The complexity of Run the Jewels 4 is its strongest asset. Killer Mike and El-P, just like their listeners, are still trying to navigate nefarious ideologies while remaining steadfast in their desire to destroy them. Their latest work is a political manifesto that antagonizes a system that never had the marginalized and vulnerable in mind. Though it comes several albums into their discography, RTJ4, with its empowering proclamations, buoyant production, and ferocious soundscapes, feels like just the beginning of something even greater.

Most of these songs are an extension of the excitement and novelty that he’s not only bringing to the Latin market, but to the music world at large.

As a lot of Lady Gaga’s work has done in the past, it offers up some honest-to-God bangers side by side with some honest-to-oneself reckonings with trauma, pain, addiction, and the very idea of what it means to be flawed and how this idea shifts depending on who’s defining it.

Perhaps the B-sides are not all as special as what Jepsen chose for her official album, but she saved them and released them with her fans in mind. All along, she was most dedicated to them.

Notes seethes with paranoia, charges of revolution, and, above all, honesty, providing a semblance of comfort during a, drum roll please, “unprecedented time” that truly affects everyone.

Paradise Lost have found an almost ideal balance between grit, atmosphere and songcraft. What Obsidian lacks in lyrical subtlety or song variety, it makes up for with sonic depth and sheer catchiness. ... Paradise Lost float above the fray, synthesizing aggression and accessibility in every song. It’s hardly a new trick for these Brits, but that they’ve made it par for the course makes their career all the more remarkable.

Present and post-lockdown, how i’m feeling now will be a definitive album of its time. Aitchison has captured this space we now all exist in and all its facets.

Williams sounds here like she’s singing about something else, something more her own. The assorted focuses of these songs sound like they’re being relayed less as rallying cries and more as personal thoughts and confessions to a close friend or a lover. The result is a fitting solo debut, a solid album full of friction and honesty.

An interesting bunt that adds color and flavor to an intriguing sound, Making a Door Less Open is a classic transitional album, which they may double back from and they may double down on; frankly, either result will be more exciting.

SAWAYAMA appears poised to be one of the best pop albums of the year and sets Sawayama up as a pop force to be reckoned with.

Bolt Cutters delivers a much-needed auditory exercise for the sequestered masses and surely one of the best albums to grace us in 2020. Eight long years later, Fiona Apple proves her return was worth every second in waiting.

Even with its inevitable blemishes, The New Abnormal is easily the freshest, most interesting album that The Strokes have released in more than a decade. While the band haven’t proven to be the single-handed savior that rock music always seems to be searching for, they have made the case for taking a slow-burn approach to collaboration and creativity.

Saint Cloud offers us the best possible version of Crutchfield she could possibly give us. The record is made by someone who was always whispering, finally having the confidence and courage to speak up and sing unrestrained. It demands to be listened to.

While 20 tracks seems exhausting, to the contrary, he captures our attention throughout, especially with his clever zingers. His pen is sharper than the last time.

It’s hard to critique punk music. You’re judging exactly how much someone doesn’t give a fuck and how well they are at expressing that. High Risk Behaviour is an album you can blast on the highway while going 90 or one that you can watch live and get drunk and crowd-surf to.

Described by Stevens and Brams as a New Age-inspired album, Aporia accomplishes exactly that, functioning as a recovered soundtrack to a long-lost, fictitious sci-fi film.

As he evolves, he continues to reinvent himself, and he knows exactly how to leave fans hooked on havoc. And After Hours is proof that he’s not done with us yet; in fact, he’s just getting started.

3.15.20 truly showcases Glover’s talents as a musician, producer, and songwriter. It’s a balanced body of work, not through its similarities, but rather its extreme contrasts.

There are no filler colors like “macaroni and cheese”. The brushstrokes he paints as a purveyor of perreo pop might not be as broad, but they’re far-reaching in highlighting the evolution and future of reggaeton music. Balvin remains a power player in the globalization of the #LatinoGang, and Colores continues to showcase his colorful flow and spirit as a beacon in the movement.

A Written Testimony is one hell of a promising effort that was well worth the wait. The skillset of Jay Electronica as both an MC and a producer is on full display.

On their debut full-length, THICK are solidifying their status as a pop punk band at a time when the state of pop punk is relatively murky.

Eternal Atake has moments of heartfelt candor, including “Chrome Heart Tags” and “Spread the Bag”. LUV Vs. the World 2 doesn’t really. There’s no equivalent to the “Never Bend” remix from 2018, which hinted at a world of hurt behind the “project walls.”

It delivers on every promise in a sleek, incredibly catchy package and does it all in under 50 minutes. Yes, it’s music made by young adults obviously aimed at young adults. Yes, it could be more subtle about its influences. And yes, it’s going to make a whole lot of year-end lists.

Suga is a solid and cohesive EP that showcases Megan Thee Stallion’s unfettered appetite for destruction; she obliterates any beat she comes into contact with without batting an eyelash. Although the majority of the project is an exhilarating listen, its own ambitions prove to be its biggest challenge.

Fresh ideas abound nearly everywhere on Gigaton.

While the record doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any major ways, it offers an exciting array of musicianship that’ll keep listeners hyped. Body Count’s drive towards facing real world issues, along with their intriguing fusion of musical styles, allows them to be a band for fans of both the old and new school.

Post Animal have managed to find a sound much more their own — both momentous and giddy, contemporary and sentimental.

She offers a deeply internal side to her world, buoyed by a production style rich with grains and echoes.