Love Is the King is the work of a songwriter with clear eyes and a full heart. Tweedy leans on the two constants in his life, music and family, to find hope in a year where such a thing has too often been absent. In doing so, he’s left behind more than just another solid record to add to his oeuvre, but also some reassurance that maybe things will be okay, so long as we keep sight of what’s important.

Throughout Big Grams, Big Boi, Carter, and Barthel demonstrate their ability and willingness to take risks, even if some don’t work as well as others.

Five years removed from Currents, The Slow Rush plays as though no time has passed at all.

Torche may be missing the potency of their earliest work, but the widening palette of influences on their newer material gesture that there are more great songs to come. Admission isn’t their greatest album, but its new ideas are more than worth the price of entry.

With so many co-existing styles, what could have been a disjointed listen is reigned in thanks to intelligent songwriting, contemporary production, and, most importantly, an intensity that elevates everything with impenetrable confidence and cool.

The album is strongest when drawing on cues that aren’t exactly new or original, but spitting them out through the filter that is very much Weezer.

Longstreth may never be able to get out of the shadow of Bitte Orca, but Lamp Lit Prose finds him embracing his quirk, wit, and warmth, ending up with his brightest album yet.

After a long life full of wild experiences and devotion to music, it should be no surprise that Plant has produced another album full of clarity and vitality.

From start to finish, the record stirs with hazy horns and an obsession with elusiveness.

As with most psychedelic rock, Golem has a penchant for wandering and is probably best enjoyed stoned. But Wand is quickly growing into a band that can take a musical trip and still land squarely on its feet.

This latest release shows they will continue delivering the brand of technical death metal they helped define without compromise.

Her rich, heartbreaking voice remains, the drug references are still there, and her skilled musicianship still underpins every song. The Voyager is a grower.

Carpenter’s limited instrumentation starts as a strength--these Lost Themes could stand with any of his horror soundscapes, as you can imagine a potential victim running through a dark forest, being chased by an unknown enemy, or haunted by a ghost that’s slightly out of frame but definitely in earshot. The sheer predictability of the formula, similar to much of the horror output, doesn’t stop the jump-scares.

The four remain honest with their work, and the work rises to the challenge as a result.

Andrew Jackson Jihad are reaching the right balance, subtly maturing without losing the raw charm that fueled their last decade.

There’s nothing in A Weird Exits that signals a massive change in the future of Thee Oh Sees, nor does it stand head and shoulders above their catalog. Instead it’s one of many great records they’ve produced and one that shows a refinement and strengthening in John Dwyer’s guitar and voice and one that will continue to fill mosh pits the world over.

Some reunions suck; others are a relief simply because they’re not embarrassing. Vivian Girls have defied the odds by reuniting for their best album yet.

The result is her most vulnerable and honest work to date.

Ode to Joy reminds us of how good the band can be with the benefit of time and deliberation.

With its familiar landmarks interrupted by imaginative mood swings, Odludek offers an engaging listen.

There’s a maturity in The Killers’ music that started to emerge on Wonderful Wonderful and really takes root here.

Elaenia stands out as a remarkably assured debut album from an artist who took his time putting it together.

Even when he covers familiar territory, Eagle rarely repeats himself. He’s constantly finding new ways to say something better, and it’s part of what makes Hella Personal Film Festival feel so necessary.

With hits this tailored and successfully executed, the group’s roof-shattering popularity comes as no surprise in the least.

This is a dynamite album, which is to be expected from someone so prolific and well-liked, but it isn’t the best album Action could’ve made.

By making a space that fits his creative style, Frahm found a way to give complex compositions even more room to weave themselves into the world while you listen.

I Am a Problem isn’t the anomaly it might at first seem, but it is also its own beast. And a powerful, eccentric beast it is, snarling and stalking the shadows.

Written for one lucky baby boy, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth also welcomes the unmarried, infertile, abandoned, and middle-aged with unconditional love. If Father’s Day is just another Sunday, let Simpson be your proxy.