Counting Crows get buttery smooth, and one of the best pieces I’ve read all year.

Okkervil River returns, and let’s hear it for the poets!

A country trio welcomes you to their campfire, and one of the best hip-hop albums in recent memory takes hold.

Rhett Miller is “The Messenger,” and writers tackle vital topics.

Mt. Joy and Cautious Clay keep the week humming, and a moving spiritual elegy for DMX.

Esperanza Spalding traces a triangle, and beauty is in the eye of Ross Gay’s “Be Holding.”

Flock of Dimes weaves its spell, and poets stretch out across subject and form.