My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away - people wonder at the magic of Studio Ghibli films far beyond their native Japan, within which the director Hayao Miyazaki recounts his stories in anime guise. But what would these films be without their soundtracks? Just like with Steven Spielberg and John Williams, Miyazaki has forged a unique artistic bond with the Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi that has lasted almost 40 years, with the latter’s compositions being instrumental in the films’ successes. Now we can discover his greatest Studio Ghibli hits re-recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - a first-class Deutsche Grammophon debut.In 1983, the two artists made their first collaboration for the anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, for which Hisaishi would create “image music” (i.e. music that reflects the character and characters of the film or series). Miyazaki was so convinced by the music that, since the founding of Studio Ghibli in 1985, he was to underscore each of his films with Hisaishi’s compositions - to our eternal good fortune, because the pieces such as the waltz "Merry-Go-Round of Life" (from Howl’s Moving Castle), "A Town with an Ocean View" (from Kiki’s Delivery Service) or the touching "One Summer’s Day (The Name of Life)" (from Spirited Away) enchant the images as they appear on the big screen with very special magic. With a total of 29 tracks from 10 films, Hisaishi presents A Symphonic Celebration, with the crème de la crème of his Studio Ghibli works in all their diversity - as composer, conductor and pianist - newly arranged for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In fact, this is the first time that the film music of Princess Mononoke and Porco Rosso has been recorded with a professional world orchestra. During an interview, Hisashi tells us himself:“We recorded the project last year in a church with a huge choir and orchestra, and that was really great. The orchestras in Europe somehow have a longer, fuller sound. Of course, the musicians in Japan are also highly professional, but in Vienna or London the feeling for the music is a bit different again.”Whether it’s in Japan, Europe or America - with A Symphonic Celebration we can now enjoy Hisaishi’s wonderful and unique film music all over the world, and immerse ourselves fully in the fabulous stories of Miyazaki’s anime characters. © Lena Germann/Qobuz

Capping nearly three decades on the scene, Sum 41 bid farewell the only way they really could: merging their punk and metal extremes on the sprawling double album Heaven :x: Hell. All those years of stylistic evolution collide on this 20-song collection, which is split evenly into the pop-punk Heaven side and the metal-leaning Hell side (naturally). Finding the sweet spot among Billy Talent, Green Day, and blink-182, this is standard, anthemic pop-punk goodness, designed for pogo-bops, fist-pumping, and light moshing, all centered on Deryck Whibley's acrobatic vocals. The big singalong choruses of catchy standouts like "Dopamine" and "Bad Mistake" ride Frank Zummo's freewheeling drumming, as the twin guitar attack of Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker propel this track headlong into the sunset. Heaven, according to Sum 41, sounds fun, urgent, and energetic (even when the lyrics say otherwise). Descending into Hell, fans of 2016's 13 Voices and 2019's Order in Decline will have plenty to enjoy as the relatively lighthearted punk fest gives way to a hardened, emotionally charged whirlpool of rage and frustration. The pummeling "Rise Up" crushes with a head-caving breakdown and death scream, while the hardcore "Stranger in These Times" shreds and tears its way through "imbecilic morons" and Whibley's insecurities. Hell highlight "I Don't Need Anyone" lurches its way atop Jason McCaslin's bass groove before a killer guitar solo slashes its way through this metal assault, just as emotions are pushed to the limit on the Linkin Park-leaning "How the End Begins." There's even a martial cover of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" that showcases their technical skill and adaptability (especially on the breakdown). Regardless of which Sum 41 you prefer, there are two expertly executed albums here, each highlighting just how this group has grown from being rascally jokesters to hardened, concerned members of society. As far as swan songs go, Heaven :x: Hell is a heartfelt goodbye to fans, an overly generous gift that aims to please the full spectrum of diehards and thank them for all their years of dedication.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

We’d been waiting for it for a long time, too long in fact: after having brilliantly and repeatedly interpreted the works of the American composer Eric Whitacre, the Voces8 chamber choir have now devoted an entire recording to him. This has now been accomplished with Home, which illustrates Whitacre’s musical portrait and the entire evolution of his language. Here, the selection brings together works from his youth (even his very first composition, Go, Lovely Rose), to other pieces finalised just a few months before the recording. With its harrowing light and overwhelming theme, The Sacred Veil, as a central piece, probably stands out as one of the greatest vocal works of our time - here, Eric Whitacre delivers the story about the death of his friend's wife in heart-wrenching deferential modesty. As always, it's hard to find anything wrong with a Voces8 release: the timbre is unique and it reaffirms the humble strength of the collective beyond the dissonance of individualistic voices. The purity of the breaths, the melismas’ caresses, the sound recording’s closeness; it all plunges us into a soothing bath of humanity. While the Voces8 early work is exquisite, they become almost unsurpassable in the contemporary repertoire, and leave an invaluable gift for future generations. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz

