Protest the Hero is having fun with their creativity here, and Fortress is a better album for it.

It's his signature sound and Harps and Angels captures it sublimely, as the production--a co-credit to Newman's longtime associate Lenny Waronker and his latter-day producer Mitchell Froom--has no fancy accoutrements and he's written another set of quietly wonderful songs.

At their best, they're an overwhelming sonic force, and Diotima is their best album to date.

As an album, Empros shows Russian Circles bringing together everything they've done before into one complete package, compiling the lessons of albums past into one singular vision, and bringing it all together for a new vision of their future.

Present Tense isn't as flawless as Smother; it's slightly top-loaded, and occasionally the spare instrumentation borders on monotonous. Still, it's a compelling album that shows Wild Beasts can build on their breakthrough in satisfying and challenging ways.

The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint is provocative: its moodiness, myriad musical directions, and 79-minute length may be initially off-putting. What is revealed with repeated listening, however, is that this set's achievement is commensurate with its ambition.

Smart selections make this the best and handiest introduction to a group crucial to the development of industrial, post-punk, and dance music.

This set manages to be reverent to Waller's original recordings, but since facsimile was never the goal, it also manages to create a completely new veneer for them, and the end result is a marvelous tribute that still retains its own shape and coherency.

In the Orbit of Ra is close to essential for fans and a pretty good place to start for the curious Sun Ra novice. He really was writing music for the 21st century.

The end result is something unexpected: a compilation that makes us hear an artist we know well in a whole new way.

Leaps beyond predecessor Stomachaches, Parachutes benefits from its creator's inner turmoil, providing as much emotional support to Iero as it does to listeners with similar struggles.

What could have been a nostalgia grab is instead the triumph of a band that chose to deliver on the initial promise of their seminal debut, not only to their faithful fans, but, more importantly, to themselves.

It is rich and gorgeous, elegant because of its exacting nature, an aesthetic that suits the film to a T.

Kanye West grants taut, grimace-inducing beats, assisted infrequently by Mike Dean and Andrew Dawson, enabling Pusha to pack each one of the seven tracks with characteristically trenchant and terse rhymes. The lyrical focus is similarly laser-sharp.

Incorporating varied delivery and production, TA13OO taps into his established style, which combines aggressive trap with rapid-fire bars ("Sumo," "Super Saiyan Superman"), while also adding smoothed-out hip-hop atmosphere and patient vocal restraint ("Sirens," "Cash Maniac"), which was only hinted at on Imperial's throwback gem "Zenith." TA13OO is split into three sections--Light, Gray, and Dark--and delves into introspective self-examination and unflinching social commentary that tackles politics, sexual abuse, and mental health.

Simply put, (After) is another brave and beautiful document tracing how Elverum's sorrow and love continue to change shape.

The previously released portion of the compilation, significantly less than half of its 36 selections, all dates from 2010-2017, an era represented with Teebs and TOKiMONSTA's warped beatmaking, Daedelus' MPB-tinged folk, Martyn's pellet-spraying U.K. garage mutation, and disparate varieties of funk from Mono/Poly and bass god Thundercat. ... Among the other exclusives and glimpses officially issued first through this set are Thundercat's trippy "King of the Hill" (with BadBadNotGood), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson's sublime "Kazaru," and Moiré's Prescription-meets-Dial beauty "Lisbon," progressive slices of soul, jazz, and house.

Shah presents as a mystery wrapped in an enigma, when in reality she's just innately talented and resolute in her convictions. Unsurprisingly, the mesmerizing Kitchen Sink distills those two predilections into something that's both compelling and otherworldly.

Data Lords is a poignant and pointed jazz masterwork that adds weight and spiritual heft to our existential struggle.

On every track, Minus gives listeners a clear sense of her worldview and balances all the elements of her music with an organic sophistication remarkable for a debut album.

An R&B-rooted set that glows with elements of atmospheric house, spangly garage, and racing drum'n'bass. ... It's just as enthralling -- and empowered -- as any of the club tracks.

