War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream
As detailed in a recent Grantland feature, Lost In the Dream was the product of a grueling, year-long recording process. Though Granduciel involved his touring band more so than any previous War on Drugs record, his perfectionist tendencies still held sway, resulting in endless cycles of recording, revising, and scrapping. And such self-doubt wasn’t helped by the fact that Granduciel was recovering from the flame-out of a long-term relationship, the ashes of which are scattered all over his lyric sheet here. But the obsessiveness and insecurity pay off massively on Lost in the Dream—this is the War on Drugs’ most lustrous, intricately detailed, and beautifully rendered record to date. Read the full review on Pitchfork

Freddie Gibbs/Madlib – Pinata
This is the type of idea that can’t go wrong. Piñata might not even work as a front-to-back listen, but it’s a damn near guarantee you’re going to get good raps over left-field beats. That’s what’s expected, and that’s what’s given, but that’s not all. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib don’t reflect off each other in the way Action Bronson and Party Supplies bring out the best in each other when they meet. There’s a sense of reverence that extends beyond chemistry. Read the full review on consequence of Sound

Black Lips-Underneath the Rainbow
With The Black Keys’ drummer Patrick Carney on production duties for a number of tracks, Underneath The Rainbow has been recorded at various places from Nashville to New York as the band meld their usual abrasive garage punk rock with a touch of bluesy Southern rock. Opener Drive By Buddy is a perfect example of this, sounding something like a bunch of drunken hillbillies playing The Monkees’ Last Train To Clarksville, accompanied at one point by a most annoying alarm clock. Read the full review on MusicOHM