The best albums released this month

Below, we look at the past month's best-reviewed new LP releases with at least seven reviews. For each album below, we list the percentages of "great" critic reviews (with an individual critic score above 80), "good" critic reviews (61-80), "mixed" reviews (40-60), and "bad" reviews (below 40).

No Devolucion 88 (Epitaph)
by Thursday

Dave Fridmann produced this sixth album for the New Jersey post-hardcore band, but unlike their previous two collaborations, the quickly written and recorded No Devolucion finds Thursday experimenting with their sound, with the result being more atmospheric and diverse than their usual output.

Listen to "Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart"

What the critics are saying: No Devolucion is by far the band's best-reviewed album in recent years, with critics falling over themselves to praise Thursday's new musical direction, calling it "inventive," "beautiful," "unique," and a "masterpiece" that pushes the post-hardcore genre past its previous boundaries. Longtime fans who prefer a harder edge might be a bit disappointed, though.

Also by this artist:
A City By The Light Divided	2006	75
Common Existence	2009	72

So Beautiful or So What 88 (Hear Music)
by Paul Simon

On the heels of a re-release of his final album with Art Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water) comes Paul Simon's 12th solo studio LP, his first in five years. The 70-year-old Simon claims that the bluegrass-influenced So Beautiful or So What, which he produced with Phil Ramone, is his best album in 20 years, and the critics seem to agree.

Listen to "The Afterlife"

What the critics are saying: The worst (but still positive) review comes from Pitchfork (which does have a history of liking Paul Simon, before you start making assumptions), which finds the album a bit too "comfortable" and "stodgy." Other critics agree that the record could be a bit predictable -- which echoes of nearly everything he has done in the past -- but that it finds Simon in strong creative form, with the results "sophisticated" and "vibrant." The album is also consistent and focused (it's brief 38-minute running time helps, though the Los Angeles Times finds that it still drags a bit toward the end), with a greater emphasis on songs rather than sounds, a departure from Simon's recent output.

Also by this artist:
Surprise	2006	78
You're the One	2000	76

w h o k i l l 86 (4AD)
by tUnE-yArDs

New England's Merrill Garbus, who records under the name tUnE-yArDs, signed to 4AD on the basis of her 2009 DIY debut BiRd-BrAiNs, which suggested a bright future ahead with its challenging but engaging patchwork of sounds and styles. That future may already be here in the form of second album whokill, which is more polished and accessible than her debut, but no less playful, original, or exciting.

What the critics are saying: Several critics consider Garbus' sophomore disc to be an album of the year candidate; the Chicago Tribune finds it both "eccentric" and "ecstatic," CMJ calls it "startling" and "playful," and Pitchfork thinks it can earn her an "intense cult following." (In other words, it's good, but it's not for everyone.) Nearly everyone agrees that it is stronger than the debut album, and doesn't sacrifice imagination despite sounding more polished; on the contrary, whokill benefits from the improved craftsmanship.

Also by this artist:
BiRd-BrAiNs	2009	79

Nine Types of Light 82 (Interscope)
by TV on the Radio

This is what TV on the Radio sound like when they grow up. After a three-year break that saw TVOTR's three main members working on their solo projects (Fake Male Voice for Tunde Adebimpe, Rain Machine for Kyp Malone, and Maximum Balloon for Dave Sitek), the group reunited to record their fourth album in Los Angeles in Sitek's rented house. The result, unexpectedly, is an album full of accessible love songs, though still filtered -- a bit -- through the band's art-rock approach.

Listen to "Will Do"

What the critics are saying: The A.V. Club calls the band's new approach "suave and refined," other critics use words like "relaxed," "effortless," and "positive," and the word "mellow" pops up in multiple reviews -- as No Ripcord states, the LP "misses a lot of the urgency and sheer emotional energy of the band's first two LPs." However, for some critics, that translates to "dull," and uninteresting is a trait the band has rarely been accused of in the past.

Also by this artist:
Dear Science,	2008	88
Return To Cookie Mountain	2006	88
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes	2004	79

C'mon 81 (Sub Pop)
by Low

With over a decade of critically-acclaimed albums behind them, the Minnesota slowcore trio return with their third Sub Pop release. The ten tracks were recorded in the same former church where the band recorded 2002's Trust. Guitarist Nels Cline guests.

Listen to "Try To Sleep"

What the critics are saying: While, at Paste suggests, C'mon won't catch anyone by surprise, it proves to be on of the stronger showcases for Low's musicianship and songwriting skills. Critics find it typically (for the band) "dark" and "moving," with others praising its "richness" and vitality, and Clash music deeming the band "simultaneously luscious in their orchestration and muted in their delivery." A handful of critics found some moments more entrancing than others, however, and a few didn't consider the album representative of the trio's best work.

Also by this artist:
Things We Lost in the Fire	2001	87
The Great Destroyer	2005	82
Drums and Guns	2007	81
A Lifetime of Temporary Relief	2004	80
Trust	2002	76

Forever Today 80 (Mute)
by I'm from Barcelona

This is the third album for the Swedish* pop collective whose ranks include just under 30 members and nearly as many different types of instrumentation.

*Yes, we know where Barcelona is.

Listen to "Get In Line"

What the critics are saying: The band's music is "fun," "sweet," and "infectious," and, according to the A.V. Club, what they may have lost in originality they gained in consistency. PopMatters can't resist comparing the band to Broken Social Scene (a group that usually has a mere 10 or so members), but says that Forever Today actually is superior to the most recent BSS album Forgiveness Rock Record. Dusted, however, finds the material here ultimately a bit "shallow."

