Even on slower material, like the teary closing six-minute ballad “I Think About You Daily” featuring stressed, experimental strings arranged by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Hynde injects so much riveting emotion that few will be disappointed.

The result was a rich listening experience, as Swift flew past the mark she set for herself with ease, daring to look further inward than ever before.

The words are as woodsy and quaint as ever. Pecknold seems to take his inspiration from classic British poetry, and rarely refers to objects, characters, or events that would place him in the 21st century, relying instead on imagery like old stone fountains, seeds, keys, sand, and the night sky.

There’s fascination found in ever single setting, and his new album, Patience, is no exception.

Semper Femina is a concise, dynamic statement from the English singer-songwriter, mixing breezy 70’s country-rock melodies with claustrophobic, fingerpicking folk, often on the same song.

This terrific batch of songs needs no such handicap to be recommended as a perfect way for newcomers to start a musical relationship with Clark’s burnished Americana or for existing fans to continue theirs.

These dozen performances will make listeners reassess songs some already know. But more likely they’ll be stunned at how LaVette revitalizes and shape shifts them into her own soulful reflection.

The end result is a festive power pop brew, a combination that mines instinct and intelligence. It’s fair to say then that Seeking New Gods is indeed a truly divine experience.

Griffin digs deep into introspective lyrics, some with historical references, to display her distinctive vocals and original songs with stripped down arrangements that use space and the silence between notes to create shimmering music you won’t soon forget.

He can do a tender, dreamy pop song, or he can plug in and just get straight to rocking. And anything in between is fair game.

This is a master class on how to create a re-issue that covers and expands upon essential and ultimately timeless music made by one of rock’s true icons. It’s the final word on arguably Bowie’s most experimental years and an important historical document presented with boldness, integrity and dignity, all elements reflected in the artist’s work and ever evolving art.

Once you get past the at times overwhelming sweetening added to make Cooke more palatable to a larger audience, you’ll be hypnotized by the singer’s creative phrasing, timing and sure sense of dynamics. Previously unheard selections, along with stereo and mono mixes, make this an essential item for the Cooke collector. And because these songs are from the once lost original tapes, this music has never sounded fresher or more alive.

To their credit, Dry Cleaning is not compromising their often prickly art. Rather, like the most resolute artists, with the provocative and relentless Stumpwork, they admirably move their boundaries further afield regardless of appealing to a bigger audience.

He comes across as a man still deep in the throes of religious and romantic upheaval, invigorated rather than intimidated by the nearness of death.

To say it sounds like another great Sparks set might be damning it with faint praise.

There is a chilly, somewhat detached vibe that often overtakes the material, making it a challenge to unpack each of these dense selections on an album that’s easier to appreciate and admire than enjoy.

There is no rock here, although the prog nature of the music incorporates those influences, yet the album never feels bloated or one-note.

Duster have finally found their audience in 2019, and their self-titled album shows that the band still has a lot left up their sleeve.

Despite a few missteps, Volunteer is a worthy next chapter for a group that continues do its best work when finding new ways to tell old stories.

The frenzied sound of “Brain Capers” implies certain complications just as “Fallout” seems intent on driving through whatever haze continues to confound us. There’s very little here that’s as clear-cut as the overall messaging might imply. Nevertheless, it’s clear that This Stupid World still manages to impart wisdom and reflection in equal and apt measures.

Strange Mercy is more mysterious than its predecessors, the references more obscure, but it also feels more personal.

It's a rich portrait, full of unexpected imagery and odd turns of phrase, which means that even though Welch has sung about drunks and prodigals so many times in the past, the songs on The Harrow & The Harvest sound both pleasingly familiar and starkly new, as if her unique vision of Americana contains an inexhaustible cast of eccentrics and an unending narrative from which she can harvest the most harrowing arcs.

Everything connects emotionally and musically in front of an enthusiastic crowd on one of the year's best and most vibrant live albums.

The 74-year-old King looks and sounds great. ... This is a lively celebratory concert, enhanced with historic photos flashed on a backing screen, by a legendary artist who takes, and clearly deserves, her victory lap.

It’s a lot to delve into. As much a scholarly treatise as serious source material, the relit Flaming Pie is finally served up with the stature it deserves.

All in all, it’s a record that’s flush with reassurance and decidedly sedate circumstance.

This is a powerful, insistent collection of generally unknown artists laying down a murky groove that few contemporary artists get right.

The accompanying live DVD, recorded at Shoreline Amphitheatre in 1992, is a good-enough bonus, rather than a must-have live document. These are minor quibbles of course; a whole stack of tacky badges couldn’t stand in the way of Your Arsenal being absolutely essential.