Teens of Denial takes its power from its absence of blind spots, its lack of Freudian suppression. Toledo looks long at himself and us, a sort of nauseous survivor of modernity. Sometimes just the looking itself is enough.

From the chaotic opening to the cathartic ending, Krlic’s score works wonders, while engrossing enough to stand on its own outside of the film as well.

The original was proof that Nas, a cat known to bathe in ’90s aesthetics, could spin gold with a producer known for the exact opposite. KD2 fulfills that idea, as the pair double down on what worked the first time, toss aside what didn’t, and find the perfect center between 2021 and 1991.

His LP offers enough lyrical courses to chew through. What it lacks is minor and, given his immense talent, a tad comical: vocal delivery that follows through on the words’ emotion.

Run the Jewels is the very synthesis of El-P and Mike’s shared admiration and cohesive worldviews, an effort of the purest collaboration and mutual understanding.

They’ve turned themselves into a ravenous rock deity, a masterful songwriter whose every release demands attention. And while the title of the album refers to one who Chews But Does Not Consume, it’s the kind of project that swallows you whole.

The success owes a good deal to the production, sparse and specific, and always in tune with Miguel's tenor.

With a lilting piano, soft strums, and the pats of a bongo at most, Once I Was An Eagle strips the art of Marling down to her barest.

Like Icky Mettle before it, reminds modern listeners of just how unhinged their sound was, especially when compared to those that came after them.

Though House of Sugar can be a difficult record, those who take the time to delve into its layers will be treated to a piece that captures the modern psyche in a way few other pieces of art manage to do.

It’s a bit of cruel irony that in the face of so much adversity, the band has somehow managed to helm their most creative and compelling album in over 20 years. It may be hard for the band to recognize it, but believe it or not, Foo Fighters are learning to live again.

An unprecedented two-and-a-half-hour journey into the typically guarded Merritt’s life, the album is as revealing as it is resonant.

After claiming his place in the spotlight by overwhelming force with The Epic, Kamasi Washington capitalizes on both his newfound fame and his journeyman work ethic to produce a follow-up that’s more intimate and just as daring at the same time.

Their final record is fittingly cyclical, beginning in the death of love and ending in death alone, full of transportive moments and beauty along the way. And though there may never be another Dillinger Escape Plan record, this one is perfectly suited and deserving of massive replays to come.

At this point in their career, Loewenstein and Barlow had found the perfect balance between their creative powers, and it shows quite brightly on Bakesale. To that end, any amount of extra proof that Sebadoh can dig up to prove that point should be welcomed happily.

Unshackled, Yoakam casually eschews his established sound for new ones, and although these pop experimentations won't please country music fundamentalists or single-searching radio executives, Yoakam has legitimized himself as an artist.

The band sounds like they’re having fun, and humor is such a scarcity in the super serious realm of modern metal. Deeper Than Sky is fun to listen to, like the carefree thrash of old.

The songs have more personal bite and emotional density. They have a soul.

Shields growls and purrs in ways Grizzly Bear has never before.

LP1 isn’t anything revolutionary; it’s a frankly expressed project focused on the dualism between love and lust, reality and fantasy.

Embury took this record as an opportunity to redefine what the band’s sound can successfully encompass. Together with Greenway’s thought-provoking lyrics, Embury delivered a set of songs so good that they made the band’s recent victories seem conservative in retrospect. Even the bonus tracks course with vitality. In 2020, Napalm Death remain — to quote one their series of cover albums — leaders not followers.

Nothing is off limits, and it makes Diaspora Problems a delight to listen to. There’s not a lot of repetition, and for as immediate and spontaneous as the recordings are, every musical element and lyric comes off as hand-crafted and deliberate: all killer, no filler.

Saadiq's genius spin on this sound is almost too fresh for its own good, occasionally finding itself in an over-indulgent state, but what's good about Stone Rollin' is great, as Saadiq succeeds in creating an album that almost any music listener can get into.

A Light for Attracting Attention revels not in fiery protests, but in the layered, mid-tempo meditations Radiohead’s been crafting since OK Computer.

Dr. John and Auerbach come together to capture a rich, evocative, almost apocalyptic party on Locked Down, an album that makes you dance while wondering about the state of the world.

Jones’ best work came through exploring the emotional intricacies and broad passions of romantic relationships, and that’s no different on Soul of a Woman. In fact, these affairs of the heart smolder even more heatedly than usual on the record’s ballad-heavy second half.

By most accounts, Present Tense fends off stagnation, but without some new tricks up their sleeve, one wonders how long they can avoid that fate.

While Phantom Thread may offer the most straight-forward narrative of Anderson’s career, Greenwood gives listeners a reason to keep digging, thus furthering the life of a film that questions the importance of legacy and what ultimately lasts.