While scanning the state of the world and all its grievous, haunting wonders, Garden of Burning Apparitions continues Full of Hell's exploration of scorched earth, and by sticking to what they do best, they've left another bold stamp on extreme metal.

They stick with what they know, and they have it down to a flawless science.

On Talk Memory, BADBADNOTGOOD find likeminded collaborators ready to challenge and compliment them at every turn, resulting in a new evolution for the trio.

As her own boss, she doesn't need to request "let me do one more" to anyone but herself — and across these 12 tracks, she quite literally owns every aspect of her sound.

True Love is a loving snapshot of what Hovvdy holds dear in the present and their excitement for the future is infectious. Instead of reflecting on the past and easiness of simpler times, they are finding pockets of these hyper-elated feelings in the here and now.

This is Colourgrade's magic ⎯ it captures the quiet humdrum of life at its most unreal, blearing domestic love and childrearing and sleep and exhaustion into something suddenly, amazingly unfamiliar.

Leaving None but Small Birds is a departure for both bands that results in a mostly positive and rewarding listening experience. This complete change in sonic construction not only introduces these bands to wider audiences, but also gives a glimpse of their greater musical potential moving forward.

Throughout Dawn, she exhibits wit and exemplary control and the blurred genre lines on the album are her playground.

FLUX situates itself in and around the broad category of rock and its derivatives, but what it really does is encapsulate Poppy's desire to evolve through genres. ... With this album, Poppy very clearly says that her new niche is to not have a niche.

Haliechuk and co. have developed a layered universe and score that creates a unique and immersive experience for those wise enough to carve out ninety minutes of their time to read along with the story as they listen. It's an album that requires listeners to invest their time and attention, but surely those listeners will be happy they did so.

A Beginner's Mind will not wow you with grand theatrics but it will have you on the edge of your seat nevertheless.

Levy's writing is both insular — her lyrics are dense and singular, her references specific and sometimes unknowable — and insulating, sketching her surroundings so vividly, so minutely, that a city can feel as familiar and often-unpredictable as the inside of your own head.

It is an abstract, melancholic and affecting body of work that is not only another incredible addition to a stellar discography, but a magnificent and moving tribute to a friend gone too soon.

He proves that he is a fully-fledged, multifaceted person who can do it all, and has all the makings of a modern yet ever-evolving pop star. He just remembers to have a fun, honest time while doing it.

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.

instead of songs about past lovers and immaturity, Motorists are using philosophical ideas as fuel for their jangly indie rock.

Balvin proves to be taking risks the whole way through. With JOSE, J Balvin offers stiff competition to Kanye and Drake's recent 20-plus song efforts with a far more consistent effort.

With Black Encyclopedia of the Air, Moor Mother uses her genre-agnostic style to tackle to world's most popular genre and make it undoubtedly her own.

This is an assured return.

Low's latest finds Sparkhawk and Parker at a thrillingly creative and intrepid peak, building off their experimental blueprint laid out with their 2015 LP Ones and Sixes and fully realized on Double Negative. Although HEY WHAT falls squarely in between the two, it's safe to say that no one is making music that sounds remotely similar to what Low is giving us.

The subdued star-crossed is unlikely to garner the same commercial success as Golden Hour. It isn't carried by standout singles or big beats, but the album isn't seeking that kind of external validation. It stands alone in its vulnerability.

If the band's previous tunes were like a knife fight, this feels more like blunt force trauma. They used to land quick jabs; now they're throwing haymakers. Yet No Taste is also more dynamic and measured in its violence.

CLB is a serviceable enough Drake album, but he has a number of prior projects that showcase his dynamic rap abilities and frenemy quarrels at a much higher calibre.

What Only Up suggests at its core is an opportunity to unite Toronto's hitherto fragmented music scene; rave music, hip-hop and bands can coexist, rebuild the scene anew and have a hell of a good time doing it.

It's certainly BTBAM's heaviest in a while, paying tribute to the BTBAM's watershed record without copy-pasting. It might fall short of wall-to-wall iconic status, but they already achieved that.

