It will still be an acquired taste; not everyone feels in rapid fire triplets and fist pounding choruses, and some of it may play too heavily on nostalgia for those who grew up on records like these. But Diarrhea Planet draw from those familiar sounds and feelings to create something new and self-aware.

Until the Horror Goes could probably use a little more of this resignation.

They do a serviceable job in a handful of styles, and that’s nothing to sneeze at. Methyl Ethel could be your next favorite band, but they just have to pick what band that will be.

Though Product is billed as a singles collection, its sequencing matters like an album; the track’s placement lets it bow under the weight of all the bizarre moments that precede it, leaving gashes too deep for it to be as treacly and plasticine as its title might suggest.

No matter how off-kilter, the sense of personality on this record transcends the tired “slacker” Pavement-core tags often slapped on the band. That alone makes it a step forward.

As a whole, the album may not be impeccable, but it’s the best he’s released since 2010.

Much of what makes Touché Amoré a success remains intact: the band jamming away behind Bolm, supporting and expanding his “slam poetry.” But, oh what wonderful poetry it has become, as Bolm dives into the depths of his cortex as he comes to terms with the death of his mother in 2014.

With tighter editing, Rest could have soared, but perhaps the personal nature of the songs made those ruthless cuts impossible. Even so, there are many individual moments to treasure. Charlotte Gainsbourg has evolved as an artist, and Rest is a flawed but worthy statement.

Lindberg’s range helps the record from feeling too stale. At times, she relies too much on repetition, causing some tracks to feel too familiar to stand out. But, when she shuffles the pieces of her puzzle, the songs are typically the stronger for it.

Gaga has always been an emotional performer, and she does quite a bit of heavy lifting on Love for Sale, but Bennett’s vocals remain crystal clear. The album (unsurprisingly) is at its best when the two are together.

On the whole, Osborne turned a confusing detour into an interesting wrinkle and a worthwhile addition to his massive catalog.

24K Magic is his first album that works as a statement, and while it’s unclear if it will see the runaway success Mars has enjoyed in the past, the coherence and variety of the record’s sound and lack of any obvious dud point to the strides that Mars is making as a songwriter.

While this record won’t reel in many new listeners, it’s a worthy and worthwhile addition to the band’s discography, full of catchy grooves that continue to defy expectations.

Blue Chips 7000 is wholly listenable, and it’s possible to imagine longtime Bronson fans calling it a comeback even if they have trouble recalling titles. But it’s a holding action whose worst quality is that it leaves you worried about him repeating himself again.

If all the covers were as deeply felt as Caroline Says or Julien Baker’s, Say Yes would leap from a covers album to a tried and true tribute, a record that could bring an artist back to life, if only for an hour. If listeners are looking for that, well, then just listen to Elliott Smith’s originals.

Individually, almost every song is interesting. But altogether, the listening experience is a choppy mess. Out-of-context cartoon voiceovers and pan-African pop music don’t sit well together. And while some of the long-form ideas partially work, they could have used more fleshing out.

Fresh Blood loses momentum between its peaks.

The repetition of the word “mambo” over another messy beat fails to do much. There’s too much going on to really make much sense of what’s happening. Shadow quickly makes up for that with two of the most alluring tracks on the record. “Ashes To Oceans” features British jazz composer and trumpeter Matthew Halsall, providing a gorgeous contribution to the already haunting composition. On “Pitter Patter,” rain-fall piano notes permeate the track while producer Bleep Bloop and Nite School Klik associate/trap producer G Jones give it an ethereal feel.

Ultimately, The Far Field serves as a reminder of how skilled Future Islands can be when everything locks into place, and even if it never reaches the highs of Singles, it more than holds its own.

For those who love the aughts’ Lips catalog, but were thrown off by the abstract experimentation of the last few records, King’s Mouth should be a welcome return to form.

At 16 full-length tracks (there are no skits here), By Any Means makes it easy for listeners to take what they want from Gates.

Primus & the Chocolate Factory plays like one of Claypool’s many passion projects. It’s entitled to live by its own convoluted logic.

The Album showcases their signature style of blending genres and influences to create songs that are just as classically pop as they are identifiably BLACKPINK.

It tends to be so tightly metered and bound by rules of its own design that it operates like clockwork. Jaga Jazzist tread this line very well, but on Starfire, they lean too heavily on technical ambition and end up choking the life out of their own tunes.

Rather than worry about finding an answer, they’re enjoying flexing their musical skill sets, adapting them to artists who fuel their own creative energy, and bringing us along for the journey in the meantime.

After nearly a five-year wait, Japandroids could have written a record with more wind beneath its wings, but the pace of Near To The Wild Heart Of Life is consumable enough to warrant repeat listens. It just won’t be a record that saves you when you need it to.

Despite the beats shifting with real purpose, there never seems to be any destination in mind. This allows a listener to pay particularly close attention to the increasingly erratic journey.

While it isn’t without a few bumps along the way, Liberation really is a welcome return to form for one of this era’s greatest vocalists.