The bottom line is that Kalak is a musical manifesto of South Indian futurism. It stands out from the ideologies, prejudices, and cultural conceits of the West, offering an instructive, wildly diverse aesthetic approach that demands to be observed, critiqued, and celebrated on its own terms.

By not forcing Redcar's music into a pop template when it doesn't fit, the album reaffirms him as a resolutely independent artist and makes another fine addition to a nearly flawless discography.

It's enjoyable enough that it takes a minute to realize that Springsteen and Aniello aren't exactly re-interpreting these 15 songs: they're merely playing them for a lark. That's enough for a good time but once Only the Strong Survive fades out with the last notes of "Someday We'll Be Together," there's not much that lingers behind in the memory.

The Work is Gold Panda's most honest, emotionally direct release.

Pigments is not necessarily built for movement, but it's as moving as any of Richard's previous output. No other album is quite like it.

The closest thing here to a track that one could imagine being played through speakers instead of headphones is "Where to Put the Pain," which fashions a skittering ambient pop still very much in line with the rest of the album's design, for a set that's very unlikely to disappoint established fans.

Apart from "Zone 1 (24 Hours)," the selections are generally brief and concise, and the shortest ones sometimes feel like sketches that could've been developed further. Still, the techno side of Mount Kimbie is just as creative as the pop/R&B/hip-hop side, and both halves of MK 3.5 contain several gems.

Throughout the album, dal Forno reveals many intimate thoughts but still suggests much more.

Rarely deviating from a mix of elation and stupefaction, Cometa doesn't have the range of emotions examined on Green Twins and Will This Make Me Good, but frayed-nerve howls, phrases of distress -- anything other than loved-up susurration -- would have disturbed the groove.

The whole album is something of a surprise and the band make it work by wisely exploring both sides of the disco coin. Thanks to the care they put into the sound and the strength of the songs, they pull off their latest transformation smoothly.

While Where I'm Meant to Be is a logical follow-up to Ezra Collective's debut, it's a soulful, musically advanced, rhythmically infectious one, too.

Phoenix's most immediate work since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and their most varied since United, Alpha Zulu does indeed range from A to Z, but the band are always in control and the results are frequently brilliant.

It doesn't hurt that these moments of unfiltered introspection are matched with infectious, uplifting melodies. Working with longtime executive producer Malay (Lorde, Frank Ocean), as well as collaborators like Jennifer Decilveo and Jesse Shatkin, among others, Fletcher coalesces all of the atmospheric vaporwave and clubby electro-pop that marked her previous work.

Pawns & Kings adds another reliable and tightly crafted volume to Alter Bridge's robust canon.

Fields sings everything with the expected high level of conviction, covering nearly the gamut of blue-collar soul subjects with devotion and heartache at the fore. His performances elevate the material when it's merely functional.

Protector comes across as less lonesome than her debut, though the hushed mystique that is one of her hallmarks remains.

Ultra Truth is easily one of Avery's most powerful releases.

They approached the sessions with the idea of capturing the feel of "an old rock song from the '80s," specifically along the lines of Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Hall & Oates. Where the album really succeeds in this regard is in its strong, economical melodies and a certain warm, bittersweet depth to the songwriting.

By the end, the album both feels like an inevitable destination from prior albums and represents an excellent entry point for the uninitiated.

Entergalactic is a late-era gem in his catalog, a multimedia gift to fans that expands his artistic scope and bodes well for more projects outside the confines of music.

No one who is a fan of Haines' previous work is likely to be disappointed with All the Kids Are Super Bummed Out, and he's fortunate to have found a collaborator in Peter Buck, who makes music as strong, idiosyncratic, and witty as the lyrics they support.

All told, it's a delight to hear that, over 20 years into Lewis and Best's partnership, they are pushing their recognizable but rarely formulaic sound into fresh territory.

With the exception of the over-five-minute, tempo-shifting "Empty Head," the songs here are still short and bittersweet and still distinctly Frankie Cosmos, but there's a little less bounce in their gait and more weight to them on the whole, as Kline negotiates self-examination, affection, regret, and apprehension.

Weather Alive nestles into a comparatively hushed, atmospheric blend of acoustic and electronic timbres that's meticulous and nebulous at once.

A concise, direct statement about how the world has shaped him, Hugo is Loyle Carner's most accomplished work to date.