What's particularly enjoyable about Mehldau's approach is how he keeps each song recognizable while making it his own.

He is a gifted songwriter and musician who delivers his art as public therapy. At some point, though, it would be refreshing to hear Christinzio sing about something other than his own turmoil.

The music is lush, advanced, and welcoming, and comes off without a trace of bloat or conceit. This is easily a top pick for best albums of 2023.

He's explicitly treating country music as a genre that evolves, one that can encompass all manners of stories by building upon what's already been laid at the foundation. With its empathetic heart and kinetic kick, Rustin' in the Rain illustrates how vibrant and vital that idea can be.

The album isn't designed for short attention spans or playlists but as a holistic experience that rewards committed listening with a mind-blowing sonic saga that rages, challenges, and changes more times than can be counted.

As focused as it is ambitious, Boxeris riveting.

Simultaneously sad, strange, and warmly nostalgic, Some Rap Songs is excitingly listenable and emotionally connected despite its abstruse approach. The album's triumphs are in its fearless risk taking and the insight it allows into the journey of Earl Sweatshirt's constant creative regeneration.

That quarter-century span should be a tip-off that this is not a lean, coherent, purposeful album, but rather a collection of every listenable thing Otis completed over the course of 25 years, and in that sense, it's pretty good.

It's crowded, confusing, ridiculous music, but despite its scary intentions, the album's renegade production and impressive performances make it more exciting than frightening.

Reflection doesn't quite have the shock of the new that For You and I did, but its best moments are still powerful, and it would be impossible to mistake the album for anyone else's perspective.

The songs are honest, deep, and direct, but never heavy-handed. Mostly, The Candle and the Flame finds Forster taking stock of his long and storied life, and grasping at some of the many moments of love and beauty he experienced along the way.

Listening to Good and Green Again is like visiting a warm little den where the songs of yesteryear spend an easy hour catching up on the news of the present. His is a peculiar gift, but one he's learned how to use to great effect.

This is music ripped from one man's heart and soul, and if it sometimes makes you uncomfortable, that means Wovenhand have done their job well.

From years six through ten, Hyperdub has remained as reliable and forward-thinking as it was during its first five years.

It sounds exactly how an underground sensation's breakthrough album should: bigger and tighter than their earlier material, but not so polished that it will scare away longtime fans.

Popular Problems reveals that at 80, Cohen not only has plenty left, but is on top of his game.

The overall effect of Ravedeath, 1972 is a balance between sheer sonic wooziness and a focused sense of construction; nothing seems wholly random in each song's development even as the feeling can be increasingly disorienting.

To say this album is a return to form wouldn't be quite correct. It's an extension of it.

American Dream isn't just a triumphant comeback, it's another great album by a great band.

This might not necessarily qualify as an archival record filled with unexpected revelations, but it is filled with wonderful music that deepens appreciation of Bowie's first great blast of creativity. Needless to say, any true fan needs it in their collection...

Their brightest, most accessible album to date... the band is absolutely brimming with confidence and vitality.

The Wind feels less like a grand final statement of Warren Zevon's career than one last walk around the field, with the star nodding to his pals, offering a last look at what he does best, and quietly but firmly leaving listeners convinced that he exits the game with no shame and no regrets.

It isn't often that one finds an American artist with such a mastery of collage technique and a desire to incorporate traditional folk instruments and melodies.

Once again Cee-Lo has recorded a peerless album, except this time he's recorded one that should connect, or at least deserves to.

While this LP might seem like a present custom made for expectant deep-listening fans who have grown with the makers, it's plainly evident that Phonte and Pooh needed to make it for themselves. Like the return from their idolized A Tribe Called Quest, May the Lord Watch strengthens a legacy of an act crucial to hip-hop.

Yet another emotional roller coaster, this is the Avalanches' longest one yet.

