Saint Heron is a statement, a musical manifesto with a collaborative vision for today's R&B.

Hopefully "No One" is an indication of the long-hidden spunkiness that Sexsmith will finally reveal in full on his next effort. If that doesn't happen, and his follow up is as joyful as Carousel, fans will still be pleased by one fact: Ron Sexsmith's days of being pigeonholed as a sad sack are long gone.

While Big Red Machine lacked immediate standouts, it was intriguing for its ponderous excursions.

Let's Face the Music and Dance displays Nelson in his natural element: a small combo playing songs as timeless as his wonderfully idiosyncratic voice.

With a bit better pacing and fewer drawn-out moments between songs, the record could have been the best of their career, but still stands as a fine addition to their discography.

While his source material is firmly rooted in the past, Petestrumentals 2 makes a couple of more contemporary statements

The Necks don't exactly break new ground with Unfold, but it's refreshing nonetheless to see that they're also not regressing--a small miracle for any band 30 years into their career.

End constitutes a worthy addition to Explosions in the Sky's discography, even if it doesn't really open a new chapter for them.

925 is a cohesive, enjoyable, drug-infused debut about two longtime friends trying to make sense of being young in a dreary world. Despite a few hiccups, the record is a moody and exciting treat by an act to keep your eyes and ears on.

Some additional layers wouldn't hurt next time around, and perhaps some brighter, more varied production when the opportunity arises, but this is a solid, high-energy debut from a pair that definitely has their style figured out already, with lots of room to build.

Ursprung delivers a uniquely modern and experimental album that gently reveals more with each listen.

Backwater is a mature, rich effort that's likely to see Kllo continue on their ascent.

Alone for the First Time is a pretty solid sophomore album, but it falls shy of Guilt Trips' coming-of-age charm.

Big Sean exhibits growth and wisdom on I Decided., and that's definitely worth a listen. This is a solid effort.

While Yes, I'm A Witch Too makes Ono's work more accessible by sanding down the more experimental edges, in doing so, it somewhat detracts from what makes Ono's great.

On 2018's King of Cowards they proved they were a truly forward-thinking doom act, and on Viscerals they've proved it wasn't a fluke. They just need to shed a few more layers before they are ready to assume their final form.

An album about religion that's not at all religious, Benoît Pioulard refuses to come off as descriptive or thematic, making Hymnal an example of a mood piece that's designed to be affecting, but never static.

Though the tail end of the LP drags thanks to throwaway dirges like "Justice" and "Sometimes," Love Will Be Reborn is nonetheless as surprisingly and pleasingly intimate and stripped down of an album you're going to hear from someone as naturally theatrical as Martha Wainwright.

Though its creation process was an overarching performative event in itself, Ye still managed to (for the most part) control his narrative, and deliver his best body of work in recent memory. It's just hard not to think that some trimming and sequencing tweaks could have made this LP that much greater and his message that much more poignant.

The classic heavy metal and surf rock elements that made their debut so appealing are intact, with some additional psychedelia and more driving, intense guitar riffs.

While the album understandably contains some filler within its bottom third, POWER UP nonetheless falls securely within AC/DC's great B-level albums; just as solid and memorable as Let There Be Rock or For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).

For fans of nu metal and heavy riffs, Requiem will not disappoint, but it lacks the sadness that Korn have long tapped into to differentiate themselves from the pack.

Petrol mixes ambient and free jazz with satisfyingly cohesive results.

There is an invigorating energy that shines through the lyrics and tempo of this album, so although lyrics about the finer things of California living aren't necessarily profound or entirely relatable, on Man About Town, Hawthorne's buoyant optimism for beginning anew in 2016 is utterly contagious.

While it loses some of her past work’s joyous electricity, it reveals something truer. This is Whack’s world after all, we’re just lucky enough to live in it.

With Cloud Room, Glass Room, Pan American's original recipe feels slightly new–and-improved.

A Khruangbin dub record isn't particularly Earth-shattering, especially when dub was already so present in their music. But it's an opportunity for the band to really show off their strengths and further establish what makes them unique.

Science Fiction is a flawed yet beguiling record that keeps you hooked without offering the emotional payoff that we've come to expect.

Despite any nitpicky issues one may find with In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, it's refreshing to see the New Pornographers, 20 years into their existence, still trying to swing for the fences.

Given the breadth of Hood's output and influence, hardcore fans may have wanted a more encompassing and historical selection but there's enough here to satisfy both newcomers and devotees.

With all the memories, both good and bad, unearthed on this album, Best Blues finds Small Black holding their composure, even when it seems like it'll be a total bummer.

Off the Record may be dated in some respects, but it still sounds like it's aimed at the future.

The result is a most welcome and simply terrific record from a perennially underrated band.