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.

There is a lot to chew on here, and that's what makes GLOW ON an album that will stay fresh after many replays.

From‌ ‌the‌ ‌desert-blues‌ ‌guitar‌ ‌that‌ ‌knits‌ ‌itself‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌muscular‌ ‌coda‌ ‌of‌ ‌"Real‌ ‌Pain,"‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌De‌ ‌Souza's‌ ‌voice‌ ‌condenses‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌vein‌ ‌of‌ ‌skyward‌ ‌fluorescence‌ ‌on‌ ‌"Bad‌ ‌Dream"‌ ‌or‌ ‌the‌ ‌latticework‌ ‌rhythm‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌sparkling‌ ‌"Hold‌ ‌U," ‌Any‌ ‌Shape‌ ‌You‌ ‌Take‌‌ ‌is‌ ‌endlessly‌ ‌energized,‌ ‌each‌ ‌corroded‌ ‌riff‌ ‌and‌ ‌synth‌ ‌streak‌ ‌glowing‌ ‌with‌ ‌purpose.‌

De Doorn is not only a continuation, but also a rebirth of Amenra's pilgrimage of apocalyptic heaviness.

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

It's to CHVRCHES' credit that Screen Violence doesn't suggest any shallow, put-down-your-phone answers to the questions it raises. Instead, the album makes an unflinching appraisal of present-day anxieties to summon the vitality needed to keep going, in spite of what keeps coming through the screen.

Although GUMBO'! does move with some inconsistency, Siifu nevertheless delivers a dynamic approach to his craft.

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.

In its lyrics and tone, Infinite Granite is remarkably blue, and beautifully so. Some fans might not appreciate the direction the band has taken towards the light, but nevertheless, the heart of Deafheaven remains.

They've aged into something more pensive, monumental and vital. The party is over, and we need these empathetic folktales much more than any of us need to dance.

This is a collection of songs that wink at what previously made this band great and hint at some interesting paths forward, but ultimately declare that BNL have simply become unrequired listening.

The momentum of King's Disease II's eventual first half results in some lag to the finish line, but whether it's inspired singles ("Rare"), fresh collaborations, new ideas or bejeweled one-liners ("How you expect to get love if you don't show none?"), King Nas serves up another reminder that he's no pretender to the throne. The wild ambition has just evolved into calculated wisdom.

The band had already pushed well beyond their initial territory with Nearer My God. Draw Down the Moon transports them out of that world entirely and into a galaxy of their own.

Lingua Ignota comes off much more sombre and reflective, and Sinner Get Ready is nothing short of a strikingly effective album, sounding more like an incantation than a mere collection of songs.

Isaiah Rashad has returned as sharp as ever, delivering an album that houses some of the best material that he's ever released. The album never lulls over its 16-track runtime; instead, it finds an artist who's taken his time away from the spotlight back in a good space, building upon an already strong foundation to result in with the most complete project he's released.

It's not your typical upbeat pop album — instead, it's more reflective and subdued. Through it all, it stays true to the young artist that took over pop music in only a few short years.

Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night, Antonoff's third album as Bleachers, is at best a heartfelt batch of tracks that are nice to experience in the moment, but rarely anytime after. This doesn't mean there aren't a few glimpses of the full potential of Bleachers' musical direction; they're just crowded by much of the same heard on records past.

Welcome 2 America is an incredible listen and an album that proves that even when Prince had reached his lowest point, he was still capable of creating magic. It's a tight, concise body of work that is a few missteps short of perfection but is still far and away his best release since 1987's Sign o' the Times.

Some of its improvisations feel more impenetrable than others. But the album's unpredictable nature gives it some of its finest moments.

While 9th & Walnut ranks among Descendents' best work, circumstances have made it more of a capsule in time than a harbinger of future classics from the band.

Bridges loves a good love song, and nails a few here.

Despite the abundance of compositional ideas, they are all executed with attention to clarity, cohesion and detail. Thackray's auteurist approach in the studio combined with her peerless precision and control feel like a whole new genre unto itself.

