne and showing off her diverse range of skills. It kicks off with a slow jam, "Are You Gone Already"—a lullaby for her dad, killed in a hit-and-run in 2022—that interpolates large, sped-up chunks of Billie Eilish's "When the Party's Over." But right after that is "Barbie Dangerous" highlighting Minaj's signature rapid-fire precision on inventive verses that reference her young son (nicknamed Papa Bear): "Name a rapper that can channel Big Poppa and push out Papa Bear/ Ho, I'm mother of the year." Moody "Nicki Hendrix," featuring an Auto-Tuned Future serves as a reminder tha Minaj can sing with real emotion. Excellent "Let Me Calm Down" shines with a '90s throwback feel—delivering silky-smooth R&B balladry, hard-spitting from Minaj and a breathtaking, roller-coaster guest turn from J. Cole as he defends the queen. Indeed, Minaj flexes her power via the big names she's able to enlist. Drake brings the sexy come-ons for dance-floor ready "Needle," with its island-breeze vibes and references to Minaj's Trinidadian origin story. On twinkly "RNB," Lil Wayne goads and Tate Kobang croons, while Minaj swears her ride-or-die devotion. As usual, Minaj seemingly takes swipes at rivals, including Megan Thee Stallion on bombastic "FTCU." She also pulls out her notorious alter egos, such as Harajuku Barbie on "Cowgirl"—which also shines with dreamy singer-songwriter guitar and Lourdiz singing sweetly about a sex position. Minaj's other selves mostly stay in the closet, though new addition Red Ruby gets introduced via irresistible "Red Ruby da Sleeze," a spicy dancehall-flavored track that samples Lumidee's 2003 hit "Never Leave You." Pop hits are put to good use on bass-booming "My Life" (Blondie's "Heart of Glass") and "Pink Friday Girls," which borrows all the best part of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and is sheer exuberance in the vein of Minaj's 2012 classic "Starships." Divisive "Everybody" turns the madness up to 11, sampling the Junior Senior earworm "Move Your Feet" and layering on a tongue-twister verse from Lil Uzi Vert. Minaj sprays her lyrics in short spurts and cleverly uses the sample: "Pretty face with a Barbie doll (Body)/ 'Nother year, 'nother Vince Lom' (Body)." Get ready, because it's going to be blasting from cars and TikTok videos for months to come. Super fun "Super Freaky Girl" samples Rick James and leans hard into a cheerleader chant ("F-R-EEEE-A-K"), with lines that range from cartoon double-entendres to plainspoken raunch. Minaj completely switches gears on "Blessings," featuring gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and sincerely thanks God for all she has in life. Finally, she switches to a deeper, T-Boz-like register and reggae feel for "Just the Memories"—a sincere-sounding reminder of how Minaj got here: "I remember when I was the girl that everybody doubted/ When every label turned me down, and then they laughed about it/ I 'member goin' home and writin' fifty more raps." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

Constantly shifting from the most impulsive exuberance to the most restrained meditation, from the most intense passion to the most innocent tenderness, this programme forms a representative panorama of Schumann’s chamber music. Going beyond the Piano Trios, which already give us a fully rounded account of Schumann, the Trio Wanderer have invited their favourite partners to join them for their interpretation of two supreme masterpieces, the Piano Quartet and Piano Quintet. © harmonia mundi

Beyond the neglect of French Baroque music in general, it is a bit hard to understand why composer Pancrace Royer was almost completely unknown until Christophe Rousset came along to champion him, first in harpsichord music and now, with these suites of music drawn from operas, in orchestral music. In the 18th century, Royer was quite well known and admired among others by Rameau, whose music he helped along considerably. Royer certainly inhabited Rameau's stylistic world, but from the evidence here, his music is distinctive and merits the adjective "surprising" that Rousset has attached to it. It is colorful, given to unexpected turns of harmony, and vivid in its evocation of the exotic scenes of French opera. Sample the "Air pour les turcs" ("Air for the Turks") from Zaïde, reine de Grenade, with its crackling percussion. Royer challenged his orchestra with virtuoso ensemble writing in the likes of the "Premier et second tambourins" from Almasis, and Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques step up with precise, vigorous readings that one imagines would have made the composer overjoyed. The inclusion of two alternate versions for movements from Zaïde is also unusual and gives insight into the compositional thinking of the day. Essential for specialists and enthusiasts interested in the French Baroque, this album is a lot of fun for anyone, with only overdone church sound detracting from the overall effect. © James Manheim /TiVo

