ROCK
The Fray
“Helios”
Producers: Stuart Price, Ryan Tedder
Label: Epic
Release Date: Feb. 25
The Fray’s fourth album is both its happiest and most adventurous yet. Primary producer Stuart Price infuses the 11-song set with plenty of contemporary sonics and dynamics, putting a new spark into tracks like “Closer to Me” and the funky “Give It Away,” as well as vocal showpiece “Wherever This Goes.” There’s still an abundance of the group’s trademark, keening earnestness in “Hold My Hand” and “Break Your Plans,” but even those are freshened by previously unexplored sonic textures and layers that add a little fire to “Helios.” -Gary Graff
FOLK
Angel Olsen
“Burn Your Fire for No Witness”
Producer: John Congleton
Label: Jagjaguwar
Release Date: Feb. 18
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Olsen, an indie folk singer with a voice of quicksilver and songs of brittle splendor, returns with her third album, and first for Jagjaguwar (Bon Iver, Dinosaur Jr.). With a live band putting muscle behind her lonesome, acoustic balladry, the 26-year-old cuts deeper than ever, sculpting tales of steely self-discovery. “If you don’t believe me, you can go ahead and laugh,” she sings on “Lights Out,” but after “Burn Your Fire for No Witness,” few will likely dare to doubt. -Reggie Ugwu
ALTERNATIVE
The Irrepressibles
“Nude: Viscera”
producer: Jamie Irrepressible
label: Naked Design Recordings
Release Date: Feb. 14
Somewhere between Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Antony & the Johnsons lurks this British 10-piece, fronted by the ever-dramatic Jamie Irrepressible. Their über-sensitive swooning aside, the band has gained a cult following thanks to “Two Men in Love,” a gay-wedding favorite. On “Nude: Viscera,” the second of an EP trilogy, aptly released on Valentine’s Day, the group again mines all sides of the heart, as Jamie builds from whisper to bellow on tracks that burn with yearning (“Not Mine”) and other more stripped-down, sexual numbers that hit below the pelvis (“Fucking Beautiful”). -Marisa Fox
ROCK
Benmont Tench
You Should Be So Lucky
Producer: Glyn Johns
Label: Blue Note
Release Date: Feb. 18
It’s little surprise that the solo debut from the Heartbreakers’ keyboardist of 37 years shares a vocal resemblance to Tom Petty, with elements of Bob Dylan and Warren Zevon thrown in. The 12-song set has a classic live-in-the-studio feel that’s best when Tench gets a bit punchy on such tracks as “Like the Sun (Michoan)” and “Today I Took Your Picture Down.” The gentle rumba of “Wobbles” pays a nice tribute to Professor Longhair. -Phil Gallo