Chappell Roan's first studio full-length The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is an absolute breath of fresh air in a crowded pop landscape. Playful, a little naughty, and full of heart, this debut brims with spirited pop gems that stick in the brain long after the album is finished. Blending the youthful Gen-Z delivery of Olivia Rodrigo, the best-friend-approachability of Taylor Swift, and the songcraft of Maggie Rogers, Roan is the main draw here, taking whatever producer Dan Nigro (Kylie, Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek) throws at her and making it irresistible. Opener "Femininomenon" perfectly captures the album's ethos: transforming from a sweet, string-laden ballad into a pulse-pounding empowerment anthem, it's punctuated with a mid-song pep talk and hilariously escalating adlibs demanding a "fucking beat." From there, it's a nonstop flood of catchy, synth-backed anthems that could lay waste to mainstream radio if given the chance. The playfully horny "Red Wine Supernova" rides a bubbly beat, Roan's pure vocals, and girl gang background vocals that boost energy, while the funky strut of the confident, boyfriend-stealing "After Midnight" turns the lights down low as she purrs that "everything good happens after midnight." Taking Taylor's Midnights hit one step further, Roan takes aim at an ex on the sardonic, synth-laden "My Kink Is Karma," where she finds pleasure in the little things like watching them "ruin [their] life... losing [their] mind... [and] crashing [their] car." There's a handful of delicate ballads ("Coffee," "Casual," "Picture You," "Kaleidoscope") peppered amongst the pogo-bounce singalongs ("HOT TO GO!" and early hit "Pink Pony Club") that offer a few moments of rest while the party continues. On an album packed with highlights, standouts include the '80s-synth throwback "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl" -- a cowbell-laden, late night party saga that explodes with one of the most rousing choruses on Midwest Princess -- and the closer, "Guilty Pleasure," which mirrors the opening track's quiet-to-loud approach, morphing from warm dreampop into pulsing electro-pop. Bold and fearless, Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the best kind of pop album: capturing a generational zeitgeist and introducing the world to a refreshing new voice that can hopefully stand the test of time and a fickle industry.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

The full range of Ben Harper's influences would not come to bear until later albums, but his debut, Welcome to the Cruel World, lays a strong foundation. "Like a King" and "Take That Attitude to Your Grave" burn with a political conviction rarely heard during the 1990s. "Forever" has a tenderness which demonstrates Harper's emotional range. Lackluster hippie jams that cultivated his early following may have served a purpose but feel fluffy by comparison when compared to the meatier tracks. Ben closes the album with a song that frequently closes his concerts, "I'll Rise." This song, built around Maya Angelou's 1979 poem "And Still I Rise," reminds one of art's ability to pierce through society, self, and the soul.© Ryan Randall Goble /TiVo

The sheer tenacity -- albeit undeniably fitting -- of this double-disc set has made Black Moses (1971) one of Isaac Hayes' most revered and best-known works. The multi-instrumental singer/songwriter and producer had been a central figure in the Memphis soul music revolution of the mid-'60s. Along with Booker T. & the MG's, Hayes wrote and performed on more Stax sides than any other single artist. By the time of this release -- his fifth overall, and first two-record set -- Hayes had firmly established himself as a progressive soul artist. His stretched-out and well-developed R&B jams, as well as his husky-voiced sexy spoken "raps," became key components in his signature sound. Black Moses not only incorporates those leitmotifs, but also reaffirms Hayes abilities as an unmistakably original arranger. Although a majority of the album consists of cover material, all the scores have been reconfigured and adapted in such a fundamental way that, for some listeners, these renditions serve as definitive. This is certainly true of the extended reworkings of Jerry Butler's "Brand New Me" and Esther Phillips' "You're Love Is So Doggone Good" -- both of which are prefaced by the spoken prelude to coitus found in each respective installment of "Ike's Rap." The pair of Curtis Mayfield tunes -- "Man's Temptation" and "Need to Belong to Someone" -- are also worth noting for the layers of tastefully scored orchestration -- from both Hayes and his longtime associate Johnny Allen. The pair's efforts remain fresh and discerning, rather than the dated ersatz strings and horn sections that imitators were glutting the soul and pop charts and airwaves with in the mid-'70s. Hayes' own composition, "Good Love," recalls the upbeat and jive talkin' "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" from Hot Buttered Soul (1969), adding some spicy and sexy double-entendre in the chorus.© Lindsay Planer /TiVo

Even with six different vocalists lending their talents to the album, Pyramid still remains an average bit of material from the Alan Parsons Project. Not only does the album's theme evolve around the mystique of the pyramid, but it also touches on man's fascination with superstition and its powers. The instrumental "Voyager" opens things up, and its provocative style sets the tone for the album's supernatural mood. The bright-sounding "What Goes Up" is one of the highlights here, as is "The Eagle Will Rise Again," sung by Colin Blunstone. The anxiety-ridden "Pyramania" enhances the album's concept the best, accompanied by some excitable keyboard playing and a friendly middle. The lesson-learning "Can't Take It with You" teaches that our souls are our most important asset, in typical Parsons-type charm. While not a stellar album, Pyramid completes the task of musically explaining its concept. Its short but slightly compelling nature grows after a few listens, but the album itself isn't a necessity.© Mike DeGagne /TiVo

