As it stands, this one just squeaks by on the power of some very good songs and their typically energetic performances.

Ganser's lyrics stick close to themes of dread, tension, and uneasiness, and every song finds a slightly different musical avenue to get to the heart of those heavy feelings. In this way, Just Look at That Sky manages to be engaging without losing cohesion, anchoring its various chaotic instrumental approaches to a dismal emotional core.

Ask a Yelawolf regular for a listener's guide then split apart this purposeful beast accordingly.

Keem is a necessary, forward-thinking presence in the rap zeitgeist -- but The Melodic Blue is a set of variables and experiments, not the game-changer he's capable of producing.

The new Puppets are a surprisingly heavy, hard-rocking outfit, turning in one of the loudest records in the group's catalog. It's also one of the best-produced, boasting a thick, full, shiny sound.

A Brief Crack of Light shows signs that Therapy? are capable of restoring their former glories, but its overall uncompromising attitude suggests they'll continue to remain a cult moshpit-inducing force for now.

Apart from two minor issues, the Answer has the right sound and feel on Everyday Demons and that does make them the perfect opener for latter day AC/DC: they work as pleasant appetizer for the main course.

Established fans will likely welcome the new developments; it's not a shift in style so much as in attitude, and her relatable introspection is in full force, just at a different stage--still searching but looking toward the light.

Landreth and Field bring out the best in one another. They are symbiotic in their restless energies and experimental visions, and have consistently delivered excellence together; Blacktop Run is no exception.

Just Who I Am just manages from sinking into adult contemporary murk, even if it's hard to shake the feeling that Chesney is spending too much time acting how his audience expects him to be instead of just being who he is.

It's a breezier listen than its predecessor, but the Voidz's willingness to try anything--whether it works or not--still might be too much for all but their most die-hard fans.

The most compelling moments on McCartney III Imagined arrive when artists cut their own version of one of the album's tracks: Phoebe Bridgers finding the sweet, spectral pulse on "Seize the Day," Beck singing along to his funkified version of "Find My Way," and Josh Homme treating "Lavatory Lil" like a Desert Sessions jam. These moments help elevate McCartney III Imagined into something a little more than a curio.

Harking back to the glory days of late-'80s acid-house, it's heavy on dark club jams that work around a simplistic sample with diva theatrics and rapper freestyles. As such, most of these tracks work much better on the dancefloor than the living room.

By emphasizing melody and feel over art and angst, Lambert's come up with a debut that goes down quite smoothly.

Compared to You Are Not Alone and One True Vine, the quality of the material is more variable.

Classic embryonic vocalic beauty from Geike Arnaert still carries the translucence of the band's signature ethereality, and shines as hard as she did on the band's previous releases. However, musical composition on songs such as "Pink Fluffy Dinosaurs" and "Frosted Flake Wood" are more intricate and sonically defined.

Its glassy, placid groove isn't a reflection of his blandness, but how Sheeran knows that this is the sound that defines global pop in 2019.

While they have many good ideas, sometimes they have too many good ideas at once and end up gilding the lily (or putting a blue fake fur mustache on it, as the case may be).

Adopts a fuller, more polished sound than her earlier work, but her songwriting is just as innocent and heartfelt-sounding as ever.

The compilation was offered on CD in three-disc and one-disc sets. The latter is more like a sampler with no discernible method to the selection process, and those who take that option will miss out on the Clarke and Wilder mixes, as well as numerous highlights.

Four or five less tracks and a little less time spent extrapolating on the end of the world would have made for a far more engaging listen, even taking into consideration how rare new material from Busta Rhymes can be in this phase of his work.

He has a true knack for rhyming about the dangers of the West Coast.

Those speedy songs ["You and Me" and "Go Away My Lover"] are the exception on this album, not the rule, but they're still the highlight, balancing Ziman's ruminations on a love gone wrong with something much brighter.

Those days are far enough in the past to make this entire MTV Unplugged an exercise in nostalgia, a sentiment underscored by the rose-colored solo song "Once," but Liam is still in fine form, making this record an endearing and entertaining listen for anybody who shares fond memories of the glory days of Cool Britannia.

Short for "good night," GN is hardly bedside reading material, full of tales of life trials, some personal, some harrowing, some both. Its musical warmth and unassuming tone, though, may be just the thing for those seeking a melodious, soft-focus diversion.

Para Mi renders some of the best elements of his songwriting into more accessible forms. Removing the layers of fuzz leaves Cuco's multi-colored songwriting in clear view, revealing an artist still finding his way. This can make for moments of awkwardness, but it also brings his endearing vulnerabilities to the forefront.

Unfortunately, the album doesn't quite measure up to its hype and should disappoint those expecting Ludacris to top his past successes.

Arriving the same year as the quasi-concept LP Migration Stories, Think of Spring, with its lo-fi esthetic and ambling gait, is compelling at times but feels more like a lark than a passion project.