While much of Willow's charm lies in the way she can switch genres with ease, Coping Mechanism is so engaging that it'd be nice for her to stick to this sound for at least one more album before continuing her ever-riveting evolution.

Ultimately It's Only Me sticks to the formula that's taken Lil Baby to the top, but somehow fails to communicate the personality and creative fire that was hard to miss on earlier albums.

King Gizzard are never less than compelling and even when their concepts are modest, they deliver a final product that's psychedelic pop/rock/funk/soul/prog/what have you at it's very best.

Returning after a five-year studio hiatus (ages in the Hitchcock discography), the esteemed sorcerer of pop surrealism delivers a more than worthy successor to his acclaimed 2017 self-titled effort.

Understated and enveloping.

Incredible songs like "Dusted" and "Kisses to the Crying Cooks" from the Fast Japanese Spin Cycle EP don't make the final cut. Despite these omissions, the compilation does a good job of weeding out the filler, and exists as an annex of even more fleetingly amazing songwriting from GbV's defining era.

Her charm holds together The Loneliest Time's whirlwind of daydreams, confessions, and decades of pop allusions, making it another strong album from an artist who knows her niche and how to grow beyond it. At its best, it's pop written by and for those who dream of something, and someone, real.

Turner seems to be angling for atmosphere, not hooks, with his melodies. The free-floating croon helps The Car amiably drift in space but it also highlights how the record could use a couple of elements to bring it back to earth.

Although this monochromatic palette tends to highlight the limits of co-producer Jack Antonoff's bag of tricks -- nothing here feels surprising, even when he's playing with textures and teasing out the music's dream-pop elements -- the narrow focus is the main attributes of Midnights, as it plays to Swift's sense of control and craft: she may be singing about messy emotions but she sculpts those tangled feelings into shimmering, resonant songs.

The sleekness calls to mind the Strokes, as does the guitar interplay. It's definitely an avenue the band might want to explore more if they get tired of unhinged rock & roll. Not that they needed to change; they could keep putting out records like this -- filled with energy and a tiny bit of polish -- and it would be a long time until the Murlocs got stale.

Only Built for Infinity Links is an energetic, fun, and multifaceted project from Migos members Quavo and Takeoff that stays lively and keeps away from the type of filler that can drag down mainstream rap albums and mixtapes.

The reliably uncompromising Omens includes some of the band's heaviest and most apoplectic works to date, with highlights arriving via the pummeling "Nevermore" and "Greyscale," and the unrelenting title cut.

YG's bouncing between styles gives I Got Issues a scattered flow that pushes the best tracks to the forefront and makes the weaker material feel all the more tedious.

Direction of the Heart is an album by a band that still has something to prove. They deliver big. Without forsaking their core sound, they offer listeners energized, anthemic, poignant, electro-charged rock & roll.

The Watkins Family Hour tackles a number of different emotions, winding up with a record that's simultaneously casual and deep, a testament to the power of community arriving at an hour where such bonds are often tested.

"The Other Ones" is out of place for its melodramatic decluttering of baggage, but the trio of "Pieces," "I Don't Love You Like I Used To," and "Home" come across as wholly heartfelt, respectively striking a rare balance of numbness and hope, expressing total devotion, and turning on the (ocular) waterworks. Legend is at his best when entertainment isn't his objective.

Steady never feels rote -- these guys are in love with rock & roll, and their joy and passion is never far from the surface. If a new band made an album this good and joyously pleasing, they'd be hailed as heroes, and don't let the fact Sloan are grizzled veterans keep you from celebrating Steady on a regular basis.

Oh Death is the kind of uneasy listening record guaranteed to clear the faint of heart out of the room while peaking the interest of anyone not scared to dip a toe into dark and ugly psychedelic music. It may not be pretty and it may not always be nice, but it's always thrilling and might just be the band's best record to date.

It takes them to some different places, but the destinations are still quite satisfying, and this is a brave, compelling, and surprisingly moving set of songs. They seem to be glad to be making this music, and we can only be glad they've chosen to share it with us.

It's mature music played with the energy and passion of youth, full of experience and tenderness but never complacent. It's no wonder that the band have inspired so much devotion since they have never lost the inspiration behind their music and Crybaby is one more shining example of that.

Hearing Dry Cleaning's words and music travel in different ways to the same destination remains fascinating, and the ways they open up their music on Stumpwork with warmth, sensuality, and humor reveal their originality even more fully.