Marc-André Hamelin, by general acclaim, one of the great virtuosos of the day, here attempts to recapture the compositional as well as technical spirit of the pianistic giants of the past. Liszt, of course, was a pianist-composer, but he was not the only one. Hamelin issued an album of his own etudes in 2010, but in these "New Piano Works," mostly composed during the 2010s, he is even more adventurous. Many of these works are variations of one kind or another, and Hamelin starts off with his own Variations on a Theme of Paganini, previously essayed by Liszt, Rachmaninov, and several others. These variations introduce not only the usual high level of virtuosity but also the eclectic range of references in most of these works; he quotes Rachmaninov's set and also alludes to Alkan, Chopin, Brahms, and others. The variation form is ideal for Hamelin's project, for he can drop in quotations and allusions the same as a 19th century virtuoso would. His Variations diabellique sur des thèmes de Beethoven is a wickedly humorous exegesis on Beethoven's Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120. There are hints of jazz in some of Hamelin's variations, and these flower fully in the Suite à l'ancienne, which annotator Francis Pott proposes as a tribute to the jazz-classical fusionist Nikolai Kapustin; he composed a similar Suite in the Old Style. Hamelin concludes with an explosive Toccata on l'Homme Armé, the medieval tune that served as the basis for numerous Renaissance masses. So Hamelin's range of references is wide, but it is never random, and the listener who missed the subtler allusions will still enjoy the music. This is a bold, highly entertaining re-creation of the role of the classic virtuoso, idiomatically and clearly recorded at London's Henry Wood Hall. This release made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo

The world was due for a major new recording of Wagner's Parsifal, with some years having elapsed since the monster, four-hour work had seen a fresh one. There are a number of attractions to this one, recorded live at the Vienna State Opera in 2021. First is the production, designed and directed from house arrest in Russia by Kirill Serebrennikov. The version was controversial at the time, and subsequent events have made it timely. Serebrennikov transplants the tale to a modern prison, with characters in tracksuits and the like; the complex witch Kundry is (believe it or not) a photojournalist. None of this affects the singing, which is done straight, but the release graphics give one an idea. The major draw for many listeners, and probably the one that put the album on classical best-seller charts in early 2024, will be the presence of star tenor Jonas Kaufmann, in fine form in the title role (and album listeners get to avoid the flashback staging designed to circumvent that fact that the 50-something Kaufmann was playing a young man). The instrumental work from the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper is very strong. However, what really puts this performance in the history books is the performance of mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as Kundry. This was apparently her first appearance in a Wagner opera, but in the top-volume material in Act III, she is fully Kaufmann's equal. Some may find that she carries the whole production, with a rising line of intensity running through the whole giant structure. In any event, even listeners who own the Parsifal of Herbert von Karajan or one of the other classic readings will want to check this recording out.© James Manheim /TiVo

On 2012's The Absence, Melody Gardot made her first shift away from the jazz-tinged ballads that drew such heavy comparisons to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Lushly orchestrated, it was chock-full of songs inspired by Brazilian, Latin, and French forms. On Currency of Man, Gardot takes on a rootsier sound, embracing West Coast soul, funk, gospel, and pop from the early '70s as the backdrop for these songs. It is not only different musically, but lyrically. This is a less "personal" record; its songs were deeply influenced by the people she encountered in L.A., many of them street denizens. She tells their stories and reflects on themes of social justice. It's wide angle. Produced by Larry Klein, the cast includes members of her band, crack session players -- guitarist Dean Parks, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Larry Goldings, the Waters Sisters, et al. -- and strings and horns. The title track is a funky blues with a rumbling bassline, dramatic strings (à la Motown) and fat horns. Gardot uses the lens of Sam Cooke to testify to the inevitability of change: "We all hopin’ for the day that the powers see abdication and run/Said it gonna come…." First single "Preacherman" is similar, employing a wrangling, smoldering blues that indicts racism in the 20st century by referring to the violent death of Emmett Till, a catalyst in the then-emergent Civil Rights movement. A driving B-3, saxophone, and menacing lead guitar ratchet up the tension to explosive. A gospel chorus mournfully affirms Gardot's vocal as a harmonica moans in the background. "Morning Sun" and closer "Once I Was Loved" are tender ballads that emerge from simple, hymn-like themes and quietly resonant with conviction. "Same to You" evokes the spirit of Dusty Springfield atop the punchy horns from her Memphis period, albeit with a West Coast sheen. The nylon-string guitar in "Don't Misunderstand" recalls Bill Withers' earthy funkiness. The song's a groover, but it's also a warning to a possessive lover. "Don't Talk" uses spooky polyrhythms (à la Tom Waits) as brooding, spacy slide guitars, B-3, and backing singers slice through forbidding blues under Gardot's voice. "If Ever I Recall Your Face" is jazzier, a 21st century take on the film noir ballad with glorious strings arranged by Clément Ducol that rise above a ghostly piano. "Bad News" simultaneously looks back at L.A.'s Central Avenue and burlesque scenes. It's a jazz-blues with a sauntering horn section, snaky electric guitar, and squawking saxophone solo. Vocally, Gardot is stronger than ever here, her instrument is bigger and fuller yet it retains that spectral smokiness that is her trademark. Currency of Man is a further step away from the lithe, winsome pop-jazz that garnered her notice initially, and it's a welcome one.© Thom Jurek /TiVo