Wear Your Wounds' debut is a masterpiece of emotion and tension.

Monumental and intimate in equal measure, All Mirrors' boldness is exceeded only by its profound emotional resonance. Angel Olsen's talents were always apparent. Here, they seem limitless.

Didn't He Ramble shimmers, saunters and charms; Hansard has never sounded so good.

There are few out there above what he has achieved with Lonerism.

This is one of the most rewarding and beautiful albums of the year.

The more I listen to it, the more that Infinity of Now sounds like the album I wish Portishead would finally get around to making. Given how much the Heliocentrics continue to advance with each album, it's possible the general public may end up forgetting Portishead entirely. They may not be pioneering a movement, but the Heliocentrics do something no one else can, and it is worthy of the loftiest praise.

Colorado makes good on Young's promise that rust never sleeps — turns out, it gets better with age.

With minimalist lyrics, easy-going beats and subdued horns, Ford's songwriting and voice shine through, tempting to you to press the repeat button.

Eclectic, soulful and refreshing, Cool Uncle is a must-hear.

On their third album since Andrew Neufeld moved to vocals, Comeback Kid were poised to strike out, but pleasantly, they instead knock Die Knowing out of the park.

With Springtime in New York, Dylan and his archive custodians take on his most written-off period and re-write it, capturing its lost glory.

This record's varied influences are held together by the mastery of both D'Agostino's songwriting and Congleton's production. It's unpredictable but immensely rewarding.

She stated that the album's title refers to the laurel bushes that grow in the Southern Appalachians in the US, where they're just as beautiful as they are isolated. She shows us these qualities of beauty and isolation are often two sides of the same coin, and can be married to uncover the intricate corners of a person's full truth.

Lauv has definitely established his own niche. Maybe it's only a matter of time before he becomes one of pop's biggest acts, but for now, ~how i'm feeling~ confirms that he's doing fine looking in from the out

Freetown Sound finds Hynes at the peak of his powers, mixing his best songwriting and production yet to powerful, purposeful effect.

On Epoch, Hansen, Brown and O'Connor are in the prime of their careers.

Simulcast is a shining and beautifully crafted album that reaffirms Hansen's hold atop of 21st century ambient electronic.

This Is Why is undoubtedly Paramore's strongest work. At only ten songs and a 36 minute runtime, they left little room for error and made not one mistake.

Cape God does such justice to the patented Allie X sound, refining and mastering it to the extent that it makes all that came before it feel like a proof-of-concept for this project. Pulsing keyboards clashing against string instruments and met with intoxicating vocals, Cape God sees Allie X reach her final form.

From the prog-rock storm cloud of "Back to Rock," to the metallic disco stomp of "Worst Comes to Worst" and "C'est parce que j'm'en fous" or the slate grey dissonance of "Lead Sister," the record is a delirious reconfiguring of '70s and '80s pop textures.

It's a reclamation of a history that often doesn't tells stories about black cowboys or black musical innovations. However, it is a recollection of what inspires Solange, and more importantly, how she wants to inspire the next generation from Houston.

This is the kind of music that, in 20 years, we may look back on as a pivotal point in changing the trajectory of the pop music sound.

If you like Soilwork, this is the album you've been waiting over a decade for.

Young rappers take notice: you want to sound like this when you get older.

This record is crawling with too many hooks and good-time jams to quibble over guitar tone.

The shifting, irregular momentum on Render Another Ugly Method is bold and rewarding, with many surprises.

While various artists-type vehicles do tend to feel disjointed in spots — this one included— the versatility and energy of the Free Nationals is bolstered by their upper tier level of craft, something a lot of backing bands rarely receive credit for. With that in mind, this self-titled outing is a treat.

The group made a conscious decision to experiment and give more of themselves rather than a rinse and repeat of what's worked before. 7 smartly makes the decision to focus on exactly what makes BTS special: its members.

The heart of this record is a furious commitment to survival. It's gutting. It's heartbreaking. And it's pretty goddamn beautiful.

Few of his contemporaries possess a post-important-band solo discography as prolific and consistently great as that of Stephen Malkmus, but each new album firmly leaves his past in the dust.

Coriky is its own, beautifully compelling thing. There is love and respect flowing between the three players and it's a palpable part of this expression that is emotive, reasoned, and rather relaxed. Once this record's playing, the Coriky universe is a fascinating one to be a part of.

The talents of Crutchfield and Williamson cannot be underplayed, nor their deft ability to convey and intuit emotion.

Innocence is Kinky is by turns surreal and hyper-real, a Lynch-ian underworld of avant-pop, alt-lit poetry and potent sexuality.