With six of the nine tracks written in 2018, it's unbelievable how well this record flows and holds together — and that's without even mentioning how prophetic the tracks have proven to be over the last three years.

Despite poor production choices and lazy song structures, Pop Smoke's energy and solo spurts of brilliance won't allow for this stale posthumous release to tarnish his legacy.

A carefully orchestrated and patiently rendered collection of songs that recasts Cottrill's music in the visage of artists like King and James Taylor.

It's inevitable that lately i feel EVERYTHING will be relentlessly compared to its influences and predecessors, but Willow manages to pay homage to the subculture while putting her own spin on it.

Even when Wavves tread some familiar territory, the nine-song album is so short and peppy that it whooshes by like a refreshing ocean breeze.

Vince Staples is the rapper's most personal and emotionally resonant project yet, and the choice to opt for a stripped-back approach complements the content greatly. Vince's blunt and bleak observations on life, death, humanity, gang culture, paranoia and trauma fit perfectly with the sparse and skeletal soundscape of this LP. It feels like every instrumental here was crafted to give his words the room they need to have the impact they're meant to.

SAULT carry on commenting about those still-relevant issues with vivid lyrics about injustice wrapped in captivating rhythms.

Mythopoetics may be Rose's most approachable album, but that just means that the world has finally caught up with Half Waif's wide-lens world.

Get Up Sequences is a nevertheless solid example of the Go! Team doing what they do best.

Tyler has delivered a project that yet again pushes the boundaries of his music while simultaneously being a culmination of everything that he's done so far. It's yet another impressive outing for an artist whose reign doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

Planet Her has no skips, not even the previously released singles. It showcases many sides to Doja but remains cohesive — if you don't consume it in its entirety, you'll definitely miss out on truly understanding her world.

It's clear Atreyu crave rebirth in the crucible of lifeless arena rock, but with a selection of tracks this dull and inoffensive, they'll probably get their wish.

It may not be the triumphant return fans had hoped for, but it's not a desperate gasp for one last breath either. It's somewhere in between — a bittersweet last hurrah. Demanufacture from 1995 will always be the rusted jewel in Fear Factory's scrap metal crown, but Aggression Continuum is a worthy final program before an inevitable systems reboot.

On Back of My Mind, H.E.R. is in total control of her sound, with masterful command of her artistic direction.

Dacus has long been heralded for her ability as a raconteur, and Home Video further cements this reputation. It is a deeply personal album filled with raw vignettes of young adulthood that claw at our collective consciousness.

On Pray for Haiti, he has successfully stayed true to his roots while offering unique yet less obtuse content.

Though eschewing the (mild, but still present) domestic theatrics of their earlier works for more wizened fare may have muted their immediate impact, their knack for immersive melodies and grooves keep things compelling.

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.

Despite its slightness, Broken Hearts and Beauty Sleep nonetheless shows Mykki Blanco as an artist with big ideas to go along with their big personality.

If BLACK METAL 2 is less Blunt-as-provocateur and more Blunt-as-storyteller, then both longtime fans and brand-new listeners owe him the opportunity to paint that morose picture in equal measure. Regardless of your familiarity with Blunt's music, you're bound to be rewarded.

Even Islomania's bleaker moments kinda bounce, refracting their darker sentiments in compelling ways. And in that, Islomania proves a lively, welcome return.

The Migos formula works, to be sure. But it's those occasional reaches outside the tried and true — be it beats or collaborators — that make for a more compelling listen, even if they don't always smack the mark.

With Bodies, they sound lost without an identity. There's barely anything that's exciting or memorable, and when it surprises, it's only in the wrong ways. The band sounds about 30 years less experienced than they are.

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.

Kommunity Service manages to deliver on almost every front. It's an impressive collaborative effort from two of California's brightest stars, yet another solid release in Mozzy's rapidly expanding catalogue and a much-needed return to form for YG following a few subpar releases.

Combining the uncontaminated brawn of 2004's The Woods with the hip indie sensibilities of their early LPs, Sleater-Kinney have finally relieved their all-encompassing crowd-pleaser with the sonically pleasing Path of Wellness.

