Leave Your Sleep, Natalie Merchant's first studio recording in seven years, is out this week. Merchant kicks off a US tour with two shows in New York City and an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America. Her performance at the TED Conference is now online. The Sun gives five stars to the "breathtaking" new album. The Daily Telegraph gives four stars to the "gentle, lush, and magnificent" work. The Daily Express gives it four stars too, calling it "a real achievement." The Star-Ledger cites "the warm glow in her voice and the casual virtuosity of the wide-ranging music." Paste calls it "effortlessly elegant."

With just a few days to go before the April 13 North American release of Tony Allen's World Circuit / Nonesuch debut album, Secret Agent, The Fader is offering a free download of the track "Ijo," the dub version from reggae star Dennis Bovell. The Fader predicts that the soon-to-be-released album is "gonna be a killer at the BBQs this summer."

Here Lies Love, David Byrne's song-cycle collaboration with Fatboy Slim, is out now. Byrne discussed the project on the BBC World Service program The Strand, which calls it "wonderful"; it was also Album of the Day on BBC Radio 6 Music. Newsday gives the album an A-, calling it "an amazing piece of work" and "a thrilling success." The AP describes the album as "a magnificent sonic treat ... an epic, thrilling tale brimming with hair-raising harmonies, sumptuous beats and unexpected duets." It receives four stars from the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, which calls it "excitingly original."

The Nonesuch Records / PS Classics release of the new Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music is out now. To mark the occasion, Sondheim and the cast signed copies of the album on release day at the Walter Kerr Theatre for 250-plus lucky fans. In the photo at left, Sondheim, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Angela Lansbury are seen hard at work. You'll find interviews with Zeta-Jones and Lansbury at nonesuch.com/media.

Pat Metheny begins the North American leg of his world Orchestrion tour today, just as the album releases on vinyl. The Wall Street Journal's Ashley Kahn takes a look at the orchestrion in action, calling the performance "surprisingly fluid and nuanced," with "Metheny's trademark guitar sound: fluid, with a clear melodic sense, flitting between a bright, pop approach and a more moody effect." The album, says Kahn, contains "as beautiful a melody as any Mr. Metheny has written since his Question and Answer session."

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's Here Lies Love is out now. The Financial Times calls it "both intelligent and highly entertaining." The Times (UK) gives it four stars, saying, "The pair's navigation of the narrative is impeccable." The Boston Globe calls it "a sumptuous two-disc feast of harmony, melody, and Latin-accented grooves." The Washington Post's Express Night Out cites "its considerable impact and surprising emotional resonance." The Star-Ledger calls it "instantly enjoyable." The Huffington Post proclaims: "The talent gathered here was spot-on."

Tomorrow marks the release of the new Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music. To mark the occasion, Sondheim and the cast of A Little Night Music, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, and Alexander Hanson, will sign copies of the album at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Tonight, Sondheim presents the O'Neill's Monte Cristo Award to director/producer Hal Prince. Next week, Lansbury will receive the Signature Theatre's Stephen Sondheim Award.

Tony Allen—best known for his work as drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti—makes his World Circuit / Nonesuch debut with next week's North American release of Secret Agent, on April 13. Now comes confirmation of Allen's North American tour this summer, with stops in Toronto, Madison, Chicago, Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Seattle, and Northern California.

Here Lies Love, David Byrne's song-cycle collaboration with Fatboy Slim on the life of Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos, is due out next week, on Tuesday, April 6. One week later, on Tuesday, April 13, Byrne will appear at the MoMA Design and Book Store at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City to sign copies of the album purchased there.

Calling Laurie Anderson “the most important multimedia artist of our time,” the Los Angeles Times recently noted the “rare, profound maturity” of her latest songs. Thirty years into her recording career, she has applied her craft to a new studio album, her first in ten years: Homeland, a collection of songs at once personal and political, equally focused on love and American identity. Details of an exclusive Nonesuch Store bundle pre-order are coming soon.

The Low Anthem's headlining tour of the US is in full swing again following a five-concert run at SXSW in Austin last week. The band performs along the West Coast, starting at Largo in LA. Today is release day for the special limited-edition vinyl 7-inch single of "Charlie Darwin," featuring the Oh My God, Charlie Darwin track plus new and unreleased material. The LAist says the album "spans the gamut of everything you'd want in Americana inspired music." The San Jose Mercury News calls it "hauntingly beautiful."

Wilco begins its 16-concert run of Eastern US cities at The Filmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater tonight. The concerts, presented as An Evening with Wilco, will feature extended, varied sets exploring material from each of the sextet’s seven studio albums. You can relive the live experience with the 2005 live album Kicking Television in a new deluxe, four-LP box set, due out April 17 and now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.