On Songs for You, Tinashe shows off how adept she is at flitting between genres, hopping on moody, woozy R&B, sun-dappled G-funk, ’80s pop, acoustic devotionals, club-worthy drum ’n’ bass and skittering trap, sometimes in the span of a single song without so much as straining her airy, but substantial soprano. There are a few songs left over from a scrapped album with RCA, but here, they feel part and parcel of the vision Tinashe has for herself.

A riot? Hardly. But by combining these trance-like textures in such an incessant way, they’ve created music of a mostly memorable variety regardless.

Overall, Paranoid Cocoon's bedroom chamber pop spins with variety and subtle dissonances aplenty.

She’s embracing herself, her heartbreak, her sarcasm and taking time to dance, slowly, with her feelings.

Harps and Angels is another fine Randy Newman album, minimally produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker.

The relative calming of Crystal Castles’ seas on CC 2, while maintaining the duo’s penchant for unsettling zombie vocals and harsh static beats, ultimately makes for a more immersive listen.

The Dodos’ tried-and-true approach and execution is far too strong and compelling to abandon, but by amending it ever so slightly on Carrier, they’ve realized something worth documenting. And it’s certainly worth listening to.

While the album’s primary appeal may come from the rich storytelling in Earle’s songs, the musicality on display is nothing to balk at either.

It's welcome progression for Segall and crew, one that's as enjoyable as it is ear-splintingly raucous.

This reeled-in style seems like an extension of their exhaustion and desire to create something laid-back that would give them a chance to breathe and really examine what they’re doing and why, rather than trying to hustle and do everything at breakneck speed all the time.

Overlook is her best, most animated collection in years.

Despite its many nostalgic elements, Floating Features represents a new start in a new city, and though it often looks inward, it’s grounded in the present and glances towards the future.

LONER is a big step up Caroline Rose’s artistic ladder, and evidence she hasn’t “learned her place” and never will.

The ethereal timbre to Brook's voice fits nicely into the world Sheik's created on Whisper House--a world that never escapes the feeling of being a soundtrack to a film or play you haven't seen, but a world that's worth visiting nonetheless.

Mid-album burners aside, Brightest Darkest Day is a strong debut, especially coming from artists with established musical pasts.

Chemtrails Over the Country Club is a record full of euphoric highs and baffling lows. It’s an enjoyable listen that cinematically celebrates Del Rey’s vocal prowess.

If you're seeking cool, ironic detachment, best look elsewhere. But if you want to hear fresh blood pumping exuberantly through the veins of these classics, give Osaka Ramones a spin.

The result is a rich, nuanced pop album that feels like something French from the late ’60s.

Once the controls for the album are ceded (mostly) to Danger Mouse, the album really starts to cook. The last five songs are the best batch of material U2 have played a part in for a decade, at least.

Man Alive!’s biggest strength lies in its sequencing. There’s no narrative throughline to the record, but there’s certainly still an emotional journey to it, elegantly flowing from optimistic synths to self-imploding percussion, from visions of his daughter’s life to the apocalyptic end of Marshall’s own. Like The Passion of Joan of Arc’s spiritual cinematography, each track plays like an extreme close-up in service of a uniquely coherent whole.

Quick, fast and dirty, like 45s from the '50s, this is a stack of songs that sets the mood for the party-and never looks back.

Violens is able to float between atmospheric and in-your-face, giving the album a swirling feeling instead of putting power hits up front and letting the album slide into the background as the songs pass.

As it stands, The Book of Souls is the best Maiden record from Dickinson’s second act, and an impressive achievement from one of metal’s greatest bands.

After clocking more hours in the studio this time around, the band sound even more assured. On Blue Skies, those telltale hooks manifest themselves again on nearly every song.

So while In Light is unmistakably a 2011 indie album (In addition to the Dirty Projectors influence, there are traces of Vampire Weekend's trendy worldly pop bounce scattered throughout), Givers constantly rise above their reference points because the songs are usually excellent.

