Branan can't quite bring it full circle in matching the music to his emotions. The results leave the listener craving something a bit more substantial.

It's a kick in the teeth from start to finish.

Converts of the group's mainstream exploits needn't fear: "Show Yourself" grooves on an indelible vocal hook, and grunge stomper "Steambreather" recalls another O'Brien collaborator, Stone Temple Pilots.

Johnny Flynn's fourth LP pivots on the English songwriter/actor's distinctive voice, which echoes older UK folk even while wrapping itself in modern indie roots.

By dialing back the intentional obfuscation of 2009's The Real Feel, the Northern Californians' sophomore release doubles its predecessor's skewed-pop pleasures.

Raw and melodic, standing at the crossroads between the Ramones and Shangri-Las, singer/guitarist Lydia Night demonstrates a remarkable grip on youth and vulnerability in 2017.

Often delivered in an off-key falsetto, the vocal stylings of Bardo Martinez aren't technically sound, but like the band itself they overflow with warmth and infinite charm.

Ha Ha Tonka's vehicles climb new heights with dazzling harmonies and impressive instrumental interplay on the revved-up "Race to the Bottom" and glimmering "Height of My Fears."

English rapper Simbi Ajikawo, doing business in bars as the extraordinary Little Simz, tackles success, vulnerability, and sheer escapism on her lush and soul-jazz-infused Stillness in Wonderland.

Lvl Up never made guitars feel more relevant than they do on their third album and Sub Pop debut Return to Love.

Nothing Feels Natural picks up where Priests last left us, poking holes in the American dream, aggressive and accusatory, where both the band and listener aren't safe from Priests' rage.

Vienna-based English producer/songwriter Christopher Taylor breathes more life into his glitch-filled indie R&B on strong sophomore full-length Rennen.

While closer "My Dream Is Yours" picks up the pace, the album pulses inward and outward, meditative, trapped in one place.

Neal restrains throughout, even on the aggressive moments of "Evil's Rising" and poppy stutter of "Difference," but closing triptych "Mountain Town," "Million Dollars," and "Sante Fe" lulls with folksy ballads and harmonies that drop any earned momentum.

Jardín proves spring's arrived for Gabriel Garzón-Montano.

Following in the paths of American jazz counterparts Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington, UK jazz savants Yussef Kamaal weave a fabric of the genre steering free of up-nosed traditionalist conventions in pursuit of exploratory grooves and improvisation on Black Focus.

The Cameroonian New York dweller threads a singular narrative obsessed with the singer's sense of place, or lack thereof.

The SideOneDummies channel their angst into breathlessly muscular hooks and moments of chilling, claustrophobic self-reflection, often within the same song.

Despite the time off and lineup shake-ups, album No. 6 bears all the hallmarks of the band's 15-year career.

Self-aware and refined, fifth album Last Place--the first in 11 years--is astonishingly solid.

Everybody Works feels like a good jumping-off point, Duterte potentially able to take the project anywhere she wants.

Segarra taps into lamenting barroom country previously explored on "Life to Save," but uses the lightning-fast drumming of Puerto Rican plena to address the often physical struggle to protect the sanctity of any homeland on "Rican Beach."

At times atmospheric with a grounded mysticism ("Astral Plane" and sweeping strings on "Just in Time"), June's voice still serves as mesmerizing focus, especially the slow drawl and moan of "The Front Door" and closing blast of "Got Soul."

ts sleek, dance-oriented patina veers appreciably from the linear evolution of the Austinites' previous output. This might be Spoon's most radio-friendly release ever, and given its jarring position in the catalog, their most adventurous.

There's plenty of his trademark busted-speaker distortion and Hasil Adkins-joins-the Sex Pistols spew, with "Trainwrecker" verging on a backwoods version of Motörhead. Yet much of this finds Biram fully utilizing his home studio, sounding at times more like a band.

"Fool" embodies this power structure as she manages to forge together all ranges of her nostalgic vocalizations and eclipse them outright with a full-on frontwoman wail. Feats such as that can only be pulled off with pedigree and talent, both of which Molly Burch debuts in spades on Please Be Mine.

It's as unsettling as it is unpolished, but Backlash compels as much as anything this crew's put out.

2015's Heartbreaker of the Year, arrived stuffed with songs about lassos, rodeos, and boots. Now six-song rejoinder South Texas Suite, cut at Dale Watson's Ameripolitan Studios, continues the love affair both in subject matter and music.