The Future Is Your Past is the culmination of its creator’s relentless work ethic, its 10 tracks proving that out of uncertainty and instability comes some of the most everlasting art.

I Play My Bass Loud is a lot of fun to listen to. It’s heartfelt, naïve, and made with genuine love for the material, and while it may not be earth-shakingly great, you can’t help but get caught up in it.

A Comforting Notion is never anything less than mesmeric, it’s a master class in how to utilize your influences and produce something that is uniquely your own.

It’s Tumor’s willingness to occupy space on their own terms that has made them feel like such an important and unique artist. With its lengthy title and constant metamorphoses, Praise may be the definitive Yves Tumor album.

The manic and swaggering rock cuts that colored Superstar and their preceding record, LONER, give way to thoughtful and layered shades of art pop, fused with some soaring arena-worthy highlights.

The Hypnagogue reaffirms why this band have been held in high esteem for so long, as the swashbuckling former single “C’est La Vie” and pensive “Thorn” in particular beam with a radiant glow that emits throughout the entire album.

They take the refuse of pop culture’s past and transform it into something deeply and necessarily joyful.

It showcases the entire process and in doing so furthers one’s appreciation of a work of art that is so consequential as it already is. Along with a book of essays and ephemera to further instruct and illuminate, Fragments is as essential to the Dylan catalog as Time Out of Mind itself.

At almost 70 minutes long, at times the album begins to run together past the point of cohesion. Despite this, Fantasy, which features some of the most singing and lyrical work done by Gonzalez, sits as a deeply personal and ambitious record that shines.

It’s an accomplished return for Rose, who has crafted an album brimming with iridescent beauty that shimmers across a meticulously crafted dream pop soundscape.

Strange Dance is Selway’s third solo album and carries on where 2014’s Weatherhouse left off. The synths and electronic adornments are all in place, but here they’re augmented with strings and brass. Selway had the good taste to invite Portishead’s Adrian Utley to contribute and his involvement is pretty much guaranteed to elevate the quality of a project.

As long as we’re stuck in the system, it seems we’re stuck with Sleaford Mods as well; for better or worse, they’re still the one band that do, well, that thing they do…and that’s something to cherish each time they load the barrel.

There are multitudinous joys to be found here—humor, sadness, and warm, true tenderness, all enveloped in the delicate velvet of strange and magical pop music. It’s time H. Hawkline received the due kudos and love for his wonderful work.

She delivers an effortless balance between ambition and accessibility, offering a record that is both a deeply layered work of art and full of euphoric escapist joy. Even though it is still early in the year, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is already a strong contender for the best pop album of 2023.

Bless This Mess splits the difference between Remy’s last two outings. Considerably more focused than 2020’s Heavy Light, but also foregoing the scuzzy charms of 2018’s In a Poem Unlimited.

Xiu Xiu’s albums have always been strictly motivated by their creator’s instincts. Ignore Grief sounds more like a radio play than a batch of songs; a direct, dispassionate transmission of humans at the heat of their harrow. Mancini meets Ministry, grandiose in all its perversity, not to mention based on true events.

Emotional songs with a layered and attractive sound justifying repeated plays that are more rewarding each time.

Food For Worms is a dark, deeply felt album that resonates even at its most frantic and obscure.

On Grace & Dignity is a confident and assured record with a real sense of purpose. The overall mood may be subdued, but there is a breadth of material here and all of it is worthy.

The Soft Struggles is the antidote to this car crash of a decade so far.

New York City, then, captures all the grit and grime you’d want from The Men, but comes up short compared to their transcendent, melodic best.

Hypnotic, heartfelt, and cement-heavy, Land of Sleeper continues Pigs x7’s onward march to growling metallic glory.

Ultimately, Pollen keeps one foot planted in Tennis’ signature style and the other in a more innovative future, serving as a reminder of the untapped potential Tennis still has when it fully commits to bolder sonic diversification.

Girl in the Half Pearl picks up where her debut album left off, taking it sonically farther and thematically further. The result is an album that is dynamic and layered, often in flux and always exuding personality.

This Stupid World is an album that both confronts and ameliorates its fears. It deals in both luxury and sparsity, weaving both into a heartwarming whole. It’s a remarkable feat for a band this far down the road to create something that feels like a potential classic, both timely and timeless, a record that pushes the edges of darkness, all the while offering a reassuring light.

The storytelling is tight and riveting as ever, each song serving the greater narrative in its unique way. The same can be said for the musical performances (all done by Shauf).

Paul infuses these portraits with poetic, often solitary, grace, manifesting her resilience in searing, distorted guitar textures and her longing in wounded, doleful melodies.

This Is Why, like After Laughter, suffers slightly from front-loading imbalance. The back half of the album feels tonally different from the front, more personal and relational and coming closer to their pop punk roots. It’s all well executed, however, and offers a glimpse into the ways we’ve all had to deal with the universal and the particular simultaneously in these last few years.