Layering his idiosyncratic songs with elements of classical, jazz, Broadway and Disney movie scores, Barnes elevates Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies into the pantheon of seminal new pop masterpieces that test our very concepts of what modern pop should sound like.

Everything works on Tomorrow Is My Turn, an album that heralds the arrival of a major American artist.

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

VOICES employs music as a forum for activism, spreading sentiments of unity, tolerance, and compassion throughout a pensive, sweeping, and goosebump-inducing song cycle of drones, arpeggios, and keyboard figures. In the wake of a surge in anti-liberalism, oppression, bigotry, and bloody violence and unleashed in the middle of a global pandemic, it's a becalming rebuke and a heartening conduit for hope, reflection, and radiance.

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

All the frustration that Pierce felt over the course of putting together this album hasn't clouded the music. On the contrary, the songs, structures, and transitions all come and go natural and easy.

A comeback that not only beats expectations but has an excellent claim to be the band's crowning achievement (so far).

When he sings, he doesn't seem to be singing from some ivory tower. And when stripped of the confines of a band dynamic, that relatability is even more naked and genuine. Warm is Tweedy unfiltered, a gift that begs to be shared.

Indestructible Machine is as good as anything I've heard this year and marks the true, and truly defiant, arrival of what could be a serious talent.

While both performers have shown themselves to be more than competent solo performers, with Meshes of Voice they show the result of two compelling contemporaries coming together, in the process creating something utterly revelatory and, ultimately, greater than the sum of its respective parts.

More and more, the term [slacker is] just a synonym for the young, frustrated, and disenfranchised, and Light Up Gold strikes a nerve as a result.

Singing Saw is the sound of affirmation, of both hard-earned talent and childlike imagination. As a result, Morby has discovered a sound which is organic without ever quoting, rocking without ever rolling at the same time, transcending while barely leaving the ground.

Neither the left-field alternative interpretations of Johnny Cash’s final few albums, nor the insular, moody explorations of contemporary Bob Dylan, Helm’s recent work embraces the past alongside the present in a way that is inviting, joyous, and thoroughly satisfying.

What truly makes this album stand out is the group’s sense of control.

Studied and expansive, its reverb, tambourine and 12 strings induce a Technicolor dream that’s simply brill[iant].

Though NOMO exhibits an ecstatic love for Afrobeat, spiritual jazz (check the odd time-signatured mysticism of “Patterns”), and the like, they’ve been increasingly studio-prone with each successive album, allowing for the effects of postproduction and modern electronic instrumentation to take their music in wild new directions.

It’s clear that nearly 40 years since her debut single, the creative prowess of one of popular music’s most valuable treasures is undiminished.

With an album as well thought out and arranged as Flower Boy playing on repeat, “right now” is absolutely enjoyable.

A World Lit Only By Fire is revisionist industrial and the soundscapes of this brittle disc leaves you wondering what on earth just hit you.

As varied as this all may sound on paper, just keep in mind that Planet Mu’s most listenable artists are already pretty far into left-field from the start. So when µ20 hops from one stone to another, it feels like you’re following a path of some sort.

Once again, Tobias Forge has come through with a slick, wickedly catchy collection of songs that are certain to please Ghost’s rapidly growing audience.

Love’s Crushing Diamond arrives fully formed, a complete sonic work that tenderly guides you along and clothes you in its layered beauty.

Taken as a whole, Old Ramon is a brilliant mopey stroll through San Francisco's slate gray streets.

Will frustrate as many fans as it enchants.

Esperanza Spalding’s new recording, Emily’s D+Evolution is an astonishing beauty, a set of a dozen songs that artfully and persuasively bridge genres.

The real pleasure of the record is hearing how Lindemann and her accompaniment shape each song around those musings.

Apollo Kids definitely feels like a bit of an apology to his fans, and might be more accurately considered a stopgap, street album before Ghost's next labor of love.

Sister Faith radiates right from the first listen, and this record has picked up where House with a Curse left off back in 2010.

It’s that sense of timelessness--and, yes, mood--that makes Lovers such an essential collection both for Nels Cline fans and anyone who believes in the beauty and power of jazz.

From sharp, wispy aches to flat, guttural releases, vocal notes move innately and curiously. She sings to discover as if every bellow imagines a peace that her spoken voice cannot. ... [An] unpredictable, nuanced album.

Brexit (let us look forward to the day when we no longer have to speak of this blight) may be this album's context and its backdrop but what we might be getting here is ultimately a form of contemporary elegiac lyricism rather than full-fledged social polemic. Perhaps that is a more useful and rewarding reference and access point for this remarkable piece of work.

There's so much to like here, as a current document that faces forward while reflecting the past. My main nitpick would be the echo and trailing effects on the vocals, making the words linger with an extended dissolve. It's especially noticeable on headphones and makes for an odd choice on an album that otherwise sounds gorgeous. Still, even this perceived flaw alludes to an ethereal quality.

