Despite the similar aesthetic to what’s come before, mundanity refuses to set in. This is another great Aesop Rock album to add to the pile--another TKO to further solidify his underground king status.

While their latest transmission isn’t the easiest to receive, upon success, it can be the most rewarding piece of science fiction in years.

There’s something satisfying about seeing the band creating in their own lane here in 2023 rather than fall into the all too easy trap of trying to recreate who they may have been in the past.

With each album, her willingness to push the envelope in both halves of the equation grows, as if she trusts her audience to in turn trust her enough to follow her further along the path.

The music might take your breath away, if the worst of the lyrics don’t make you roll your eyes. He’s very good at what he’s good at, but he’s not what you’d call well-rounded. Still, not everyone who has something to say, says it in words.

Lil Nas X’s 15-track rookie album is filled with raw emotion, honesty, and a lot of insight.

Its audacity and stylistic shifts may have resulted in an album that’s not quite as much like coming home as Sunbather, but it shows a genuine and fascinating maturation in a band that deserves to remain in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

Listeners will still delight in how The War on Drugs can filter recognizable elements — the beats, the riffs, the spirit of artists like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen, and even Bryan Adams — into something fresh and grand.

Bloom is a fun record, dreamy and vulnerable and urgently horny. Sivan has a fresh perspective, and his force of personality enlivens tracks that otherwise might sound conventional. His best songs perform a kind of magic, with sentiments that feel universal to all of us and as personal as a fingerprint.

The entire team delivers on the 32-year-old singer’s ambitious aspirations. There’s an incredible stylistic range displayed within the constraints of the album’s contemplative and darkly seductive tone.

This record further establishes her identity as a modern poet, and the allusions to writers of old are tucked throughout. ... Mid-record songs like “cowboy like me” and “long story short” might not rise to the top either, but to say that any of these songs are weaker in comparison to others is like complaining about smudges in a crystal wine glass set — everything here is still beautiful and much better than collections you might find elsewhere.

On the Line isn’t a breakup album, a death album, or even a “fuck-you” album, but one that encompasses all of it, ambitious and introspective, focused on embracing the mess and mistakes made along the way.

From beginning to end, even in its moments of resentment and self-doubt, Pageant is shot through with empathy, kindness, and sincerity.

While that record [Pomegranate] was expansive and full of divergent genres and characters, This Is Our Science condenses the process into a tight 40 minutes of rhythm and revelations.

In U2 terms,That’s the Spirit was BMTH’s Achtung Baby, where they introduced a new sound, and amo is their Zooropa, where they’ve taken that sonic evolution one step further.

The method with which Elverum captures and articulates these feelings is what makes his work so powerful--literally inserting his calm demeanor, his pleasant croon, in between insurmountable, impenetrable volume.

She uses the body and the spaces it consumes and shrinks within as a driving theme throughout Crushing, uncovering the journeys her own body has taken as a romantic partner, a friend, a woman, and a world-touring musician.

Kaputt is the sort of record that arrives only once in a while: an expansive world that captivates you from beginning to end, impresses you with its self-awareness and cohesiveness, then releases you from its grasp when it's all over.

An explosive expression of unity in the face of strife and an exuberant expression of hope. ... But beneath the pomp and circumstance, Welch is traditionally known for, Dance Fever is a deeper look at a woman who unapologetically bares it all.

For 44 minutes, Mann slips into the skin of someone walking an emotional tightrope, and it’s an act she pulls of with grace and conviction.

The newly turned-up volume and heavier instrumentals of synths, bass, and drum programming still never drown out Baker’s tender vocals, which are consistently unexpected and innovative.

Fantasy Empire will reward longtime listeners and draw in new fans simultaneously, a heady accomplishment for a couple of dudes bashing away at their instruments.

The snarling enfant terrible with a go-it-alone attitude is now a mentally and emotionally grounded 29-year-old capable of cherishing his loved one. Without question, Brandon Banks is among the best and biggest-hearted rap albums of the summer.

Though the music of Face The Wall can be relatively straightforward indie rock, her enchanting voice is what really separates her from the pack. ... Face The Wall is a remarkably assured statement from a 21-year-old artist.

It stands tall as a late candidate for the year’s best rock record. Spiritualized has added yet another chapter to its wild, dreamlike musical legacy, proving that rock isn’t dead and that maybe everyone else just isn’t trying enough.

It’s the work of a seasoned songwriter proving that he’s as good at penning powerful, personal songs in a traditional vein as he is layering records with bells and whistles.

Silent Hour/Golden Mile achieves exactly what a debut solo EP from one of the people behind one of the most acclaimed indie albums of the past few years should.

Light Up Gold may sound like a string of slacker anthems, but it's so much deeper than that.