No Holiday works well as both a Muffs album and also a tribute to Shattuck’s skill, vision and drive.

At just over a half hour long, it's more EP than album, but even these (ostensible) B-sides make for a giddy and infectious sprint.

Belle & Sebastian aren't trying striving for new heights: They're just wounded introverts looking for healing, one wistful melody at a time.

For the most part, though, Everybody Split finds Possible Humans capably walking a tricky line: They take parts that, when added up, can (and often do) come off as dour, stilted or standoffish, but by infusing them with a strong pop sensibility and a personal touch, they manage to soften these songs’ sharp corners. This is post-punk with a pulse, and not just the kind provided by the drummer.

True to its title, Nightroamer is an album for shadow work, one that seems to relish meeting the darker parts of yourself head-on and admitting that you may be powerless to defeat them.

With a truthful tone and a passionate telling, In the Cool of the Day is good salve for anyone, believer or skeptic.

Throughout I Was Born Swimming, Williams pokes around in her own mind while wearing a tiny headlamp, digging up romantic evening encounters, lonely late-night drives and midnight beach jaunts. It never quite feels like daylight. But the instrumentation is such that the record never feels cold, either. You’ll just want to sink into it, like a warm bath, or maybe a 4 p.m. ocean that’s been baking in the hot sun all day.

Ultimately Enter The Slasher House excellently parallels the campy horror flicks and haunted houses that inspired the band’s name.

Please Have a Seat is a testament to NNAMDÏ’s unconventional musical vision and how no matter what genre he wanders into—whether it be hip-hop, indie rock, electronica or bubblegum pop—he stays true to who he is. It’s also a wondrous adventure for anyone who is willing to hold on through its twists and turns. Most importantly, it represents the complexity Black artists possess.

Their jagged power pop has been refreshingly consistent, but never lax. And I Hate Music--the band’s second post-hiatus release since 2010’s Majesty Shredding--is no different.

She proves herself as a compelling vocalist whose tenderness and power are equally entrancing. The rich instrumentals heighten the emotional capacity of her songs, but never overshadow her vocal talent.

With the help of producer Phil Ek, the band captures the odd we're-young-but-wish-we-were-younger nostalgia of the so-called crisis while still creating an album that will appeal to an audience outside the twentysomething set.

It’s also a wonderful first product of Angel Deradoorian and Kate NV’s creative union.

His new record retains The Streets’ puckish charm while showing signs of maturity.

Hold My Home is arguably the strongest record--with the most consistent highlights--that the band has yet to deliver, and it bodes well for their future.

This is a solid, serious collection of songs--the product of two thoughtful and ambitious musicians--and an album that doesn't need a panel discussion to establish its importance.

Sisterworld is petulant, rewarding and ultimately lonely. It’s a record that refuses to pick a style or lock step with the world that exists around it, much like the band that created it.

While his weathered humanity may be better captured on sublime offerings like More Miles Than Money, it gilds the edges of Street Songs, a collection bursting with unflagging energy.

Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood sounds like Echo & the Bunnymen or Simple Minds turned loose with an army of 808s and AutoTuners, and when left unwarped by gauzy effects, Cale's vocal delivery is alternately as morose as Joy Division's and as sneering as Nick Cave's.

As easy as it is to enjoy, there is something fleeting in its pleasures, as if it isn’t quite complete without occupying the same spaces as the band.

Though Mangy Love is well constructed, the album at times has a slippery feel, and some of the songs can just slide by without making the impression it seems like they should.

The record signifies the formidable maturation of Hughes’ career and pop prowess. Allie X can masquerade as the Girl With No Face all she wants—but there’s no hiding this album’s serious legs.

Emerging from California's punk/roots scene, championed by the Blasters and sharing stages with X, he kept it true, while mining the tempest of a formidable rejectionist movement. 3 Pears follows the same map.

