He comes at these songs with an easy familiarity that tells you he didn’t need to spend a lot of time learning them, because he had long since absorbed them into his very bones. Also, the guy can flat-out sing, which is something he doesn’t get enough credit for. ... The one real knock against anything on Only the Strong Survive is that the definitive versions of most of these songs are so solid that even he can’t find much to improve upon.

Most of these artists strike a rare rework/remix balance, preserving what made the original tick while infusing enough of their own identity to justify the new take.

Like most of Malkmus’ releases, Wig Out At Jagbags won’t likely endear him to many newer listeners. But for those who are of the same disposition, this ain’t a bad place to be.

Even with the burden of sloppy crossover tracks, Paper Trail has enough standout moments for T.I.’s throne to remain secure for now.

Like a prayer, The Saint of Lost Causes best listened to alone and deliberately. It’s too close and intimate to put on when there are others present unless they also plan on listening in silence. It’s a lot to ask the modern, harried soul to lay low and meditate on a record, but listen any other way and it’s all, well, a lost cause.

Cold War Kids’ multifaceted style keeps things exciting even at the LP’s weaker points, but how does the story change when taken as a whole? Maybe not by much. Taken on its own, though, New Age Norms 3 shows how much Cold War Kids will push to figure themselves out as they grow and the world around them slowly shifts into something unfamiliar.

Fake Sugar picks up where her book left off. It bridges the gap between love and loss and taps into her Southern roots to create a record that fully encompasses the person she’s become.

On Beal’s first album, he moved between child-like ambience, songs suitable for weird film scores and stomping blues.

Although Vestiges & Claws may wander close to guitar-based, folk-rock homogeny, González’s musings offer a cerebral reminder to enjoy figuring out what it all means.

Electronic music edges ever so slowly toward nausea, a tendency to turn music into math. The best artists fight this with loving restraint. Bayonne is close to the mark, but there might be a few times when you reach for the volume and just say “enough” with the looping. Then there are times when it does work, as on the song “Spectrolite” with a heavier emphasis on analog instruments.

The whole EP feels familiar, either from the carryover from Bird's previous albums (most notably Break It Yourself) or from things you've heard before but can't quite put your finger on-it doesn't shock or change the course of rivers, but it does invite, and welcome, and maybe pour you a cup of tea and ask about your day.

On the whole, Developer proves to be a more than accurate title.

just as the sequel-ness inherently implies, faithfulness to their past work sinks Event II, as just the sound and goals of the album seem out of place in 2013 and overly nostalgic, without adding much to the conversation that seemed long finished.

The album sounds as current as it might have some 40 years ago. As with everything Lauderdale does, the music never gets old.

A Broke Moon Rises is a good record from a great musician, but if nothing else it’s worth hearing just to share in that moment.

This 13 track set sees the band tapping back into that essential ingredients of their core sound.

It’s a listening experience that’s as satisfying and rewarding as those aforementioned records. With a band as assured and stylistically unique as Future Islands, a choice to stay in their lane can only mean more good things.

This time, there are a couple of solid songs surrounded on all sides by wandering experiments which never quite form into a whole.

The seventh Xiu Xiu album may be the most playfully arranged and colorfully textured in the band’s catalog.

The mood of the disc is no less overcast than his usual material; it just makes more use of the celesta setting.

Irreverent, funny, and ruefully sad, High and Inside will not appeal to everyone. But if the intersection of baseball and rock 'n' roll" is meaningful to you, it's a stellar reminder of why the game and the power chords still matter.

Despite its flaws, Vol. 2 is the second-best thing the Olds have done in a decade.

There’s a sense of self-affirmation found both lyrically and musically on this record as well; it’s as much about Grossi overcoming heartache as it is about his musical explorations.

Rae seems to be inspired by nature. Allusions to stars, constellations, skies and galaxies abound, elemental energies propelling her as she confronts new challenges and obstacles, and imagines new futures.

The Parrots supply their best tunes when they are having a good time, exactly why they act best to soundtrack the fun times under the sweltering summer sun. For The Parrots, all of the fun they have is just in a day’s work.

Bentham is very good at what she does. She’s a distinctive songwriter with a penchant for avoiding the obvious, and her songs have a way of lingering, with melodies that scroll through your head like a news ticker.

These are musicians totally in command of their sound, devoted to every specific artist and genre that influenced it, but there remains enough levity that it never gets bogged down by perfectionism—sometimes just caring is enough.

Not to Disappear is everything you could want from a sophomore release. It’s got enough of the debut in it that you’re getting what you came for with a ton of surprises to make sure you keep going on this journey with them from here on out.