Rare, Forever synthesizes all of Vynehall's musical instincts together into one unique vision. Both beguiling abstract and instantly gratifying it’s as dizzyingly immersive as Nothing Is Still whilst occupying a totally different sonic space.

Not only has the band wrapped up the themes of the record with impeachable, spotless playing and production, but the man at the center of it all hasn’t lost his penchant for writing quality tunes either, as nearly anything you blind-spot off This Is Happening will prove.

Donuts is hip-hop, then, like “Howl” is poetry or Guernica is painting: the best aspects of a particular style, developed to their fullest and executed masterfully.

The duo is always tinkering around the edges of their sonic universe, getting darker, weirder, subtler, and more expansive. They do all of that on Once Twice Melody, and the payoff is enormous.

It’s not exactly a work of brilliance – the tracks are too slight, and the whole tone is too wilfully perverse for that. Nevertheless, Blunt has crafted something undeniably engrossing for those willing to play along with his strange game.

This is pure unadulterated fun, masterfully executed.

mewithoutYou managed to synthesize its various explorations into a richer sound, using the sort of palette necessary to adequately pummel the album's deep meditations while properly expressing the emotional potency they contain.

While the tracklist drags on a bit on Book of Ryan, the discussions of dysfunctional family life ("Power") and mental illness ("Strong Friend") are heavy and worthwhile topics. Royce doesn't sacrifice energy for message either. "Summer on Lock", "Caterpillar", "Legendary", and others are fiery bursts of boom bap and trap which show that at nearly 41, Royce is not slowing down.

In its compositional diversity and its thoughtful commentary on the troubles we face, Giants sounds like a perfect accompaniment to this troubled period in human history.

With the subdued evolution on their new record and a treasured female feature, Omni continue to carve out a distinct identity (with an exacto knife) and shine among the glut of post-punk revivalist bands. That’s a Souvenir worth savoring, for sure.

Even though there are a few tracks where Sleigh Bells try to get away with bluster and decibels alone, it's amazing how much of Treats backs up the talk and the walk.

It sounds hard to imagine these influences joining harmoniously, but they do.

A nineteen track salvo of glorious musical mayhem.

If things seem schizophrenic it's because they are.

This new album sounds fuller and crisper than Iron and Wine's earlier recordings, but the minimalist artistry hasn't changed.

Kids See Ghosts will be remembered as the climax and most enduring record of Ye Season, one that keeps giving with each and every replay.

An album that’s worthy of your admiration for its execution and vision, even if it doesn’t quite inspire the same visceral appeal that made the group’s unflinchingly intimate, first-person vignettes approachable and absorbing.

There’s no grandstanding on this modest yet confident record. Rather there’s the humility, humour, wisdom and hard-won truths of country music at its best.

It is Meshell Ndegeocello’s most complete and fully integrated record and a defining work that in evading category seems to generate its own rules of engagement and enjoyment.

There are few suprises on an Eric Church album, but it includes excellent vocals, sophisticated musical choices, and strong storytelling chops. It’s a good thing these things haven’t changed.

This is head music in more ways than one, and listening to The Practice of Love is just as enjoyable as making sense of it once it's over. I'm still far from the bottom of this thing, but the journey there is something I look forward to.

On Phasor, we are still orbiting and navigating Lange’s particular dreamy sound space with the familiar debris, but this time, there is a stronger emphasis on the power of relational love.

Stage Four still features the band doing what it does best, and also improving on its sound in many key areas.

The rest of us will continue to drink in the boldest, most thrilling album of this supremely talented band’s career.

Hiatus Kaiyote have crafted something brilliant with Mood Valiant – an album that’s effortlessly likable, commandingly confident, and rich with heart and soul.

Containing belligerent and inspiring tunes for frustrating days, Entrench has arrived at the perfect time.

While the music itself is often devastatingly beautiful, it is not without its share of darkened corners.

Imperfect yet fascinating and occasionally gorgeous, No Shape once again expands and defies any preconceived boundaries of the Perfume Genius project.

They've created another stunning collection. From its all-encompassing reverie to the LP's themes of the arcane, Inter Arma are most certainly in their wheelhouse, continuing to redefine what it means to be a modern-day metal band.

The Book of Traps and Lessons is sharp as Tempest's lyrics position her as a soothsayer. Through her album, she inspires a call for consciousness that will certainly incite radical social and personal change.

This uncertainty paired with brilliance is emblematic of the recording, this moment in his career. Sugar Mountain makes sense in conjunction with last year’s "Live at Massey Hall 1971" release. Or, more specifically, it’s a direct precursor to the singer/songwriter confidence he exuded three years later.

While brevity alone isn't automatically a virtue, the songs here contain enough ample surprises, and hidden rewards, that there's nothing lacking even as the Hives smartly employ the logic of "always leave them wanting more."