Even though Punk might not be the pop explosion that Pink was, it's a well-rounded album that capitalizes on the band's imagination and capacity for experimentation while blending the sounds more organically. Plus, it's more fun than just about anything else going on in the late 2010s and that alone makes the record and the band worth checking out and falling (and staying madly) in love with.

Tour de force might be too weighty a term for an album so seemingly effortless, but from its unhurried flow to its wealth of songs, Far In is a glorious showcase for all the aspects of Helado Negro's music.

On All We Know, PVRIS take a crucial step on the right course toward finding their own trademark sound.

Landes is ready and willing to create her own spin on classic country, winding up with a generous and clever gem.

Even at its most bizarre and feral, Pick a Day to Die conveys a sense of positivity and excitement as the collective remains in the constant state of rediscovering themselves that they've made their life's work.

Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden's collision of styles, genres, and individual and group voices are not only welcome, but essential to the process of Roberts engendering dialogue, celebrating difference, and communicating emotions, psychologies, and cultures, all testifying to the import and cultural and artistic achievement of her evolving project.

Madres deals with serious subject matter, but ultimately it's an abundantly thankful, joyous, and celebratory record.

The 18 songs on the album are all in the heavily layered, chamber-hardcore style established on Chemistry of Common Life, but Fucked Up is taking the idea to the furthest reaches, and somehow pulling it off.

Tell Tale Signs feels like a new Bob Dylan record, not only for the astonishing freshness of the material, but also for the incredible sound quality and organic feeling of everything here.

It's a near flawless collection of dreamy vibes, shifting moods, and movement, and stands easily as Granduciel's finest hour so far.

The creation of Blue Rev may have been beset with trial and tribulation but the result is a heavenly indie pop hit guaranteed to make their already besotted fans fall even more head over heels in love with the band.

The quality control isn't quite as tight. Some songs meander long after making their point. A greater position of the sequence, however, is filled with indestructible art that consoles, challenges, and invigorates with gospel, doo wop, highlife, psychedelicized garage rock, dub, and post-punk funk all filtered with uncommon aptitude through vintage outsider soul. Highlights are abundant.

The style/substance balance is a difficult one to negotiate -- "Whip Cracker" transitions from upstart energy to Daft Punk-ery with minimal grace, while flecks of futuristic dance don't quite land on "I Don't See Colour" -- but for the large part, Owusu is a blessing to his genres, gifting them with his vivid personality and potent narrative threads.

They know exactly what they're doing, and the risks they take result in a debut album that brings a fresh energy to post-punk that's equally challenging and rewarding.

An utterly exhausting but consistently thrilling listen, L'Enfant Sauvage is arguably a career best which suggests Gojira have found their spiritual home.

The anger and disillusionment on Algiers' debut were expressed through its raw, unhinged mix. Here, while their outlook is overall less tolerant, it's voiced with more atmospheric control.

Another spectacular audio document of an enormously creative period for underground music.

Ayewa's poetry soars above the band, whose attack offers ancient-to-the-future sound narratives; they cross blues, free jazz, Caribbean grooves, and Afro-Latin folk with a universe of African rhythms. Open the Gates is a statement. It authoritatively signifies militant creativity as the only real language for expressing liberation and wisdom.

Equally rich and effortless, Gold Record is especially satisfying for longtime fans as part of a bounty of great work from Callahan since his return, but there's plenty here to delight anyone who loves brilliant songwriting and down-to-earth performances.

Delivering on the promise of her industry-shaking debut with confidence and grace, Happier Than Ever has the markings of a big career moment, one that signals artistic growth and hints at even more greatness to come.

more thought-through and sounds more honed [than her 2018 mixtape Last Day Of Summer].

All at Once is just as clever, impassioned, and purposeful as we've come to expect from this band, and it's a truly rewarding listen.

Throughout these songs, Taylor's lyrics and the grain in his voice reveal that, whatever truths there are in these songs, they come from antiquity, and the land itself, which is an extension of the divine.