In December of 2019, rapper/songwriter Juice WRLD died at the height of fame, just days after his 21st birthday. This tragic loss came months after the rapper had taken his second studio album, Death Race for Love, to the top of the charts, his distinctive blend of emotionally vulnerable lyricism and infectious genre-bending songcraft becoming a ubiquitous sound unto itself. Posthumous album Legends Never Die arrived less than a year after his passing, and offers further evidence of the late artist's gifts for self-inspection and exceptionally constructed hooks. "Conversations" is as catchy as a song about demonic visions and mental disturbance gets, with soft synth lines and a booming trap beat underscoring Juice WRLD's anxious, depressive observations. "Tell Me U Love Me" gets some assistance from Trippie Redd and the gentle, heartbroken ballad "Life's a Mess" features vocals from Halsey. Juice WRLD's general subject matters -- despair, substance abuse issues, loneliness and searching for authentic happiness -- already make for emotionally weighty songs, and listening to him sing from beyond gives Legends Never Die an impenetrably somber atmosphere. Allegedly Juice WRLD recorded over 2,000 songs that were unreleased at the time of his death, and the ones that surface here are in some ways stronger than the often disjointed and sometimes overly dramatic material that made up the albums released while he was alive. Legends Never Die is as strong a collection of Juice WRLD songs as any, with already-searing songs made more intense by the shadow of their departed creator looming over the album.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Memoria is Trentemøller’s sixth full-length studio album since his 2006 debut. While six albums over 16 years may not seem like the most prodigious of outputs, the Danish musician has absolutely taken listeners on some expansive journeys in that time. Ratcheting up the dynamics and textures with each new album, Trentemøller has continued to get bolder and more explorative as his career has evolved. Veering from straightforward electronica to darkwave and indie atmospheres, no two of his albums have sounded exactly alike, but they've all been uniquely dedicated to unboxing the potentialities of a certain combination of mood, texture, and instrumentation. Throughout his career there have been nods toward the undeniable influence that shoegaze had on his formative years as a Gen X indie musician, but none—not even the presence of Slowdive's Rachel Goswell on his previous album, the tense and dark Obverse—have been as explicit and thorough as the overall atmosphere here. Trentemøller's roots in electronic music and post-punk coalesce with soaring gothic melodrama and the gauzy ethereality of the second wave of shoegaze; Memoria is definitely not as dark and aggressive as Obverse, but is more inchoate, and even a bit romantic. Tracks like "Glow" and "Linger" have echoey guitar lines that sound as if Trentemøller has nicked a hard drive directly from Robin Guthrie's studio, while the vocals of longtime collaborator Lisbet Fritze evoke the over-echoed breathiness of classic shoegaze vocalists. When Memoria shifts from explicit shoegaziness—as on the electronic pulse of of "Darklands" and "A Summer's Empty Room" or the M83-meets-Slowdive electro-gaze of "No More Kissing in the Rain"—its downcast, atmospheric shimmer is never lost. The two approaches merge the most successfully on the nefarious swoon of "Swaying Pine Trees" (which sounds like Trentemøller's bid for an imaginary Twin Peaks soundtrack) and "Linger," which is all half-climax and sonic spaciousness. The track is a beautiful exercise in extended dynamics and slow-motion collapse, and a perfect close to an album that is both specific in its evocations yet hard to pin down. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

In some ways, For Free plays like the culmination of David Crosby's late career purple patch. Working once again with James Raymond -- his son who has turned out to be an unusually empathetic and intuitive producer -- Crosby mines similar territory as he has on the records he's released since 2014's Croz, yet For Free contains its own distinctive vibe. It's smoother, for one, lacking the twilight haze of Lighthouse as well as the loose-limbed adventure of Here If You Listen, the 2018 record he made in concert with Snarky Puppy's Michael League, Becca Stevens, and Michelle Willis. The slickness is reminiscent of the glory days of pre-MTV soft rock, a connection underscored by two key guests: Michael McDonald and Donald Fagen, who both contribute songs redolent of their signature styles. McDonald lends his signature harmonies to "River Rise" while Fagen offers "Rodriguez for a Night," a song that sounds as if it could've been excavated from the Gaucho sessions. These, along with the Joni Mitchell cover that lends the album its title, anchor For Free, allowing Crosby to ease into reflective jazz-funk grooves that give him plenty of space to harmonize and reflect. The nimble beats and warm surfaces give For Free an appealing buoyancy while also putting the quiet coda of "Shot at Me" and "I Won't Stay for Long" in sharp relief. Here, Crosby hints at his folkier origins without dispensing with the musical elasticity that characterized the rest of For Free, an expansion that serves as a gentle reminder that Crosby is in the midst of the longest sustained burst of creativity in his entire career.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo