Rife with moments of artfully sustained anticipation, Orchestras is one of Frisell's most accessible and virtuosic recordings.

The Other Side is one of T-Bone Burnett's warmest and most emotionally resonant works, and if it's less ambitious than the Invisible Light albums, it's a powerful example of what he does best as a songwriter, a vocalist, and a producer.

At times, the mood is so sustained that the album resembles one slowly evolving song. At its finest, though, Dream Talk is an alluring reminder of the power of visions and fantasies from a group that's mastered how to bring them to life.

Rose is arguably still at her best on the more intimate balladry, such as on album highlights "Dusty Frames," with its rippled, watery effects, and the brittlely resilient title track. Nothing here, though, is a misfire, as Rose deftly navigates these new approaches.

Dark Matter is streamlined and purposeful, never overstaying its welcome on either the ballads or rockers. While that can be a slight detriment with on the album's loudest number--combined, the sleek sound and concise compositions give the faintest suggestion of restraint--the efficiency is ultimately to the band's benefit, highlighting their empathetic interplay by pushing melodies and hooks to the forefront.

Tarantula Heart's five tracks contain more than an album's worth of weirdness and power. It's a wild ride, even for the Melvins, and further solidifies their status as seemingly invincible practitioners of heavy, messed-up music.

Ohio Players isn't the most frantic celebration the Black Keys have delivered, but more than enough of it will get your body moving that it qualifies as a success.

Rampen contrasts Neubauten's hard and soft sides, recalling the spontaneity and inventive instrumentation of their beginnings, but framing them in a more mature and hopeful perspective.

Our Brand Could Be Yr Life may not be the group's most exciting album (Endless Scroll) or their most immediate (Broken Equipment likely gets that nod), but it is the one fans are likely to go back to more often as it provides the richest, best-sounding release they've had so far.

The eponymous 2024 debut album from South African singer Tyla showcases her vibrant pop, R&B, Afrobeat, and rhythmic amapiano dance style.

Up on Gravity Hill is a significant step forward for a group that already was doing mighty work, and it suggests any number of places they could take their talents next. Anyone who doubts METZ are one of North America's best bands needs to hear Up on Gravity Hill and find out what they've been missing.

The album was produced by if i could make it go quiet's Matias Tellez (AURORA, Gracie Abrams), whose colorful, high-contrast approach bolsters the lyrical frankness of the onetime bedroom pop artist, who, true to her origins, keeps the ten-song set's playing time under 30 minutes.

Maggie Rogers embraces her creative and emotional independence on her third album, 2024's nervy and candid Don't Forget Me.

These tunes, as rendered, are far more complex in arrangement and presentation than they appear. Combined, they reveal the artist's pursuit of creative excellence as an aesthetic practice with a spiritual dimension.

One Deep River doesn't necessarily break new ground for Knopfler, but it does add a clutch of well-written, impeccably played songs to his canon.

It revisits familiar electro-pop territory while upping the anguish and explicit content. Essentially a set of danceable power ballads about people who get past the bouncer at the club ("You'll never f*ck somebody hotter"), it may have some cringy, bratty lyrics at first listen (catch also "Joyride"'s anthemically delivered "You were in my dreams/Now I’m in your bed"), but, supported by performances, the raw vulnerability is the point.

Artful cynicism comes easy to intelligent twenty-somethings, but in your mid- to late fifties, life's consequences add some depth to your perspective, and that's a big part of what makes Who Will You Believe so rich and rewarding.

Even though her lyrics can be a bit on-the-nose at times, she's always sincere, and her best songs are fully relatable. No one else is making jungle that's this introspective while staying true to the genre's sound system roots, sounding raw enough to ignite a rave yet catchy enough for the radio.

An album that is at times campy, earnestly romantic, and endlessly listenable. Part of the fun and endearing aspect of Gray's turn towards '80s Euro-pop is just how well he and his production partners captured the studio textures and anthemic energy of the genre.

If the individual songs don't quite differentiate themselves, that's not precisely a detriment, as King is on an explicit interior journey, ensuring that his music mimics his moods. He doesn't avoid darkness, but he chooses not to wallow, finding instead a measure of peace in the emotional expression itself.

While the Libertines still haven't fully seized the opportunity to define what they could be as veterans instead of upstarts, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade still sounds more like the product of a working band than Anthems for Doomed Youth did, and offers enough good and great moments to keep fans believing.

Bob and weave as he might, Harcourt never fails to land an emotional punch on El Magnifico.

Six years after Whack World, Whack has only grown more accomplished at contrasting brightly colored surfaces and what lies beneath them.

This is one creatively askew pop-R&B delight after another, all voiced with captivating and confident flair by a razor-sharp songwriter.

Even though they lighten the mood ever so slightly with "Lip Sync," a collage of detached vocals and lurching blasts that's the closest they've come to a pop song, every moment angeltape announces Drahla as a band worthy of far more attention.

Though there are a few more abstract pieces -- like the brief, scattered "Got Me" -- as a whole, The Sunset Violent focuses on impressionistic snapshots and daydream-like reflections. It's easily the most unified record Mount Kimbie has produced, especially in stark contrast to their previous effort.

Only God Was Above Us isn't just a great album in its own right -- it's one that enriches the understanding of Vampire Weekend's entire history.

Weaver's songs still sound beamed in from distant galaxies, but here she seems to be coming to grips with the feeling that love and loss are more universal than she thought, even when happening on planets far from Earth.