COUNTRY
Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
“Bakersfield”
Producers: Vince Gill, Paul Franklin
MCA Nashville
Release date: July 30
Gill and pedal steel legend Franklin give a history lesson in the Bakersfield Sound, recording five tracks each from Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Gill soars on Owens’ “Together Again,” with Franklin channeling late steel guitarist Tom Brumley’s part, and Haggard’s “I Can’t Be Myself” is a vocal delight. -Chuck Dauphin
POP
Van Dyke Parks
“Songs Cycled”
Producer: Van Dyke Parks
Bella Union
Release date: July 23
Still challenging listeners with a distinctive marriage of Americana, Bach and the historically well-informed, Parks’ first solo set since 1989 is an artist reflecting on tragedy, adventure and life’s small moments. Varied instrumentation (accordion, strings, steel drums) is used to cohere the music like a film score. -Phil Gallo
RAP
Wallpaper.
“Ricky Reed Is Real”
Producers: Ricky Reed, Axident, Robopop
Boardwalk Music Group/Epic Records
Release date: July 23
After gaining buzz with 2011’s “#STUPiDFACEDD,” rapper/songwriter Ricky Reed and his Wallpaper. crew throw a mostly irreverent party on their full-length debut, mixing hip-hop and emo alt-rock with wry lyricism. Reed leaves his Auto-Tune at home until the surprisingly earnest closer “You N Me N Everyone We Know.” -Gary Graff
ROCK
Gogol Bordello
“Pura Vida Conspiracy”
Producer: Andrew Scheps
ATO Records/Casa Gogol Records
Release date: July 23
On its sixth album, gypsy-punk act Gogol Bordello dances through raucous, global-minded numbers, all led by wide-eyed mastermind Eugene Hutz. From “We Rise Again,” a grandiosely crafted song condemning country borders, to the bouncing acoustic folk of “Lost Innocent World,” the group makes serious statements sound unabashedly fun. -Emily Zelmer
ROCK
True Widow
“Circumambulation”
Producer: Matt Pence
Relapse Records
Release date: July 23
The third album from Dallas’ self-proclaimed “stonegaze” trio packs plenty of haunting, cinematic drone into these eight tracks. But it’s not all dirgy splendor: “HW:R” lumbers forward with a hazy, hypnotic melody; “Trollstigen” is as creepy as the titular Norwegian road; and “Numb Hand” will have the same effect on one’s head, in the most mind-tingling way. -Chris Woods
PUNK
Weekend
“Jinx”
Producer: Monte Vallier
Slumberland Records
Release date: July 23
Weekend churns out a blend of enchanting goth-haze noise rock on its second album, “Jinx.” Opening track “Mirror” harks back to Cure-era melancholy, while the pop-leaning hooks on standouts “Oubliete” and “Celebration, FL” float atop an industrial wash of shoegaze guitar and distorted bliss. -Nick Williams