The National have put out another album that could easily be argued as their best--and it may be easier to make that claim now than ever before.

The instrumentals are perhaps the most interesting; as unfinished tracks, you’re left to imagine the words Smith might have added to his work.

A few skippable songs don’t change the scale of Sumney’s accomplishment. With an auspicious debut in his rearview mirror and a blinding future ahead, he made an album that crystalizes the current state of his art and advances his worldview while at the same time clearing a path for whatever he wants to do next. Perhaps the only thing more exciting than græ will be seeing where Moses Sumney goes from here.

The gems on All Hail West Texas capture the pain and beauty of humans’ entanglements with each other.... These days it’s the loneliness of the album, and just the idea of the space that is West Texas, a vast and largely unpopulated sprawl, that hits home.

Preacher’s Daughter produces a crater-deep impact that commands respect and attention. Where one may knock some of the power ballads for sameness, one might instead find consistency, an album grounded in the artist’s inspirations and narrative mission that is, above all, tantalizing. It is hard not to crave more.

No bonus tracks, no live filler--no reason to mess around when the perfection was in the pacing.

Laugh Track is a companion piece to the band’s other 2023 album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, sure, but it stands on its own.

Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)), is both the best work of branch’s career and the most fitting send-off one could imagine for the late trumpeter.

he has created an album of songs whose sounds and sentiments are much weightier than they appear on the surface, providing entry to somewhere much more wondrous and strange and troubling than it first appears. Semper Femina is a ticket for such a journey, one that provides practical insights but no easy answers.

Caramel and Mockasin definitely takes you on one hell of an adventure. Even though it might leave you feeling a little softened and dehydrated, I can’t wait to re-lace up my skates and embark on the next one.

Legend has grown by leaps on this disc, delivering a richer sound and more adventurous experimentation. [Dec 2006, p.88]

Produced by Bayley under executive production of Epworth, the album is bizarre, gorgeous, playful and dark--and it’s absolutely mesmerizing.

It’s the acoustically driven numbers, like Saliers’ “Alberta,” a moving song based on a 1903 rockslide that buried part of the mining town of Frank, Alberta, that spotlight the strength of the duo’s voices.

The relaxed, sleepy-eyed disposition of WARMER (perfect for a holiday weekend, in fact) belies the shades of decay that flit by in the periphery of Tweedy’s lyrics. ... Tweedy has given us an example of easy listening in the most powerful sense.

Like Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Quit +/or Fight flirts with perfection, a cohesive collection of all-too-fleeting pleasures.

The musical maturity is the most notable and commendable part of No Blues.

St. Vincent, instead, entertains and provokes at every turn and is disarmingly self-assured.

The Sessions are a great listen when you have time to sift through it all, and the package gives hardcore fans more than enough material to immerse themselves in.

Whatever is dealt him, he scrapes the roots, boils the marrow and gives up songs that rabbit punch with delicious truth.

The debut is one of my picks for the year so far, a dance-hall record that grows on your and becomes more like a trusted friend who whispers wisdom from another universe.

Spiderland is a record that will sound just as exciting 20 years from now. Call it the gift that keeps on giving.

A vivid document not only of how far Wilco has come, but also of how distinct its vision has been all along. [Dec 2005, p.112]

In so many ways, the album represents the full realization not just of Moctar’s individual artistry, but of what’s possible when influences collide in unexpected ways. ... Stunning, unique desert flower.

On Out of the Game, Wainwright does not disappoint: whirling string sections and a chorus of women exhale grief behind the brash songwriter who knows no shade of blue that eludes him.

Her bandmates act as a support system, pushing these songs to new heights, ready to catch her when she stares at the unknown. All of This Will End is triumphant, despite the emotional terrain it navigates.

An efficient 33 minutes, Broken Boy Soldiers supplies the summer's most gas-conscious road tunes. [Jun/Jul 2006, p.128]

Amidst blistering tritone riffs and arpeggiated chords is a group keener to explore sonic harmony than crank the distortion. Crack the Skye is an epic trek across the space-time continuum, entirely on Mastodon’s terms.

A particularly powerful collection from a consistently brilliant artist. [Apr/May 2005, p.128]