These are the songs of men who haven't changed their political opinions or been influenced by a new album since they disbanded. That sentiment makes OnoffON feel like a lost relic in spots rather than a dynamic new album by an underground legend.

From the Forest to the Sea is the sound of a band very sure of their direction and of themselves.

Nothing on Fall Be Kind sounds like b-side fodder, and one song, “What Would I Want? Sky”, is already canon bound.

An already terrific disc is put over the top by a handful of tour de forces.

<A HREF="http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/s/spoon-gimmefiction.shtml" TARGET="_blank">Review #1:</A> The sound of Gimme Fiction is as ideal a conceptualization of the band as could be imagined. [score=100]; <A HREF="http://popmatters.com/music/reviews/s/spoon-gimmefiction2.shtml" TARGET="_blank">Review #2:</A> "Gimme Fiction" has a sense of mischief and curiosity that renders it more consistently varied and just plain more listenable than "Moonlight". [score=80]

Blood Bitch is a record that doesn’t try to be anything. Whereas Apocalypse, Girl was contrived and Viscera was uneventful, this record is dreamy and memorable, both through its illusion of simplicity and its gentle invitation to listeners.

Feels is a highly rewarding journey into pop music's most primal, earthy, esoteric and ultimately beautiful places. And it's unlike anything else you will hear this year.

Like Cash, Moorer vocally can inhabit different genres and help you believe each has a necessary magic. Taken all together, these songs make Down to Believing a deeply moving listen.

Alpha Mike Foxtrot is a fascinating, and remarkably consistent, look at how Wilco has refused to define itself.

Cash is an expert detailer who doesn’t pander to navel gazing, and was somehow able to produce a detached, yet emotional response to her grief.

With so much to unpack, Western Stars grows more satisfying with repeated exposure. Deeply moving, inventive and even a bit risky, Western Stars will take its place among Springsteen's solo gems.

The best stuff here isn't all that tough to love, however.

As a sonic experience, Yeezus isn’t as dangerous as it likes to think it is, but it’s certainly the epic banger Kanye’s worried he didn’t have in him since he first ran to Timbaland to help beef up his drum sounds on Graduation.

The Window is the recording of this singer most likely to haunt you rather than just blow you away.

The album that Pink Floyd made in 1979 marked a milestone in progressive rock, and this box set captures everything perfect and imperfect about the album.

Nelson co-wrote all 11 songs on the album with its producer Buddy Cannon. Cannon keeps the sound clean. One can distinguish each of the instruments on every song. Nelson writes in a variety of styles such as Western Swing, country waltz, honky tonk and other traditional Texas genres. He's joined by top-notch musicians. ... Last Man Standing suggests Nelson has no intention of slowing down.

Gentle Confrontation has moments that feel like they can fit in the palm of your hand; just as often, it calls for total immersion. Longing builds to tender catharsis, loss to acceptance. Loraine James plunges into open water and keeps going deeper, charting an evanescent path and dwelling in every electric step of the journey.

Despite its shifts in style, Countless Branches is cohesive in terms of both sound and subject matter.

Fresh and familiar is a consistent hallmark of the Austin band, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga proves to be no exception.

Sometimes the Blues Is Just a Passing Bird is still the sound of a man who's totally comfortable in his own skin. You're also likely to find great comfort across these five tracks.

Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is vital listening. The collaboration between Gibbons, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Maestro Penderecki endows the human spirit with palpability while manifesting sorrow's pervasiveness.

Teasing out musical abundance from simple instrumentation, lyrics, and vocals, Pratt concertizes complexity and nuance. Quiet Signs is a staggering work of hushed beauty.

As much as Devotion remains Ware's Magnum Opus. What's Your Pleasure is a clear statement of intent, with a lot of quality.

They managed to mask their eclectic influences and occasionally clichéd ideas behind a loud, bold, excessive sound, spectacular visuals, and provocative lyrics about “candle wax melting in my veins”.

It’s better than much of what has come out thus far this year.

Cronin is never changing the pace or tone just for the heck of it, rather seeking out different ways for him to push himself as an artist, as some of the cross-references on MCII would suggest.

The album is saved from clich&#233; and pretension by its combination of a fascinating story with restrained and consistently inventive musical backing.

The Black Album turns out to be... a surprisingly meticulously constructed coda to Jay-Z's extensive and prosperous career.

Across its ten tracks and 47-minute runtime, Moran collaborates with herself, instead, using a Disklavier – a modified Synclavier similar to an updated player piano – to create poignant, evocative, soul-searching post-minimalist piano sketches.

The Worse Things Get is another excellent album from Case on a resumé that’s full of excellent albums.

The album remains strangely compelling if slightly bloodless, a fascinating conceptual leap into unknown territory that loses little importance for its status as an essentially inchoate entity.