Many of the tracks on the album definitely feel like they were written during the golden age of pop-punk music. Yet there is also something innovative about these songs, particularly the opener “Homecoming King.”

angeltape presents a darkened canvas of experimental rock, showcasing Drahla plunging into the depths of their elaborate and existential craft.

You’ll get more out of the album if you have a minor grasp on Welsh, the same way you’ll get more from certain arcs in Chris Onstad’s Achewood if you know a bit about Wales and Welsh culture. Any little bit helps. But Rhys is such a good songwriter that an audience hailing from anywhere on the globe can tune into Pang!’s curious frequencies and find their own meaning in his sound.

Destroyer starts thumping with the first track and never stops; the tone might change, but the listener’s desire to stomp the accelerator on the open road won’t.

It’s hard to make an argument for anything here being essential for the Flaming Lips’ career arc, but, it is a side project, and as side projects go, this one is strong.

With her viscerally pessimistic, love-hate view of relationships, IAN SWEET steps above the standard moving, moody indie pop. This album hurts in all of the best ways.

Here the iconic Blind Boys of Alabama sound more joyful, jubilant and ready than ever, their faith a source of palpable euphoria, whether laced with tuba, tambourine or resonator guitar.

To Syria, With Love is musically interesting in its own right.

The release finds the New Jersey trio, which also features Jarrett Dougherty on drums and King Mike on bass, exploring not only space-filling arrangements that are impressive for the lean band, but also hard-hitting and catchy tracks.

The furious yowling on each track off Uniform’s Perfect World belies some pretty arresting compositional finery.

In a discography saturated with ambient anthems and frenetic energy, CAPRISONGS brilliantly brandishes the talent of an artist constantly looking for her next high.

While Loss of Life still gives no compelling answer to the question “Who is MGMT?,” it also doesn’t need to. The album makes it obvious that the duo are most at home behind the boards, uniting their musical memories from Oasis to Roxy Music.

The only real misfire here is a misplaced cover of Grandaddy’s early classic “A.M. 180.” It’s an affectionate rendition, revving up the tempo and swapping out the song’s R2-D2 synths for overdriven guitar, but PUP’s pummelling aggression is an awkward match for Grandaddy’s cerebral melodicism, and the result doesn’t quite fit among these Morbid Stuff rejects.

In spite of its minor flaws, it’s the cornerstone of Kiwi indie music, an essential collection that retains its freshness and vitality.

On Dry Food’s eight heartbreaking observations, she teeters between aching insecurity and crushing tenderness.

Jurado possesses a gift for elevated simplicity, and this quality graces In the Shape of a Storm and gives its ten songs a pleasingly rounded shape.

More than Just a Dream is poised for prime time, a diabetic coma of sugar-rush pop.

Get Back is a transportive listen, one that takes the audience to inexperienced rock and roll memories, makes them as grimy as they are romantic, and then offers a ride back home.

Sure, they may be well within their comfort zone, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

This is his third solo album, and it’s well-written, breathtakingly pretty and as edgy as a cue ball.

These songs aren’t purely doom and gloom; they’re not tons of fun either, but hope and curiosity abound, even if they’re not easy to spot on first listen.

It sounds like they’ve fallen into a niche but they’re dead-set on redefining the borders that they’ve set forth for themselves. And that is quite an exciting place for a band to be.

Thanks to a rich sonic palette and more dynamic songwriting, they’ve turned in their best collection of jangly indie rock songs so far.

For Cursive fans, Gemini is best served with time, a sit-down with the liner notes and repeat listens.

Once again, the Truckers conjure up satisfying and cinematic songs with the greatest of ease.

Joy is a little more messy but almost as glorious [as 2012's Hair]. With track times mostly clocking in under 120 seconds, it’s a series of quick hits that are warped but relentlessly tuneful.