His musical language has evolved into a sound that is not only ambitious, but instantly recognizable.

They stay true to the genre's penchant for loud/quiet/loud posturing, on-the-nose emotional cues, and strategically placed breakdowns throughout, but they do so while flexing some significant creative muscle.

It's fair to say that Been Around out-performs her excellent debut, both in terms of composition and execution, making it a release well worth the wait.

The first Get Up Sequence showed that the Go! Team was firmly back on the course they embarked on with Thunder, Lightning, Strike; the second might just be its equal. It certainly has the right sound, the right songs, and the same sense of bonkers experimentalism and life-affirming spirit to be at least in the running.

The mix never seems to have a specific direction in mind; what's more important is the fact that the energy is kept up throughout, as well as the level of anticipation.

By initially connecting at this gut emotional level, There Is No Other invites the repeated listens required to discover all of its mysteries but Giddens and Turrisi are by no means offering solutions: the more There Is No Other reveals, the more it becomes apparent that its depths are fathomless.

While it's not quite as immediate as the Snatch soundtrack or as groundbreaking as the Dust Brothers' Fight Club score, Ocean's 11 is a tight, kinetic collection of film music that's just as enjoyable outside of the movie's context.

This is a remarkable album; it sets a new water mark for Frisell's sense of adventure and taste, and displays his perception of beauty in a pronounced, uncompromising, yet wholly accessible way.

The collection is both definitive and diverse.

The Convincer is a laid-back record that simply feels good.

This album is a high-water mark for an already impressive artist, and essential listening for anyone versed in abstract pop.

Altogether, Central City is a total riot and fun as hell, the culmination of years of grinding and fighting to place New Orleans bounce on an even larger stage.

untitled unmastered. is no mere offcut dump. It's as vital as anything else its maker has released.

Though some fans wishing it were still 2008 may disagree, most fans will embrace Whitechapel's new progression as natural, necessary, and welcome.

Nearly 20 years on, Destroyer is still as surprising and inspired as ever.

When the Heart Emerges is a breakthrough jazz album that reminds us that in this music, listening closely is of equal importance to speaking out. Akinmusire excels at both.

Sharp, direct, and fluid in a way that's almost supernatural, Sick! perfectly conveys the duality of frustration and drive to persevere that arises from living through exceptionally difficult times.

An utterly mesmerizing and magnetic album, almost unfair in how incredibly ambitious and impressively pulled off the whole thing is.

Shaking the Habitual isn't as cohesive or accessible as Silent Shout, and after experiencing the whole thing, fans may not return to it often, but it's hard to deny that it's an often stunning work of art.

Broken Gargoyles is yet another tremendous work from one of the most singular, incomparable artists of her era.

Although Young is correct when he claims Hitchhiker is a "complete piece"--it sustains a dusky sweetness from beginning to an end--it is certainly not a polished album. Often, it feels as if Young is singing with no intention of his music being heard by a wider audience, but the presence of Briggs at the board means this doesn't sound like a ragged demo. Instead, Hitchhiker holds together as a mood piece.

Once again, Spoon show there's still plenty of mystery left in classic sounds, and they're still experts at revealing it.

For all its dimensions and progress, the album is simultaneously designed to ensure that devoted fans will feel the wait was worth it.

The mix is somehow both spacious and full, with each instrument clearly audible at all times, yet making up one part of a majestic whole. This is a great psychedelic hard rock album, only occasionally returning to the sludgy metal of Kylesa's early releases.

Liv.e's growth as an artist has been remarkable, and the vivid self-portrait Girl in the Half Pearl is her most impressive work so far.

The Agent Intellect is an album that challenges both the mind and the body; if you're looking for further confirmation that Protomartyr are one of the smartest and toughest bands of their day, this album is what you need.

An absurdly emotional, innovative album.

This recording seems a vital one, and time will tell if the musical is a watershed in big-budget musical theater.