The latest issue of BBC Music Magazine is out now, including reviews of three new Nonesuch releases: Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet ("poignant, intoxicating"), John Adams's Violin Concerto ("expansively beautiful, dazzling"), and Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! ("the art of the trio"). 

Brad Mehldau's new album, After Bach, which pairs selections from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier with new music by Mehldau inspired by WTC, was reviewed on NPR's All Things Considered. Reviewer Tom Moon says: "The album cover, a black-and-white picture of a massive spiral staircase, is ... an apt image, capturing the supreme order of Bach's music, as well as its sense of endless, possibly infinite variation—a quality Mehldau celebrates with his originals on this collection." Hear the review here.

Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet's new album Landfall was reviewed on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Fans can hear Kronos "explode their range" on the new album, says reviewer Milo Miles. He also notes "the unprecedented mixture of strings and electronics guided by Anderson's unmistakable voice." The album results "from years of practicing, performing, refining and tweaking the collaborations," Miles concludes. "You can hear how the time and care have paid off." You can listen to the complete review here.

As 2017 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2018, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music.

Robert Plant's new album, Carry Fire, is out now. As with his 2014 album, lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar, it features his band The Sensational Space Shifters. They are also joined here by special guests, including Chrissie Hynde. NPR calls the album "transfixing ... rivetingly intimate." The New York Times calls it "a swirling mix of deep blues, mountain music, North African rhythms and Zeppelin-heavy weight." The AP says: "There are few undisputed rock stars this accomplished still taking musical risks. Plant’s songwriting remains a class above ... 'Out here the fire's still burning / So long into my night,' he sings. Long may it burn."

The award-winning French singer and composer Camille's fifth studio album, OUÏ, is out now in the US on Nonesuch. Recorded over a year in La Chartreuse, a 14th-century monastery-turned-artist's residence in Avignon, OUÏ features folk music, hymns, ballads, pop, lullabies, and a cappella, with Camille on all vocal parts and all but one song in French. "A Parisian pop genius," says Pitchfork. "OUÏ is rich with brilliant, funny ideas about conception, nature, and identity, with plenty of pure pleasure hits for non-Francophones." Camille performs an intimate album-release show at (Le) Poisson Rouge in NYC on Monday, October 16.

Robert Plant's new album, Carry Fire, due next Friday, October 13, is streaming in full below as an NPR First Listen. The new album is "transfixing," exclaims NPR's Tom Moon. "Plant and his collaborators create music that overflows with irrepressible life force ... Carry Fire is rivetingly intimate."

Randy Newman was a guest on NPR's Morning Edition. He performed in the NPR studio and spoke with host Steve Inskeep about his new album, Dark Matter. You can hear the on-air piece and their extended, full interview here. The album has been named WFUV's New Dig. "Dark Matter arrives at the right time and delivers the commentary and insight we crave from Newman," says WFUV. "The man is one of the era’s great songwriters, composers, and storytellers, and Dark Matter perfectly fits in his legacy." WFUV recently recorded a live session with Newman at NYC's Electric Lady Studios; it airs tonight and is available now at wfuv.org.

Conor Oberst's new album, Salutations, is out now. The album, a companion to 2016's lauded Ruminations, comprises full-band versions of the ten tunes from that solo album plus seven additional songs. Salutations was recorded with The Felice Brothers, legendary drummer Jim Keltner, who co-produced the album, and special guests. "The results are quite simply sublime," says Sunday Express. "This is songwriting of the very highest quality, Oberst’s lyrics rarely less than astonishing. Wonderful." It "works exceedingly well," raves Q. "Both retaining the spirit of the original yet also transcending it, this was a risk worth taking." "Salutations is an absolute treat," exclaims Drowned in Sound. The Independent says it's "probably the best work of the singer’s career."

Rhiannon Giddens's new album, Freedom Highway, was released on Friday to great critical acclaim. Giddens spent the day at Sing Sing prison, working with and performing for inmates as a part of Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections program. "Giddens is an immensely talented singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist with the instincts of a musical historian," says WFUV, which named Freedom Highway its New Dig of the week. "On this new collection, she expertly and powerfully tells the stories of those who could not and bears witness to their struggle ... Freedom Highway is welcome, relevant and important." The Los Angeles Times says: "It’s a powerful collection made all the more visceral by the stripped-down instrumental accompaniment around full-force-gale vocals in big moments, and delicate pleadings when songs are at their most intimate."

Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens' follow-up to her highly praised solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is out now. It's a "rich collection," says NPR. "[H]ope comes back to life in Giddens' music." Pitchfork exclaims: "Rhiannon Giddens emerges as a peerless and powerful voice in roots music on her second solo album." The AP calls it "a rich tapestry with threads of blues, folk, gospel, soul, country and jazz ... rootsy and relevant, delivered with crystal-clear emotion and understated musical skill." Uncut names this "remarkably wise and timely new album" its Album of the Month. It earns four stars in American Songwriter, Irish Times ("a record for and of our times"), Observer, and Guardian, which calls it a "powerful and timely set."

As 2016 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2017, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music.