Clint Mansell’s score to visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s film Noah is out now on Nonesuch Records; the film will be released on March 28. Russell Crowe stars as Noah in the film inspired by the epic story of courage, sacrifice, and hope. The cast stars Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. The score is performed by Kronos Quartet, joined by Patti Smith for her song "Mercy Is." An orchestra and choir are led by Matt Dunkley, who was also the principal orchestrator and arranger. The album was produced by Clint Mansell and Geoff Foster.

Caetano Veloso’s new album, Abraçaço, is out today in North America on Nonesuch Records. The album, which was released in 2012 in South America and Europe, won a Latin Grammy for Best Singer-Songwriter Album. Abraçaço is the final installment of a trilogy with the youthful trio of 2007’s Cê and 2009’s zii e zie known as the Banda Cê. A fusion of the traditional Tropicália style and the indie pop of contemporary Rio, Abraçaço includes 11 original songs written by Veloso. KCRW says the album finds Veloso "at his best."

The Black Keys' new album, Turn Blue, will be released May 13 on Nonesuch Records. Produced by Danger Mouse, Dan Auerbach, and Patrick Carney, Turn Blue features 11 new tracks. The first single, "Fever," can be heard here and is included as a free instant download with album preorders, along with early access to concert tickets. Of the new album, the band says Turn Blue could refer to A: Suffocation; B: Sadness; C: Numbness from extreme cold; D: A Cleveland late night TV host from the 1960s named Ghoulardi; E: All of the above.

Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, the debut album from the electric duo of Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, released late last month on CD and digitally, is now available on vinyl. Mehldau and Guiliana have been performing for several years, with Mehldau playing Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects, as they are on the record. Mehliana comprises 12 original tunes—six written by the duo and six written by Mehldau—and was engineered and mixed by Greg Koller (Jon Brion, Kanye West). The vinyl edition includes two 140-gram LPs pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany, and a CD of the album. 

Nonesuch Records releases Caetano Veloso’s album Abraçaço in North America next Tuesday, March 25. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full via WNYC's Soundcheck. "Abraçaço, (which means “big hug”) is not some subdued, late-career exercise in nostalgia or retrospection," asserts Soundcheck host John Schaefer. KCRW, also streaming the album, calls it Veloso "at his best." You can download two album tracks, "A Bossa Nova É Foda" and "Um Abraçaço," when you pre-order the album in the Nonesuch Store.

Nonesuch releases composer Clint Mansell’s score to visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s film Noah on March 25, 2014. Directed by Aronofsky, the film will be released on March 28. Russell Crowe stars as Noah in the film inspired by the epic story of courage, sacrifice, and hope. The cast stars Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. The score is performed by Kronos Quartet, joined by Patti Smith for her song "Mercy Is." An orchestra and choir are led by Matt Dunkley, who was also the principal orchestrator and arranger. The album was produced by Clint Mansell and Geoff Foster and is available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Nonesuch celebrates Kronos Quartet, long known as interpreters of music from around the world, in its 40th anniversary year with two releases: Kronos Explorer Series, a box set of five classic albums from five different parts of the world, and A Thousand Thoughts, a new album that looks at Kronos’s geographically wide-ranging sources, featuring music from 14 different countries. Both will be available on April 8, 2014 (international release April 21), and are available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store; pre-orders of A Thousand Thoughts include an instant download of Sim Shalom, which you can hear here. Kronos continues its anniversary celebration with UCLA concerts on March 14 and 15, and a Carnegie Hall concert on March 28.

Nonesuch releases composer Jacob Cooper’s label debut, Silver Threads, on April 29, 2014. 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. Nonesuch Store preorders include an instant download of the title track. Hughes performs selections from Silver Threads in NYC as part of her March 20 Lincoln Center American Songbook concert. 

Inside Llewyn Davis, the new film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake, is out now on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Both formats include "Inside Inside Llewyn Davis," a 40-minute making-of documentary offering insights from the filmmakers, cast, crew, and musicians, and are available now in the Nonesuch Store.

Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, the debut album from the electric duo of Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, is out now on Nonesuch Records (March 18 on vinyl). The album is "astonishing," exclaims Jazzwise magazine, "one of the best albums of 2014." Mehliana earns four stars from the Guardian and from MusicOMH, which calls it "wholly absorbing ... an intuitive, compelling dialogue between the two musicians." Tune in to BBC Radio 2's Jamie Cullum tonight to hear an interview with Mehldau. Watch a performance of the album track "Sleeping Giant" here.

Nickel Creek—Chris Thile (mandolin/vocals), Sara Watkins (fiddle/vocals), and Sean Watkins (guitar/vocals)—officially reunites for the first time since its 2007 self-described “indefinite hiatus” with a new album, A Dotted Line, on April 1, 2014, with vinyl to follow on April 29. Nonesuch Store preorders include an instant download of the album tracks “Destination” and “Love of Mine,” which you can stream here. The band tours the US this spring and summer; for all newly added dates, presales begin Wednesday, February 19, at 10 AM local time.

Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s new self-titled album on May 6, 2014. The recording is the multi-platinum singer’s sixth solo collection, and her first of entirely original songs in 13 years; she describes the new release as informed "by experience and keen observation," dealing with issues of "love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph." Natalie Merchant is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. International tour dates will be announced shortly.