The record’s more direct first half may appeal to those who want their old school IDLES fix, but repeated listens to its rangier second half reveal an emotional complexity and sonic cohesion that have long escaped the band. Suddenly, there’s reason to be excited about where IDLES are headed.

Double Negative asks much of listeners, but what you get in return is positive to say the least.

With Over It, the Atlanta singer-songwriter is on point with a debut that's ultimately a contemplation on sexual politics and emotional availability.

ATW is perplexing in its ability to both continue many of All Them Witches' songwriting motifs while often (and sometimes simultaneously) subverting them altogether.

Each song is theatrically arranged with Craft belting like a Broadway star and the large band supporting his every word. The ebbs and flows become slightly predictable near the end of the album, but Craft does a terrific job of performing the songs, emoting and propelling his tales with vigour.

There's nothing truly radical about the collection, but it is gratifying riff-based rock, and in an industry littered with sycophants, Starcrawler's brand of exuberant noise is refreshing. The future may be bright for these young guns.

There's a pastoral feel to the album — the band recorded it all in an epic ten day session at a studio in the Welsh countryside, and you can hear that region's influence in everything here. It sounds wide open and unencumbered, full but never cluttered or dense.

As a solo debut, Lysandre is a self-indulgent effort that succeeds in spite of itself; it also signals an artist shaking off the shackles of the past and embracing a wider range of sounds and ideas.

Brood Ma's vision of the future may be dark, but on the challenging, rewarding DAZE, his future as a purveyor of its soundtrack is all but secured.

You could call Butterfly 3000 the least King Gizzard album of their career — there is next-to-no distortion or guitar riff theatrics. Nevertheless, it's a refreshing departure from the psychedelic garage records the band has released in the past few years.

Here they are with the emotionally eloquent Spin, rejuvenated and sounding just as good as a duo as they ever did as a quintet.

One lyrical misstep in "By My Demon Eye" (the use of the ethnic slur "gypsy") disrupts Stables' otherwise charming lyrics, but otherwise, Moonshine Freeze is a uniquely woven tapestry of captivating beauty.

King's Disease is a record that's occasionally swollen with too many ideas, backed up by lazy rhymes and unsavoury politics. Thankfully, with impeccable production overseen by executive producer Hit-Boy and bolstered by a slew of excellent guest features, Nas overcomes these pain points to pull together his most satisfying project in close to a decade.

The band manages not to compromise their sound, but on The Black Market, the formula is growing stale.

Check this out if you are a devoted member of the Pentagram coven, but otherwise, stick to the classics.

Her drive and influences are there, but, moving forward, the search for hooks may remain her greatest challenge.

Take It Like A Man is a disjointed affair with a slippery identity.

Much of Principe's second half finds him repackaging the first half with plodding disco beats that make the initially exciting melodies seem boring the second (and third, and fourth) time around.

With the majority of the tracks being in-and-around the two minute mark, Sage The Gemini presses the gas pedal too quickly before capturing your attention lyrically or sonically.

Bleachers is agreeable and safe, but there's a fumbling listlessness to the whole thing, a lack of dynamism that makes it fade into white noise. Antonoff’s latest is not the grand, drive-off-into-the-sun record that Strange Desire or even Gone Now strove to be and sometimes became — Bleachers is a commuter’s record through and through.

K.T.S.E. is a strong start with an anticlimactic finish. With a bit of additional time and effort, it could have been so much more.

In large part, this compilation is underwhelming--there are exceptions, but the creativity is lacking and, to some degree, that's surprising, considering some of the talent on the roster.

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 includes a few pop gems, but as an album, it pales in comparison to its older sibling.

Black Rock is still filled with McCombs' spacious, isolating tracks ("Tonight at Ten," "Gold!"), which are best for lonely winter evenings.

Ultimately, Daniel is perfectly pleasant.

Hidden Orchestra occasionally skirt the borderline of cheese, but thankfully manage to stay on the right side of it, for the most part.

Need Your Light is certainly a step up from Beta Love, but Ra Ra Riot are missing the orchestral edge that originally set them apart from other groups in their genre, making it feel inessential despite being quite likeable.

Goodman remains a sharp and confident songwriter, and buried underneath the noise there's still plenty of charm here, but dialing back all the bluster would have gone a long way.

Longtime fans of Gwar will surely find a track here and there that's worthwhile, but in general, they would be better off returning to their back catalogue.

The relentless gothic signifiers too often leave you in the cold, wondering why you didn't spend the last 45 minutes enhancing or deepening your more sinister feelings, rather than drowning beneath them.

You can't help but wish he'd leaned into the dive bar clatter and freewheeling wildness that always feels just at the periphery of his music. As it is, And the Wind acts as a solid addition to your deep-summer-backyard-beer-drinking soundtrack — sometimes that's all you need.

