Javelin finds Stevens at his most vulnerable, yes, but like Carrie & Lowell, he paradoxically hides behind a wall of references and metaphor (many of which I'm sure are biblical in nature, discreetly whizzing past my woefully secular ears). Now posited in plainer language than ever before, he makes its cipher even more challenging to crack. That's what makes these records so healing to their audiences, though: the universality.

The album pops with memories of a time we might not have been in, and English's words make you feel alive. It's the perfect soundtrack to the next few months that may feel like an eternity under COVID-19.

Sun Structures is a simply wonderful record.

These musicians understand that heaviness is most effective when balanced by some light, making their debut both inventively punishing and soaring.

It isn't easy listening, akin to catching up with an over-sharing friend going through troubled times, but the stories are sad, funny and surprising, and the rewards are plentiful.

On the rich, rewarding Sparrow, the singer has found the perfect marriage of songs, arrangements and performances. In the process she has also crafted a captivating Southern Gothic country-soul masterpiece, one that can stand proudly next to the timeless works that inspired it.

It works wonderfully camping on a relaxed beach or in the most ostentatious concert venue, worthy of rigorous intellectual inspection yet just as easy to get high and chill to. ... It gives something wholly original to the culture in a way similar to what Will 'Quantic' Holland did when he launched the Quantic Soul Orchestra in 2003.

Apparat's foray into ethereal compositions is a powerful, vivid work of art. Krieg und Frieden deserves a standing ovation.

The result is a stunning balancing act between ingenuity and accessibility.

With LaCaze's drum tracks on the record, Eyehategod is a fitting tribute, but also signifies a new beginning for this band that just don't quit.

The Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats team up is a master-class of hip hop — few artists in today's landscape have the talent and longevity to consistently deliver good music. Thankfully, Denzel Curry is one of those few.

As musically fun and riff-heavy as it is lyrically direct and meaningful, Need to Feel Your Love is exactly the debut album fans wanted from Sheer Mag--not to mention one of the best of 2017 so far.

Radical finds the group doubling down and levelling-up their expansive, swaggering metalcore in every way possible.

Compared to Memorial, the band's previous release, Guidance plays it straight and heavy, granting the listener fewer moments of mercy from the onslaught of Russian Circles' music.

Stuffed with guitar histrionics, Cheatahs do fall prey to hero-worship, but they nevertheless deliver an album worthy of its influences.

This is music of pure catharsis, making Hardcore Traxx not only an invaluable historical document but a hell of a great time.

It's hard to find a flaw on this album, quite frankly. It's personal, political, funny and the production is spectacular.

Mean Love, Sinkane's third full-length and second release on DFA Records, manages to create a sense of romanticism without ever being overtly emotional, with straightforward lyrics that somehow remain affecting.

Portal are a band that never break character and Vexovoid is their fourth full-length release (along with two demos and two EPs), continuing their well-established theme of creating deep feelings of dread, alienation and confusion in the listener, all through exquisitely made and intelligently deployed aural assaults.

Hecker stretches to greater heights. If Ravedeath, 1972 and Virgins were pinnacles for the producer, Love Streams leaps into orbit, beaming elegiac streams of sound to the heavens and beyond.

Slow Focus was solely produced by Fuck Buttons; a decision that shows how confident, individualistic and fearless this duo have become in a short time.

That's right: sonically, thematically, lyrically — on every level, Royce gives The Allegory his all. And the result is the best LP yet in his 20-year-strong career.

Cavalcade is a record that modernizes jazz fusion, evolving it beyond its party yacht past. ... It's smart and well-calculated, expressing their range as musicians.

Apart from a generic cameo from Kurupt on "Ride," 7 Days of Funk is an infectious, modern take on the funk genre--here's hoping that Snoopzilla and Dâm-Funk will collaborate again.

This LP is pure Dandy Warhols, saturated with Courtney Taylor-Taylor's moody, drawled vocals, wailing guitars and introspective, oddball lyricism.

Please Don't Be Dead is virtually airtight in terms of musicality and intent. Fantastic Negrito continues to live to his "black roots" moniker--a weary, weathered soul survivor raging against the coming storm.

Bullion makes the weird wonderful on Loop The Loop, painting streaks of heartbreak and sadness onto a bubbly, almost animated canvas that evokes as much as it mystifies.

There's a distinct old-world Havana big band feel here, filtered through a postmodern lens. Steered by the vocals of Pepito, piano melodies sparkle, brass blare bold and percussive sounds punctuate a overarching vibe of joy.