If Bunny has a fault, it is in the way it is so poised and delicately produced that it sometimes sounds like it should be behind glass. Ultimately, though, it succeeds at the none-too-easy task of providing plenty of familiar pleasures in the present while making one curious about where Payseur might take Beach Fossils in the future.

It has gorgeous moments that replace silence by reorganizing the background sounds of everyday life, which is arguably what all music should do. With Romantic Piano, Gia Margaret has perfected her voice.

Brown and Amos have intelligence to burn. Everyone’s Crushed soundtracks our present frenzied moment in new ways, portending a mutual future neither bright nor grim but, like this band, is inescapably singular.

Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is a 16-track, 78-minute album, and some of it will lose even her most ardent fans. Track eight is where it regains itself through the extended metaphor of “Kintsugi”: a Japanese term for a pottery repair technique that calls attention to the crack rather than hides it. .... [After “Margaret”] There are three more tracks, though.

The answer is there is no answer until perhaps it is too late. He’s not the first person to come to that conclusion. The value of Simon’s record lies in its pondering of life’s mysteries.

In London Ko, Diawara uses a broader sonic palette than her earlier music and generally dials up the amplitude. While the music aims to move your body, its Bambara lyrics are also meant to move your spirit.

Anyone coming to RP Boo or footwork in general via this release needs to be prepared to have their bones rearranged and their senses overloaded.

The music was recorded at Sear Sound during a five-day stint in New York City and sounds as sophisticated as the city that never sleeps.

The assured, varied, and ear-pleasing Everything Harmony raises anticipation for whatever choices the Lemon Twigs will make next.

With nine songs and just over 33 minutes in length, In Between Thoughts, A New World is compact and entertaining. Even with Rodrigo favoring the electric guitar and the presence of the string section, this doesn’t feel like a radical reinvention for the duo.

Crowell proves in The Chicago Sessions that both his pen and voice are still as vital as ever.

These are deeply personal songs that chart the different kinds of emotions he’s working through, whether it’s to do with the affairs of the heart or the turmoil of the outside world; it’s also a wildly ambitious record that takes its musical cutes from Black American popular music. The sum of all these great parts makes for a thrilling listen.

Rodriguez-Lopez’s work is excellent across Que Dios Te Maldiga De Corazon, making exciting and rewarding arrangement choices. It’s not like The Mars Volta needed freshening up only seven months later, but it’s a worthwhile project.

The LP falls just short of the Orb’s most essential work. ... This is one of those Orb releases that pleasantly bides its time, waiting for that rush of inspiration that turns out to be only a parade of pretty neat ideas.

First Two Pages of Frankenstein is still obviously the National’s work and sound, but it wants to reach out more than they ever have.

It’s bursting with ideas and is, unsurprisingly, a bit of sprawl. It’s fun to hear the group exploring new musical territory, stretching their sound in ways they haven’t before. The long break between records has made for an exciting set of songs.

It’s albums like That! Feels Good! that younger generations and trendsetters should be paying more attention to, as incorporating the still-relevant past into new work is not only what can make some of the best art but some of the bravest art.

There is something to be said for alchemy, but Keep Your Courage would be better if Merchant lightened up a bit. ... The beauty of the songs here offers solace more than anguish. The fact that everything changes can be hopeful.

Pain remains a fertile ground for compelling art, but the brilliance of Rat Saw God lies in how the band also captures the resistant luminance within that pain. The characters in these songs suffer, but Hartzman draws them from places of empathy and honesty.

A lively record that snaps like a pair of hipster’s digits. The arrangements are tight. The main players (guitarist Danny Caron, bassist Ruth Davies, and drummer Leon Joyce) capture the cool vibe of the originals.

The poetic lyrics combine with the sensitive instrumentation to create a sum greater than the individual parts. The words have a more profound sensibility than their dreaminess initially coveys. The musical sounds become more complex when taken in sequence and as a whole.

The results are every bit as sublime as anything he and his partners in collective aural immersion have ever released.

While this lack of dynamic intensity may be a turn-off for some listeners, it’s clear that Horn has carefully crafted a cohesive mood and atmosphere.

The idea of being a father, bringing a child into a world as frightening as ours, is a sobering and potentially overwhelming thought. This music beautifully scores these feelings.

She’s distinct enough of a vocalist that even if some of the songs start to bleed into each other or sound a bit monotonous, her charisma and talents shine through, making even the most rote of Higher Than Heaven sound pretty special.

It does not amount to a classic statement, but I don’t think she anticipates it as such. It provides a coda for Big Time, completing a set of thoughts begun with that album’s recording. It reaffirms her rising status as a worthy successor to esteemed figures like Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Iris DeMent.

Especially remarkable about Maal’s work on Being is how thoroughly his ethos as an artist and human permeates every piece of the production. His support of younger artists feels organic amid modern electropop sounds, an essential element of his overall emphasis on collaboration.

As long as 72 Seasons is, it is somewhat redeemed by Hetfield’s openness. He lays himself bare in a way he’s never done before, a brave step for any artist who deals with mental health issues, especially in his case.