Every step is like the last, every dune made up of the same inconspicuous pebbles. Species can make for an exceptionally trance-inducing listen if you have it in you to push past the monotony.

One gets the sense that as an artist, PND has yet to even scratch the surface of his potential. Two serves as evidence of such; perhaps the third and successive instalments will see continued artistic progression. Or not.

The genre is wide, but Stapleton's Room is so narrow and old-fashioned that, despite its quality songwriting, it feels stifling at times.

Heaven Is for Quitters follows no pattern except that of disconnect, so while many of the tracks work as they are, it's far from a cohesive album.

While this release really doesn't break any boundaries, it's beautiful and doesn't demand much more than good feelings. In these times, that's no small thing.

Visuals is drenched in grandiosity, but many of its songs are devoid of proper exploration; instead of pushing the limits, they often feel idle.

With Radiance and Submission, the Montreal musician attempts a serene matrimony of the two musical sides that struggles to strike a balance between stimulating and stale when it comes to the record's overarching sound.

The fact that it's essentially more of the same might make it uninteresting to some, but to fans of the band or any of its widely known predecessors like Jimmy Eat World or Taking Back Sunday, that sameness will bring a welcome sense of comfort.

A decent addition to his discography, More Is Than Isn't could use more dance beats and much more P. Blackk.

Kadavar attempt to create something that is both memorable and cool here, but despite all its hooks and melodies, Berlin ultimately falls short.

These 10 dark soundtracks fail to chart new territory. They're not bad; they're just not challenging or frankly all that interesting.

While highlight "The Glass" is an undisputedly heartbreaking acoustic-tinged ditty about living the rest of your life in someone's absence, the mid-LP tracks unfortunately do little more than fill obligatory spots on the Foo Fighters spectrum.

Even if you appreciate Havoc's reliability, you'll miss Prodigy's unpredictable diction.

While Funeral isn't necessarily a flop, the album would have ranked higher in Lil Wayne's discography had he cut the tracklist in half and opted for quality over quantity. Overall, Funeral lacks replay value compared to the multiple "best of the year" albums that Wayne has proven capable of creating.

This is an album that's holiday-ready: safe, inoffensive, pretty grandma music.

With the exception of Lil Durk's two verses, Thugga's extensive assortment of guests here falls flat, causing the second half of the tape to drag.

There's a comfortable vibe that the project ease into, content to deliver serviceable lyrics over straightforward beats and nothing more.

Stetson does an admirable job finding ways to maintain a tone of persistent unease, but his compositional skills are tested by the film's reliance on abstract horror with occasional visceral shocks over any kind of concrete story or consistent character beats. Detached from the visuals it makes for a pretty bumpy ride.

Guv I [was] an all-around more solid record, making Guv II feel a bit more like leftover parts than an essential second act — but Cook's knack for songwriting is nonetheless clear. At the very least, this sequel is an extra show of musical prolificacy and a good portfolio-stuffer with which to chase more work as a hired gun.

While the album is far from his best work (the disjointed opening track is a strong first clue), it still merits a listen.

There's an overemphasis on influences here that makes Stranger Things more recognizably likeable than imaginative.

While his intentions may have been pure, Snoop's attention to the assembling of this album needed a little more love.

Serenity is certain to scratch an itch. Still, there's a sense of "good enough" with all of their recent releases, and it's a problem this record just can't shake.

Wiesenfeld's hazy side project is nice, but it would fare better if he punched it up slightly-- for active listening

While Swirlings creates an easy listening ambience with textures that assist in ethereal out-of-body mediations, there is little in the way of innovation, though the final track provides a contrasting tone from the relaxation pieces.

It's hard to shake off singer Davey Havok's sterile lyrics, especially when many of the choruses lean heavily on his bold, operatic delivery yet are somewhat squandered on half-cocked one-liners.

The Pale Emperor is downright ambitious when it wants to be and lazy when it can get away with it.

Lacking the depth of his more memorable efforts, Digital Roses Don't Die sounds more like an album Big K.R.I.T. made for himself rather than something he expected his fans to collectively laud.

Lost In The Trees might not be as distinctive as they once were, but they still make highly emotional music; it's just better disguised than it was in the past.

Spooky Action is an incredibly simple record that's rescued by a primal energy and emotional output that artists half Loewenstein's age wished they possessed.

If you're a diehard fan, you could give Surviving a chance, but if you're only a fan of their pop punk and emo efforts, it's best to skip this one.

99¢ is an album buoyed by its sonic playfulness, but which fails to shake its playlist sensibility--entertaining, engaging but only occasionally leaving a lasting impression.

For each song where the more minimal sonic approach comes up short, there are places on Temple where it succeeds.