Albums like this one give some hope of redemption. Jones and her band command your attention from start to finish with sugary swagger and spice. Ears will be grateful for these 11 soul and funk holiday gifts.

The group's 14th album, Spirit, produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine, Foals), sounds fresh and current.

Dropping the experimentation down a notch seems to have allowed a great batch of songs to shine through. [#7]

Dirty, hedonistic, and majestic, 25 25 is the sound of dance music at its most astonishing.

Here the minimal setting makes not just the lyrics more prominent but the melody as well.

Peanut Butter manages to double down on Weird Sister's considerable volume of bitter pills and sugar-encrusted euphoria. [Apr-May 2015, p.83]

Golden Archipelago provides beautiful, thoughtful music in an age sorely lacking both. [Winter 2010, p.66]

It's a very fine pop record and a nice suggestion as to the way England's pop scene could be heading. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.99]

The Carlisle, PA's artist's charming wordplay and gallows humor are magnified on his ambitious second album and Sub Pop debut. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.87]

Complete Surrender is replete with consistently outstanding moments. [Jun-Jul 2014, p.88]

The album offers huge choruses that suggest the New York City quartet might be the indie rock equivalent to K.C. & Tthe Sunshine Band. [#15]

Beneath the numerous ideas and purposes on The Light Saw Me, the group’s sense of humor is ever-present, reminding the listener that things are never as they seem and, when they happen to be, not to take them too seriously. This air of humility, along with such solid musicianship, is exactly what makes the premise of an ontological science fiction Texas Country album as believable as it is.

Some longtime fans of Banhart might find Flying Wig a tough introduction to what appears like the “new” Devendra. But, as with any practice, the more time you give it, the more it emerges as its own, special self.

I Feel Cream is Peaches' most pop-leaning album to date, though it doesn't comprise. [Spring 2009, p.67]

The addition of producer Dan Carey lends a subtle electronic ambiance to the proceedings, one that adds a warm glow to Mason's melancholy tunes and rekindles the raw poeticism of his debut. [Aug-Sep 2013, p.102]

This is Cameron's first album fully recorded in America, and as such he utilizes a range of sounds and genres reflecting that such as the brilliant "Bad For the Boys," a bar-rock exposition on various awful men. Meanwhile closer "Too Far" sits just on the right side of cheese, because if there is a contemporary artist who can successfully balance cliche and thought-provoking pop music, it's Cameron.

With this welcome offering of three and a half hours of unheard studio Zappa that follows one of his most celebrated albums, one can’t help but wonder what else might eventually escape from the Zappa vault.

When the music is this good, it just doesn’t matter much how many times you’ve heard this style before. [#15]

There is enough movement and mood changes on the album to stop it from becoming repetitive, although the majority of the material is based on not too complicated repetition.

Lovely as DROKK is, it does get a bit same-y past the album's halfway mark. [Jun 2012, p.152]

As the hushed, but bubbly bass and stuttering snare give way to cavernous, shouted outero, Love Is All flaunts its expert capacity for restraint and tension-building--as if we needed more proof of how Love Is All is utterly in control of its pop craft. [Winter 2010, p.64]

Andrews' clear gift for melody is most apparent here. Despite the album's extremes, the most intriguing and engaging track may be 'The House She Lived In.' [Spring 2009, p.68]

While it may not live up to the hype, this is still a deeply intriguing debut. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.92]

It's a confusing world he captures here, but a spectacular opportunity to soak up the diverse paths he carves on his wild adventure. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.91]

There are dodgy moments but it all makes for a passable record. [Nov-Dec 2013, p.94]

While there aren't as many standout singles this time around, the Swedish singer impressively maintains a consistent tone throughout, and its two-part structure adds to its listenability as an album experience.

It is a slow burning album, with Kenney’s immaculate voice and curious instrumentals drawing the listener through her complicated maze of emotion. As the listener draws back the layers of glassy melodies and discordant edges, one finds an intimate testament to love’s inherent contradictions.

Top-notch stuff. [#7]