Even though Young Sick Camellia maintains its old school vibe, it still manages to inject a fresh, vibrant and a vivid reminder that even in an age where the next big deal is based on making a weird, wacky impression, going back to the basics has its merits as well.

Swift’s lyrics can still cut like glass or cast a spell. No matter what era she’s in, it’s the stories—more than anything else—that will always work the hardest. That’s why Taylor Swift is pop royalty. When she tells you she’s a mastermind, believe her.

Camp Cope’s third album, Running with the Hurricane, trades that thundering punk for lighter fare. It’s brimming with just as much emotion, but the band this time focus more on personal triumphs and tribulations for inspiration, making their characteristically electrifying songs feel raw in a different way.

The most interesting moments of the album are when Pusha feels his way around the darkness instead of embracing it so willingly.

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.

While no one will accuse him of deserting his shoegaze stance entirely, he does opt for a more approachable embrace that finds even the most subdued selections building with majesty and momentum. It’s a glorious effect, one that resonates in ways both illuminative and affecting all at the same time.

Aporia, by no means, is going to be considered an essential Sufjan album. However, for electronic obsessives and longtime followers, the record will feel like absolute candy.

On The Agent Intellect, Casey finds himself as more of a vocal stylist than a singer, and that’s good.

Lost Songs splits the difference between some of the more overly emotive/dramatic Trail of Dead featured on recent albums, and the frenetic, exciting Trail of Dead of its the early years.

On the album’s 15 tracks, the band throw their strengths and weaknesses at the wall and see what sticks, oscillating between full-blown Jackson Pollock style chaos and the more carefully calibrated, geometric works of Mark Rothko. Sometimes it’s revelatory; sometimes it’ll leave you scratching your head.

Deeper Into Dream shows incredible growth in Lee and an exciting new direction to his usual style.

Heaven knows has more intricate songwriting and a wider scope [than her 2021 mixtape to hell with it].

By connecting so well with one another, MICHELLE reach listeners in a singular and effortlessly listenable way.

After the breakthrough of their incredible 2016 album Cardinal, Hall and Pinegrove faced the tall task of trying to match or surpass it. They haven’t quite done that, but they have built an impressive catalog of albums that spill over with compelling songs and affecting performances. From that perspective, 11:11 fits in perfectly.

Gone by the Dawn deftly blends a joyful escape musically with the weighty emotional journey of the lyrics, and Shannon and the Clams have more than topped themselves on the record, pushing to a whole new level.

Shovels & Rope balances a robust blend of electric guitar and a booming kick drum with reflective vocals, and the result is at once triumphant and melancholy.

Mixing deathless classics (“Here,” “Gold Soundz,” “Range Life,”) with a few non-album gems (“Frontwards”), it’s a near-ideal primer on the savviest slacker-rock band ever.

Recorded by themselves, in a garage, Life In The Dark is The Felice Brothers’ most consistent album, a potent showcase for band’s greatest strengths in both songwriting and performance.

What's left then is a large number of effective, tightly constructed tracks that are sure to please a wide range of indie/synth pop fans, regardless of the language they speak.

America is still undoubtedly an epic, but maybe not the world-addressing opus that Deacon might've wanted to make.

Pursuit of Momentary Happiness isn’t as consistent as its predecessor, but its moments of punk gusto find Yak at their mightiest peak.

Even if Surrender and HIIAPL aren’t 100% dynamite from start to finish, it’s clear Rogers is consistently capable of creating special (and yes, spiritual) moments in pop music. On Surrender, Rogers is in communion with her collaborators and her listeners, and that’s a path to something lasting.

This is probably the best Band of Horses album in 12 or maybe 15 years, after all—but when longtime fans listen to “Lights,” they’ll almost certainly hear echoes of “Weed Party,” a song from the band’s debut album.

The literate lyrics, his expressive voice, his knack for hummable melodies—suggest that he has fully arrived at the next phase of a career that continues to deliver songs worth hearing.