From the opening drum breaks of "Black Moon Rising," a sinister slice of psychedelic R&B, the LP ignites as one long, slow burn.

If it feels like throwing styles against the wall, it's a testament to Privott, guitarist John Courtney, drummer Damien Llanes, bassist Megan Hartman, and keyboardist Natalie Wright that almost all of it sticks.

Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest's entirely acoustic arrangement harks to a catalog defined by stillness and moments of quiet revelation.

George Strait, 66, continues to churn out reliably mediocre albums guaranteed to top the country charts.

A few latter-half tracks become saccharine, at times bordering on the generic, but reverb-imbued closer "Bothering" redeems the album with simplicity and ends Drastic Measures on a retrospective, reaching note.

Far from A Far Cry From Dead, that polished product of posthumous overkill from the tail end of the millennium, Sky Blue allows the songs of Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997) to sit and breathe free from distraction or "Squash." Nothing ventured, plenty gained.

Wrapping in just under an hour, this ultra tight-knit collection telegraphs timelessness in story and song, a lasting chronicle rooted in folk tradition that sits among Griffin's best work.

Across 16 tracks, the 64-year-old Virginia native and his ace band largely play it straight, and the album leaps with energy and celebration.

Back to basics, Side Effects draws a dynamic through line to White Denim's jittery origins.

Ellis remains brilliantly elusive, torquing songs in unexpected directions.

Hayes Carll may forever swing between his impulses, but he's come to fully embrace What It Is.

This Land runs as a philosophical course correction, as a truer start on his path forward.

From quirky ("Needle Click") and Zen ("Chamber Lightness") to dystopian ("Kites III"), Music for Installations surveys Eno's myriad musical personalities, but what rationalizes the hefty price tag is an oversized art book. Packed with rare photos and a new essay, the book captures its subject's most ephemeral work in images that will be new to even the biggest fans. It's basically coffeetable porn for ambient music nerds.

More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 also validates Bob's brother's urging to scrap and drastically rerecord five songs last minute. It's all especially enlightening if you have the blood and guts to listen to the collection in one sitting.

Original remixes are collected as Dance, though non-album singles, edits, B-sides, and soundtrack inclusions collected as Re:Call 4 deliver a stronger curio, including the gloomy "This Is Not America" with the Pat Metheny Group and a soft rock remix of "Loving the Alien."

Sample and/or revisit the blitzkrieg roots rock of his first band, the 101'ers; the world music fusion of his final band, the Mescaleros; the Johnny Cash duet of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," one of Strummer's final recordings; and some of the blues and country pastiches pseudonymously written for Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy soundtrack. Most interesting is the unreleased track "London Is Burning," a Mescaleros attempt at chronicling a UK--through pronounced Clashness--that eerily resembles 2018 America.

The Black Velvet LP features a collection of unreleased gems ("Can't Fight the Feeling," "Fly Little Girl"), covers (Nirvana's "Stay Away," Neil Young's "Heart of Gold"), choice rarities ("Luv Jones"), and alternate takes ("Victim of Love").

The music remained classic rock with the "& roll" restored. Comparatively, the surrounding tunes on the radio were pandering nonsense. An American Treasure demonstrates everything we're missing with Tom Petty's absence. The loss is profound.

Though repetition of "Losing My Religion" and "Man on the Moon" exhaust, there's a mighty pop to R.E.M. at the BBC.

Combative and hostile even 30 years later, ... And Justice For All delivers exactly what its title promises.

The percussive snap and enhanced reverb on "Yer Blues" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" make the songs all the more blistering, but overall, any flourishes are carefully considered. Better still, the true revelations occur after the familiar first 94 minutes are up.

The country sovereign's immaculate phrasing, sincere handling of the songbook, and experienced vocal feel on the material find enough spectacular moments worth revisiting.

Dying Star fills with gems, even as Kelly remains somewhat elusive.

If the midpoint between The Future and the Past is modernity, Natalie Prass nails it.

The entire production is clever and suave, with effervescent female backing vox, even as the backside ranges more adventurous with the low-down "Bad Boys Need Love Too" and tinkering "Everything to Everyone."

The album's trap-psych spaciousness blends so that most of Astroworld plays out like a single long, spectacularly mixed track.

All 11 tracks hold tight musically through a lackadaisical charisma, capturing the sonic telepathy of six longtime buds in their early 20s.

The Monkeys' most anti-rock album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino proves their most adventurous, pop accessibility be damned.