Outside Child as a whole exhibits a lust for life in spite of its trials.

Phair is at her best when she confidently picks a lane. Soberish is uneven because of her indecision, but it's still her best album since 1998's Whitechocolatespaceegg.

Each track is a confined attempt at gaiety, a succinct story in service of this greater mission of uninhibited emotion — which is ultimately, hopefully joy.

Changephobia might not necessarily win over skeptics, but it's the most coherent vision — lyrically and sonically — of Rostam as a solo artist so far.

When Smoke Rises is a succinct and well-crafted album that serves to tell the story of Mustafa's pain, grief and loss in way that honours his unique voice. Mustafa manages to transcend genres while remaining true to himself as he navigates his emotional trauma.

By chronicling the redemptive rise and bittersweet resolution of DMX's plot-twist ridden third act, Exodus not only fulfills the tall order of giving a long-overlooked great a fitting send off. It's also the sound of hip-hop's Job finding meaning in his suffering — and, thankfully, peace thereafter.

Your reception towards Convocations will depend on your patience, your tolerance for experimental albums, and whether you're even a fan of Stevens' instrumental work to begin with. If you're not, then Stevens exploring grief via Brian Eno-style minimalism is not going to be what swings the pendulum for you. For Stevens' disciples though, there's enough here to warrant a poring over reminiscent of the same given to holy books.

At a protracted 70 minutes, Morgan's latest may be a bit too arduous for its foundation, but Loscil has always been an artist unafraid to exhaust an idea to its fullest, and Clara proves this in spades.

Duterte and Kempner manage to break the mould with Doomin' Sun, proving their chops as singular visionaries as well as synergetic collaborators.

Play with the Changes is a testament to both the friendship and musical flexibility Jordan has found, and continues to build with all involved; bonds that carry the album's range of emotions and electronics beyond dance floors to heads and hearts effortlessly.

Disarming listeners with a palette of sounds that merge laidback rock landscapes with grungy grit, Madeline Link's lyrics are jagged and abrupt, with abstract lines fused together by vividly visceral imagery. Deciphering deeper meanings may prove difficult (particularly as filtered through her languid drawl), but the endlessly listenable, breezy rock tunes encourage plenty of exploration, and any efforts will be handsomely rewarded.

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.

By the end of the album, Rodrigo has established her voice and showed listeners that she's not afraid to be vulnerable. SOUR is a strong debut that vividly illustrates the beautiful chaos of being inside a teenage girl's brain.

It is a well-conceived and delivered piece of work, but perhaps unavoidably one that feels the absence of its staged elements.

Say What? is hardly DOOM's definitive work, but it gives us one last snapshot of a solitary mind that spurted in wonderfully volatile ways.

Totally original, completely unselfconscious and wonderfully catchy, WINK is one of those rare albums that you can throw on anytime and let it guide you on the journey it has laid out before you.

The Off-Season — an earnest return to blood, sweat and ink — doesn't need much more to hit like swish.

Through loud and quiet dynamics, and incorporating minimalism, Big Brave's Vital is one of the most impactful records in the band's catalogue.

He and his band are making truly tremendous guitar rock in a manner that is peerless in this era, and from anywhere on the globe.

Alfa Mist weaves masterfully from threads of nostalgia, but Bring Backs, when you unravel it, is more of an ode to faith and resilience than a mournful remark on what is gone.

Memoryland is arguably at its strongest when its homages and nods are less vigorous.

Paas has said that her music explores themes of non-romantic love, and while her operatic delivery tends to highlight emotion over enunciation, Anything Can't Happen is peppered with these moments of startling melancholy.

The music is raw, melodic and explosive, and captures the inner reflection one must undertake to properly envision the future.

The finely curated production on Slime Language 2 provides a perfect snapshot of the evolution of Atlanta's sound.

Eleki and psych rock appear to not be enough for the seven-piece's voracious and diverse musical appetites, and Shirushi offers many directions from which the band could reasonably choose.