Cold War Kids
“Mine Is Yours”
(Interscope)

Cold War Kids put away any political agenda and created the gushy, love-inspired album, “Mine is Yours,” that every good artist needs to put out. However, this band does it differently. In its song, “Sensitive Kid,” this alternative-rock band uses sporadic, misfit keys and rootless vocals to tell a story of abandonment and lost family love. With “Louder Than Ever” and the moderately paced ballad “Finally Begin,” the Cold War Kids even offer catchy pop songs that are inevitably fun to dance and sing along to. “Bulldozer” offers sappy love-song lyrics along with a grooving bass line. All and all, this album is one to share, for in the end, “What’s mine is yours.”

Samantha Zeldin

Radiohead
“The King of Limbs”
(Self-released)

Another Radiohead album always means another reinvention of the band’s sound. This stage of Radiohead’s evolution, its eighth studio album, seems to harken back a bit to its 2000 album “Kid A,” when the band first mastered a dark, electronic sound. This time, there’s a little more layering – a meticulously textured collection of sonic nuances that definitely require high-quality headphones or speakers – and a little less pop. The first single “Lotus Flower” endears itself immediately, and “Codex” is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs the band has written, but the album’s more complex sound may divide fans.

Cory Weinberg

Bright Eyes

“The People’s Key”
(Saddle Creek)

The seventh studio release by Bright Eyes may not be on the same level as the band’s previous defining albums, “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning” or “Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground.” However, “The People’s Key” is a contemporary step away from frontman Conor Oberst’s signature whiny and emotional outpour. The third track, “Jejune Stars,” is more electronic, which contributes to its catchier and more pleasant sound. Other upbeat highlights include “Halle Selassie,” “Triple Spiral” and the album finale, “One For You, One For Me.” In contrast, Oberst combines his delicate vocals with soft piano strokes in the somber and poetic, “Ladder Song.”

Christina Oriel

Thompson Square

“Thompson Square”
(Broken Bow)

“Thompson Square” is the debut album by the new country duo of the same name. The duo, made up of husband and wife Keifer and Shawna Thompson, made a splash with its single, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not,” charting at No. 12 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The album is a great country album that really shows off the duo’s musical abilities. While it’s not the strongest album of the year, it definitely is a solid debut and shows the Thompsons have what it takes to be more than a one-hit wonder.

Max Schwager