CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JUAN CARLOS EQUIHUA; IMAGESPACE/SHUTTERSTOCK; MARK ZALESKI/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE; IMAGESPACE/SHUTTERSTOCK; GINNETTE RIQUELME/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

DIFFERENT STROKES Their first LP since

2013 is a low-key party record full of Miami

Vice guitars and space-cadet romance,

with less second-guessing than anything

they’ve done since the mid-aughts.

The Strokes

The New

Abnormal

RCA

JANGLE GEM Hiatt proves herself to be

Nashville’s indie-rocker-to-watch on this

collection of Big Star-worthy jangle an-

thems (“Brightest Star”) and introspective

psych-folk (“Scream”).

Lilly Hiatt

Walking Proof

New West

GARAGE TRIP The third album from these

cool Spanish garage-rock primitivists

adds a sweet sun-bleached studio haze to

their sound, making for spacey songs that

never lack for sass, bite, or beauty.

NASHVILLE NICE Country’s most pop-friend-

ly upstart fleshes out her millennial mus-

ings on this conversational set; she’s the

rare artist who can feature Halsey on one

song and Kenny Chesney on the next.

SPECIAL ED Radiohead’s guitarist takes

the spotlight for the first time, beautifully

deploying ambient guitar textures and

falsetto vocals. The results could’ve been

Hail to the Thief bonus tracks.

NEW DIRECTION One Direction’s resident

Irish bard stretches out on his ace second

solo album, mourning a breakup while

going for a laid-back Yacht-pop vibe. Even

with a bruised heart, he’s a charmer.

DAD FOLK The New Jersey roots-punk

rocker leans into moody folk on this sweet,

solid collection about fatherhood and

quitting cigarettes, sounding like the Na-

tional, if they were from New Brunswick.

BOYS The fun Aussie boy punks show

genuine R&B-pop chops, teaming up

with Ryan Tedder, Charlie Puth, and other

hitmakers. But their fourth record lacks the

innocent fun of their first hits.

LOW MOZ Despite some great titles —

“Bobby, Don’t You Think They Know,”

“What Kind of People Live in These

Houses” — this charming man’s bowshots

at English society can get repetitive.

# # # 3 @ @

WA X O N Kate Crutchfield’s latest is a

gorgeous depiction of recovery told from

the inside, toning down her guitar-heavy

indie rock for a brighter folk-rock sound

that can recall Lucinda Williams.

4

Waxahatchee

Saint Cloud

Merge

Hinds

The Prettiest

Curse

Mom + Pop Music

Kelsea Ballerini

Kelsea

Black River Entertainment

Ed O’Brien

Earth

Capitol

Niall Horan

Heartbreak

Weat her

Capitol

Brian Falon

Local Honey

Lesser Known

5 Seconds of Summer

Calm

Interscope

Morrissey

I Am Not a Dog

on a Chain

BMG

CONTRIBUTORS: JONATHAN BERNSTEIN, JON DOLAN, KORY GROW, ANGIE MARTOCCIO, CLAIRE SCHAFFER, ROB SHEFFIELD, SIMON VOZICK-LEVINSON

Ten new albums you need to know about now

Quick Hits

C

OLOMBIAN artist J Bal-

vin established himself

as the globe-trotting

James Bond of reggaeton with

chart-toppers like “Ginza” and

“Mi Gente.” On his fourth solo

album, Balvin seems more

interested in fine-tuning his

sound than crafting the next

big hit. Colores is a sophisti-

cated showcase of his sonic

palette, from the playful,

horn-driven “Amarillo” to the

J BALVIN’S

POP OF MANY

COLORS

The Colombian

reggaeton star

finesses his globe-

trotting style

J Balvin

Colores

#

atmospheric ballad “Rojo”

and the blushing “Rosado”

(featuring Diplo). Balvin’s

right-hand man and producer

Sky Rompiendo puts his free-

style skills to the test amid the

dancehall-accented bounce

of “Verde,” and Balvin dusts

off his guitar for the unmis-

takably made-in-Medellín

tracks “Azul” and “Gris.” The

best moment, “Arcoiris,” sees

Balvin reprise his cosmo-

politan jet-setter persona as

he teams up with Nigerian

Afrobeats envoy Mr Eazi. The

pair finesse hook after hook,

drawing out a timeless groove

and effortlessly summing up

decades of Afro-Caribbean

music tradition. SUZY EXPOSITO

Balvin