Ugly explores the rapper's newly formed duality, deepening his songcraft and letting the raging flame dim to a white-hot ember; it's his most reflective album to date.

Personal touches (a snippet of her father's voicemail, an unrehearsed picking party, field recordings of Chickasaw chants) amplify the authenticity with which Waldon approaches all aspects of her artistic development.

A challenging listen full of shifting, ephemeral environs marked by harsh, disrupting events, it's a deeply unsettling record about our ongoing becoming, and perhaps the science fiction soundtrack our brave new world deserves.

Outside of nostalgia, though, much of the work still feels necessary.

With Disrupted Ads, Oh No manages consistency, even when cleaning out the vaults.

On Claustrophobia, Scuba has created an engrossing long-player that's surprisingly more mode-y than moody.

Although their sound has been copied Ad infinitum, with Koloss, Meshuggah prove that they still do it best.

The results are a pleasant surprise.

Indistinct Conversations doesn't so much pare back as it does reveal depths: Powell's putting their inner life on display, and giving it the full range of space and volume it deserves.

For the relative specificity of thematic focus, Hip Mobility is varied in its sound. More than just mining the past for interesting artifacts, Quindar have created something surprisingly new here, and in having done so, project their art into the future.

At 20 years old, Allison is only just getting started, and Collection is a tidy introduction to Soccer Mommy that points towards her vision of bringing her contemplative songwriting to a more potent and energizing level.

Even if the tracklist isn't quite 10-for-10 in terms of quality, much of the appeal of I Don't Live Here Anymore lies in the little sonic details rather than the songs themselves.

She at least is musically self-assured and fully realized on a debut as layered and meditative as Public Storage.

Virtually everything here, in its own edgy manner, points to light, hope and the endless possibility of the human spirit.

E·MO·TION demonstrates how little improvement could be made on her sharp, consistent songwriting abilities. These are perfect pop songs; a few more rare glimpses of their rougher edges would make them all the more spectacular.

Taken as a whole, though, EUSA is luminous, a grand gesture made up of the kind of small, gorgeous moments that will remind listeners of home--wherever that may be.

This is easily one of their best albums, which is no small feat six albums into such an illustrious career.

Fidlar is easily one of the most energetic and fun-filled records in a while.

It is unquestionably their finest, and strangest, work to date.

If Pretty Girls Like Trap Music doesn't make the rapper an immediate king of the South, it undoubtedly puts him in line for the title.

It's one of their most streamlined and focused records yet.

Machines That Make Civilization Fun is Bigg Jus's best, most well-rounded solo album so far, but it's still a difficult listen that will likely limit the album's appeal to advanced listeners only.

Though there's not much variation in volume or tempo, listening carefully to the record's subtle weather shifts is deeply satisfying; it's a dream state, enveloped by Uchis' inimitable voice.

Overall, Atrocity Exhibition is chewy and eclectic, a rich experience that reveals a new surprise with each listen. Years from now, there will still be goodies to unpack.

After 11 tracks of lewd, enlivened and indulgent riffage, it appears time hasn't rusted the swivel and swagger of Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme; Zipper Down finds the Eagles of Death Metal as greased up and ready to rock as ever.

Cosmic Troubles is not only stunning, but unexpectedly so--it's not often we get musical reinventions as sudden or dramatic as this that work so well.

Heavy Heavy may be a little too sweet for long-time listeners, but its massive choruses, strong hooks and ecstatic sound too timely and too powerful to deny.

It is a skilfully wrought glimpse into that dream.

With Mayberry's recent participation in the discussion of misogyny on social media and in music, it's easy to view these songs through the lens of feminism, but it's just one of the many compelling facets of Every Open Eye's overall scope.

Front Row Seat to Earth might not be the most immediate record released this year, but it never turns its back on you. Accessible without ever being simple, it's one worth getting into, even if the way is labyrinthine.

That! Feels Good! is unapologetic in its pop sensibilities, full of hooks that lightly tease and lyrics that keep themselves around. Ware's airy yet soulful delivery of these words, coos and moans is part of what makes her so captivating, and acts as a direct line to how much fun she's having.

Ritual in Repeat is an elegantly constructed and crafted piece of pop music art borne from rigorous, exacting songwriting.

Thanks for the Dance is a fitting goodbye to a figure who, whether they've been in your life for one day, one year or a lifetime, made a tremendous impact on their craft. A beautiful reprise to a song of love or hate. The pleasure was all ours, Leonard.

While 99% provided the initial space for Kaytranada to make his mark, BUBBA is where it matures.

As a listening experience, it's a dense one, but never weighty.