There's nothing sensationalist about the album's most brutal lyrics, and they're balanced out by the record's sly sense of humor and casually innovative production.

What's here sounds fine, but it's nothing revelatory, and there aren't any sections that tap into some sort of divine inspiration. This may as well just be a bootleg recording of a dress rehearsal, certainly of interest to fans, but not one of Can's essential releases.

Arriving after such a long hiatus and during a period of global tumult, Broudie's sweet melodicism and gentle vibes are more welcome than ever on this appealing return to form.

As good as OFF!'s previous releases were, they (in classic hardcore style) sounded like they were produced in hit-and-run style, with the band cutting them live with minimal overdubs. Free LSD, on the other hand, aims to be something more; in its intensity and vision, it succeeds, and it's a gloriously weird triumph.

It's impressive how purposefully murky the band can make this music feel when you notice that the tracks are actually pretty coherent, with imaginative layers of sound working in support of the songs, and the passage of time hasn't robbed them of their spirit or significantly bent vision. Apocalypse Love is as weird as it wants to be, and coming from this band, that's always welcome.

Regret, longing, and grief fill the other songs, but Lusk's soaring, whole-hearted articulations of hope and reassurance prevent this transfixing half-album from being an unqualified downer.

Filled with casually brilliant moments, Component System with the Auto Reverse is easily one of Open Mike Eagle's most enjoyable efforts.

Even if The Will to Live ultimately proves the old adage that you can't will a masterpiece into existence, what's here is the work of a great band with a fine songwriter giving their all in the studio and playing at the top of their game, and that makes it a great listen, if not quite an example of Ultimate Rock.

On The Bible, Kurt Wagner bravely steps into new territory both musically and lyrically, and it's a beautiful and frequently moving experience.

Lo is maturing but holding onto the most important parts of herself. Dirt Femme gives the confessional, sexual, and danceable sides of her music equal time and offers a fuller portrait of her music than we've heard before.

With Being Funny in a Foreign Language, Healy and the 1975 do seem to have matured, confidently jumping off the ropes and back into the center of the pop music ring.

Like its sibling Unlimited Love, Return of the Dream Canteen benefits from the positive energy of these four friends just having fun in the studio, and is designed for listeners to plug in and bliss out without any expectations of mainstream-ready fare.

King Gizzard are restless and brilliant and listeners must follow everything they do like a hawk because they might unleash something classic, just like they did with Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.

With ¡Ay!, Dalt succeeds at constructing and exploring an elaborate sound world that resembles a surreal reflection of her past.

While some of the record's lyrics are lost in ambiance, Ballentine's ethereal vocals are a key component of an artful sound design that, like a movie, is optimized in its full-length context.

One of Eno's most sobering releases, FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE is a cautious reflection on the state of our planet and its future.

Nymph isn't exactly the type of album full of bangers that one might have previously expected from Shygirl, but it reveals a greater depth to her personality, and it's consistently inventive and awe-inspiring.

A like-minded, generally uplifting, uptempo set (this time comprising a still generous 12 songs).

Well-sequenced and brimming with heartfelt energy, Capricorn Sun is an inspired effort.

Although Sparke thrives in quieter surroundings, her voice is capable of commanding this more confrontational material, if made slightly less distinctive in the process.

CHAOS NOW* is defined not just by Dawson's genre hopscotching, but by how he manages to make every new style he inhabits his own. His music has always been a little all over the place, and with the increasingly strong songwriting showcased here, it becomes clear that being all over the place is the entire point of Dawson's restless artistry.

Tableau is definitely the work of a young band growing and exploring, looking for new territory to explore, new feelings to delve into, and exciting sounds to dig into.

Strange is a rare talent with a multi-tooled approach that encompasses thoughtful songwriting, surprising arrangements, and a sonically layered production aesthetic that feels both original and understated.

As bleak as In Amber can be, it's as thrilling to hear such unguarded yet exquisitely crafted confessions from Hercules & Love Affair as it was to have them transport listeners to dance floor nirvana.

With Empire Central, Snarky Puppy transform the Dallas music and culture that inspired them into a tangible listening experience.

Though Loose Future lacks a bit of the grand-scale drama of Honest Life and Old Flowers, it's full of well-crafted songs performed with the skill and passion they deserve, and it's another worthy album from a songwriter who only gets better as she matures.

If Forever Blue was a great debut, As the Moon Rests is a very good follow-up, and leaves no doubt that A.A. Williams is a remarkable talent who is still honoring her singular vision.