Also by this artist:
Who Killed Harry Houdini?	2008	68
Let Me Introduce My Friends	2007	66

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care 80 (Temporary Residence)
by Explosions in the Sky

Recorded with John Congleton (like its predecessor, 2007's All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone), the sixth album from the popular Texas instrumentalists consists of six epic-length tracks, pretty much the band's standard M.O.

Listen to "Trembling Hands"

What the critics are saying: The least enthusiastic reviewers all offer the same complaint: Take Care is basically Explosions by the numbers, too "formulaic" and unchanging from past albums to be anything more than "redundant." Still, even those critics find the music here "epic" and "pretty." Other publications, however, are closer to The Phoenix, which raves that "Explosions in the Sky have never sounded more thrilling." Other reviewers praise the disc as "vivid," "intricate," "rewarding," and filled with "emotion" and "grandeur."

Also by this artist:
The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place	2003	86
All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone	2007	80

Here Before 80 (Bar/None)
by The Feelies

The last time the influential New Jersey band released a new song -- or album, for that matter -- Operation Desert Storm had just concluded, and the Feelies' brand of jangly, Velvet Underground-influenced rock was still called "college rock" rather than "indie music." The band's new 13-song album is performed by the same lineup found on their three previous post-Crazy Rhythms albums, including guitarists/vocalists Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, who also produced the new tracks.

Listen to "Should Be Gone"

What the critics are saying: If you enjoyed the last few Feelies albums before the group quit recording a few decades ago, it's likely that you are going to like Here Before, which follows the Velvets-influenced guitar-pop formula established on LPs like The Good Earth almost to a T. In this case, critics are pleased with that adherence to formula -- after all, so few bands sound like this now that it's almost fresh -- and find the band's return satisfying. However, the AV Club notes a "paucity of standout tracks," while Cokemachineglow notes an unwillingness for the band to "push themselves out of their comfort zone," and Rolling Stone tempers its praise by calling the album "a template of formal perfection."

Salon des Amateurs 80 (Fat Cat)
by Hauschka

Hauschka is German composer Volker Bertelmann, known for his experimental "prepared" piano works. Here, that experimentation takes him from classical to house and techno, including collaborations with members of Mum and Calexico.

Listen to "Girls"

What the critics are saying: All of the reviews so far are positive, though not superlative. PopMatters feels a bit confused by the album's genre indecision (is it pop or classical?), while Prefix finds it lacking emotion. Other reviewers, however, call the disc "exciting" and "invigorating," finding that its eclecticism is energizing rather than a detriment.

Also by this artist:
Ferndorf	2008	76
Snowflakes And Carwrecks [EP]	2009	76
Foreign Landscapes	2010	70

Tomboy 80 (Paw Tracks)
by Panda Bear

Animal Collective's Noah Lennox last released a solo album under his Panda Bear moniker in 2007, and the exceptional Person Pitch wowed critics with its spacey, Beach Boys-influenced tracks. This long-delayed follow-up -- which was mixed by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) -- takes a different approach, ditching the heavy emphasis on samples to focus on guitars and simpler electronic rhythms, which combine to create a somewhat darker and more stripped down sound.

Listen to "You Can Count On Me"

What the critics are saying: Though it hasn't quite reached the critical heights established by its predecessor, Tomboy is the more accessible album, according to several reviewers. Some critics are a bit divided on the music approach; Music OMH notes "Lennox's sound collage techniques [are] not quite as bold and refreshing" as they once were -- in fact, they veer toward the "saccharine" -- while Rolling Stone compares it to "a tidal wave of bong water" and CMJ wishes for "a more firmly constructed ship" to navigate those waters. A few other reviewers find the new album a bit sleepy. Still, many critics are dazzled by the album, even while calling it "chilled-out," introspective, and "inscrutable."

Also by this artist:
Person Pitch	2007	87
Young Prayer	2004	76

More Well-Reviewed April Albums

Album	Label	Metascore
Black Sun by Kode9	Hyperdub	79
Invariable Heartache by Kort	City Slang	79
Wasting Light by Foo Fighters	RCA	78
Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss & Union Station	Rounder Records	77
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues by Between the Buried and Me	Metal Blade	77
In Love With Oblivion by Crystal Stilts	Slumberland	77
The English Riviera by Metronomy	Because	77
Bespoke by Daedelus	Ninja Tune	77
Thao & Mirah by Thao & Mirah	Kill Rock Stars	77
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Steve Earle	New West	76
Blood Pressures by The Kills	Domino	76
Here We Rest by Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit	Lightning Rod Records	76
Wit's End by Cass McCombs	Domino	76
Dancer Equired by Times New Viking	Merge	76
Avoid these:
Euphoric Heartbreak by Glasvegas	Columbia	58
Until Spring by Wild Palms	One Little Indian	54
See My Friends by Ray Davies	Decca	54
Who You Are by Jessie J	Universal Republic	51

The Metascore is a weighted average of scores from top professional critics, on a scale from 0 (bad) to 100 (good). User scores represent an average of scores assigned by Metacritic.com site visitors on a scale from 0 (bad) to 10 (good). All scores are from April 29, 2011.

What do you think?

What new albums or songs are in heavy rotation on your MP3 player? Let us know in the comments section below.