Ethereal strings, guitar and softly humming bass arise in delicate arrangements around them.

With this album, Gallows have fine-tuned their previously established sound, creating a cohesive and powerful set of songs.

The Waterfall changes that trend. If you like your rock records weird, funny, epic, sad and hazily spiritual, this is one you won't want to miss.

As one should expect from King Gizz, Infest the Rats' Nest never repeats itself, flying through idea after idea like a heart-stopping drop into the rock'n'roll depths of "Hell," the final track.

As intriguing as Strange's music already is, Live Forever demonstrates that there's still tremendous potential left to unlock.

As the whole, though, Discreet Desires is more introverted than Hauff's previous material. She's attempted to present a unified piece with this album, rather than a selection of similar tracks, and it's a gambit that's paid off in spades.

Even though it's rammed full like a powder keg of discontentment, the opinions expressed on Running Out of Love don't stop it from being the elusive indie pop band's most unified record to date.

This album melds its many ideas into some larger parts, with just nine songs clocking in at roughly 40 minutes. But true to form, POST- is still all sorts of bonkers in mostly the right ways.

It's an impressive compilation of provocatively disparate ideas, but taken in in its intended order, there's a mesmerizing continuity to it all.

This hodgepodge of ideas, irregular pacing and abrupt transitions are oddly compelling; though it can be tough to make it to the end of the hour-long work, Elverum makes it worth it.

Sure, they sound more focused and professional on Do Not Engage, but they have done that on every album they've released.

It's an elusive and subjective notion, but it's impossible to listen to this rich, remarkable album and not be left thinking that this is the sound of Ellis coming into his own.

This seven-track effort switches things up ever so slightly; subtle twists of pace, cadence and lyrical content reveal a more introspective endeavour.

Don't Shy Away is ultimately as gratifying as it is ambitious. Brian Eno was right: Loma are the real deal.

Fresh, detailed and packed with surprises, every element of There Is No Elsewhere is carefully mixed. Their work--playfully branded "baroque-pop folktronica neo-classical something-or-other"--surprises and delights in equal measure.

Porridge Radio delight in these universal growing pains that ultimately reveal a greater vulnerability, born of not having it all figured out yet. As such, WDBLTTS is a natural next step on the road to nowhere.

Albums like Feel, Strawberry Jam and Merriweather Post Pavilion are typically considered Animal Collective's best works, yet they all lack the sustained presence of Isn't It Now? Lord only knows if it's the impact of Elevado or simply 20-odd years of musical chemistry coalescing into something new, but however it happened, Animal Collective found the now sound.

Jamie Lidell is a stunningly entertaining album and an exemplary ode to the good ol' days.

Modern Country is a conceptually ambitious, heartfelt undertaking. Some might notice the lack the unbridled colour that characterized Impossible Truth, but ultimately, it isn't enough to hinder the listener's experience.

Low-end synth tones throughout the album provide a melancholy aura that at times is given additional weight from Halstead's dreamy, wistful notes. But together, it all paints an exquisite picture; dramatic worlds that in themselves can evoke vast seas of emotion. Like the sum of life moments, memories or feelings encapsulated in songs, every element with its own purpose.

On I Thought of You, Julie Doiron defends her crown as indie rock royalty, giving listeners yet another full-band classic that equals her material with the Wooden Stars and even Eric's Trip.

By splitting his 2022 albums into two distinct projects and saving his quieter material for Entering Heaven Alive, White has delivered his best release since 2012's Blunderbuss, and one of the most consistently exciting albums in his 25-year-career.

The songs on Scheherazade are original, though richly informed by traditional Americana. Most of them sound like they could be from any time in the last 80 years.

Prong have outdone themselves here, proving that they are still a force to be reckoned with and, ultimately, respected.

With all these varied components coming together to form a cohesive unit — a family, if you will — ODESZA cleverly offer a reminder that they're making world-changing stuff, and we're lucky to be alive at the same time they're making music.

Although a few tracks ("Geryon," "Four Gut") suffer from muddy and unfocused melodies, there are far too many great ideas, quirky earworms and sonic peaks to give any critic reason to lampoon the title of this well-conceived, well-executed album.

This is a beautiful, concise blast that conveys this band's musical essence.

Cunningham's DJ-Kicks exclusive "Bird Matrix" probably won't fill a dance floor, but its moody detachment is, like the rest of the record, entrancing in its own right.

It's Brown's pen game and ear for production that carry the album's comedic spirit, anchored by technical and stylistic changes.

What Went Down shows Foals coming into their own and excelling at blending the styles they have explored over previous records to create a varied and textured offering that will add depth to their high-energy live shows.