Too many of these melodies are similar enough that they're indistinguishable from one another. On balance, jams such as "Outer Heaven," "Impermanence," and "Vendetta X" solidly reveal that this band still has plenty of creative dazzle left in the tank.

It may be a bit disjointed, but Into the Blue offers enough thoughtful songwriting and creative sonics to suggest Broken Bells has matured into the pleasantly offbeat side project it was always meant to be.

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.

Revitalized, Bush is reborn with The Art of Survival, an essential late-catalog installment that re-energizes their sound with fresh tricks and newfound purpose.

Charlie offers hope to both the singer and to sympathetic listeners, closing this very relatable chapter of his life with optimism hard-won through this catchy pop package.

The last time Suede sounded this muscular and urgent they were still in the process of discovering themselves. Here, the quintet know how to deploy not just their strengths but their distinctive blend of nervy post-punk, overheated glam, and yearning poetry to make an album that sounds full, complete, and utterly alive.

The End, So Far may not be a home run, but it proves that the band are still in it to win it, even if they're playing the long game.

Throughout the album, Dungen try new things without getting caught up in the excitement of changing their sound, successfully evolving rather than merely throwing random ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks.

From the cumbia-inspired opener, "Blacklight Shine," and the skittering "Flash Burns from Flashbacks" to the power ballad "Vigil," the veteran band sound confident and invigorated, adding another surprising chapter to a consistently eclectic career.

This is Sherwood's album more than Andy's, experimenting wildly with his dub mixes with all the abandon of an excitable kid at recess. This willingness to go off the deep end makes Midnight Scorchers an enjoyable ride, but it's not quite the essential listen that the original album was.

As dense as the mix gets, it never suffocates, and all of the instruments are allowed to breathe easily. Shebang is an inventive, vibrant work that constantly surprises and uplifts.

The Bordeaux Concert is not for the Jarrett beginner, but for seasoned fans of his many solo recordings, that are, after all, responsible for a sizeable portion of his legendary reputation. The dialogue he engages in with the piano here challenges its own assertions with an unassuming, even reverential authority. This is not only masterful, it soulful, interrogatory, and virtuosic.

They may never lose all their restlessness -- nor should they -- but it's undeniable that Cool It Down is one of their most consistent albums.

The cooperative spirit, the canny interplay, the imaginative, boundary-less compositions and solos, and the dedication and sophistication to make music -- no matter how difficult or wide-ranging -- make The Bad Plus at once compelling and compulsively listenable.

The Badu influence on Lennox hasn't been clearer, but the song ["POF"] is also a showcase for some of Lennox's most striking vocals and her strongest, pithiest writing -- singular qualities that remain throughout the album.

Grander in scope than Gibbs' rightly praised single-producer efforts, $oul $old $eparately is nearly as consistent, as the project is driven by his unyielding focus.

Doggerel pushes the boundaries of what a Pixies album can be, but not aggressively -- quite the opposite, in fact. The peaks may not be quite as high as they were on Beneath the Eyrie, but it's still a lot of fun to hear the band's reinvention.

On this soul-nourishing tour de force, her one-of-a-kind mix of innovation and emotion is as inspiring as it's ever been over her decades-long career.

While 50 offers a fitting tribute on the occasion of Neu!'s first recordings reaching the half-century milestone, more than anything it reminds us that there's never a bad time to listen to Neu!

Though Pye Corner Audio didn't necessarily need make such a drastic change, Jenkins pulls it off brilliantly, and Let's Emerge! celebrates the beauty of his music like never before.

Ocean offers a document of spontaneously created music-making of a very high order. A snapshot of a moment in time, the energy, creativity, and surprise offered here are a delight.

Game tends to overreach with his mix of the referential and the personal. When there's less obvious effort, the results are favorable, as on the Kanye West collaboration "Eazy," containing some of Game's best lyrics, illustrating the contrast between his upbringing and his ascendancy.

I Ran Down Every Dream arrived when McLain was 82 years old, and if it's not likely to be as big a hit as "Sweet Dreams," it sets the record straight that he was and remains an artist well worth knowing.

Some tracks work better than others, but the album ends on an impressive note with the open, ringing distortion of "Or Head On."

NAV reveals feelings of vulnerability and loneliness on some tracks, while concentrating on jewelry, money, and fame on the more club-ready songs.