Conor Oberst's new solo album, Upside Down Mountain, is out now. "Oberst faces west and backward, brilliantly, on Upside Down Mountain," writes Rolling Stone's David Fricke in a four-star review. "A sumptuous immersion in Seventies California folk pop, it is the most immediately charming album he has ever made." Oberst performs on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight and on CBS This Morning on Saturday. He performs at Rough Trade NYC in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Toumani and Sidiki, the new father-and-son recording from kora master Toumani Diabaté and his son Sidiki, is out now in North America. The Guardian calls it "the finest Toumani collaboration since his classic work with Ali Farka Touré." The Evening Standard calls it "a rare treat, one of the albums of the year." The Times of London says: "This album ranks among Toumani's best work." Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté will tour the United States this fall.

Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté is joined by his eldest son, Sidiki, for the new father-and-son recording Toumani & Sidiki. The album, due out next Monday, May 19, in North America, is streaming in full all this week via the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog. Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté will embark on a US tour starting at BAM in Brooklyn, September 24, and running through October 3.

The Black Keys' new album, Turn Blue, is out now. Rolling Stone gives the album four-and-a-half stars, calling it "the best, most consistently gripping album The Black Keys have ever made." The AP hears "the sound of a band operating at the peak of its power." Turn Blue is Album of the Week in the Guardian, the Times, Metro, and Independent, which gives it five stars, calling it "a post-modern blues-rock marvel." Mojo says it "underlines the fact that The Black Keys are the most vital rock band in the world right now." The band performs on The Colbert Report tonight, and Patrick Carney leads a Reddit AMA on Wednesday. Ticket pre-sale for the fall tour began this morning; general on-sale begins this Friday.

Conor Oberst's new album, Upside Down Mountain, due out next Monday, May 19 (with vinyl due to arrive May 30), is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. The album is "artful and beautifully realized," writes NPR's Tom Moon. "Upside Down Mountain suggests that Oberst is growing, rapidly, as a craftsman ... [H]e's brokering interior thoughts, choosing clusters of words for the ways they thrive, or sometimes disappear, inside the sonic swirl." Oberst is on tour now with special guest Dawes.

Natalie Merchant’s new self-titled album, her first of entirely original songs in 13 years, is out now on Nonesuch Records. "Merchant creates a rich musical tapestry that transcends the typical vagary of pop music," raves the Associated Press. The Daily Telegraph gives the album a perfect five stars, naming it Album of the Week: "There is something quietly magnificent about her vocal presence." The Sunday Express says the album is "brimming with wit, insight and compassion." Merchant "is in terrific form," says the Times of London. "It is Merchant’s mature, versatile voice that steals the show."

The new album with John Adams's City Noir (2009) and the debut recording of his 2012 Saxophone Concerto is out now in North America, with an international release to follow May 19. Both pieces are performed by the St. Louis Symphony led by David Robertson, featuring saxophonist Timothy McAllister. City Noir, inspired by Los Angeles "noir" films of the 1940s and '50s, "is riveting," says the New York Times. Adams composed his Saxophone Concerto for McAllister, whom he calls "a fearless musician and risk taker," after McAllister's performance of the sax solo part in City Noir.

Nonesuch Records releases Louis Andriessen’s Grawemeyer Award–winning La Commedia on June 10, 2014, as a two-CD-plus-DVD set. The film opera, a collaboration with director Hal Hartley, is based on Dante’s Divine Comedy, with additional texts including the Old Testament’s “Song of Songs.” This Dutch National Opera production features the Asko and Schönberg Ensembles, led by Reinbert de Leeuw. The Washington Post calls La Commedia "an exciting, powerful and rich piece that shows Andriessen at the top of his game." The Los Angeles Times considers it "the greatest opera of the century so far." La Commedia is available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Natalie Merchant's new, self-titled album is due out next Tuesday, May 6, but you don't need to wait till then to hear it: her sixth solo collection is streaming in full all this week in the New York Times's Press Play feature. Merchant will perform at the Beacon Theatre in NYC on September 13. Watch an in-depth video conversation with Merchant, in which she discusses the new album and the "intimate portraits" she creates in its songs, here. 

Jacob Cooper’s Nonesuch Records debut album, Silver Threads, is out now. The album comprises a six-song cycle performed by soprano Mellissa Hughes. Cooper wrote the title track for Hughes in 2011, setting a haiku attributed to Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō for voice and electronic track. To expand it into a full cycle (for voice and track), he enlisted five other poets to write text inspired by the haiku. Silver Threads is Album of the Week at WQXR's Q2 Music, which calls it "stylish, with a youthful energy." Hughes performs music from the album at (Le) Poisson Rouge in NYC on May 7.

Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Trios Live on June 17, 2014. The album was recorded at Jazz Standard in NYC and Blues Alley in Washington, DC during stands with two different trios: drummer Gregory Hutchinson and bassists Matt Penman (Jazz Standard) and Reuben Rogers (Blues Alley). Trios Live features four original tunes by Redman and interpretations of three additional songs. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of Redman’s song “Soul Dance” from the record, which you can preview here.

Happy Record Store Day! Today is the seventh annual celebration of the unique culture surrounding independently owned record stores around the world. For the occasion, Conor Oberst releases a limited-edition 7" single including "Hundreds of Ways," off his forthcoming Nonesuch debut album, Upside Down Mountain, along with album outtake "Fast Friends" on the B-side.