Age has only made the Hives sound tighter, giving them time to master an electrifying energy that few others harness.

Like any secret, it is sometimes sharp and poignant, sometimes mundane. And yet, in its best moments, it becomes a secret worth hearing.

A lot of Aphex EPs are marred by fairly forgettable tracks (who's blasting "Nannou" in 2023?), but this latest one is solid tungsten all the way through.

This project may be just a bite-sized sample, a delicious hors d'oeuvre served up while you're waiting for whatever three-course meal that Alchemist has coming next, but it's also a reminder that Alchemist's circle doubles as a roster of some of the best rappers around.

Spacey synths and trippy percussion give listeners a taste of her internal world; dreamy and wistful but also riddled with disruptive bouts of gentle chaos.

While "Casino Niagara" revels in the steam-blurred sensuality of R&B, Love Hallucination stands as Lanza's most sexually assertive record for its inclusion of "Marathon," a bratty pop confection.

Even ballads like "Give it Up for Love" and "Mountain Song," while rooted in dance music, have a fresh and organic feel to them that feels equally suited to the dark booth of a nightclub as it does a cozy catch up at home.

Joni Mitchell at Newport is her victory lap.

Natural Disaster builds on the laidback, Californian sound that defined much of Best Coast's catalogue, and is a reflective time capsule of a moment between distinct chapters in Cosentino's life.

Pure Music is Strange Ranger's most alluring and most impressive effort yet. Fans of the band's beginnings will probably remain averse to this affirmed sonic shift, but it's hard not to respect an outfit brazenly evolving by throwing everything familiar out the window and going buck wild with their vision.

Rajan successfully bridges vintage influences into the best of modern psychedelia, resulting in the most precise and mature Night Beats album to date. Perhaps the secret ingredient is just a little hot ghee.

They're sure to become mainstays on many a summer playlist. Although it feels like the group still have more to explore, this album is a remarkable effort by Little Dragon as they begin to finally reach their full potential.

On their sophomore effort, Good Living Is Coming for You, Mondal and Schnug are again looking ahead, but this time around, the scenery feels more sinister and the ambient sense of dread is sharper. Thankfully though, the result is no less dynamic than its predecessor.

With Chaos for the Fly, Grian Chatten has proven that he's not only worth his salt for leading one of the biggest UK bands in the world right now, but that he has the erudition to create fantastic music without his Fontaine D.C. mates.

Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart is brash, loud, triumphant, and quintessentially Williams — her perseverance in the face of adversity is truly inspiring, and these stories are tales to live by.

New listeners will surely be inclined to throw them into their rotation with open arms, and those already in the know will be glad to hear Militarie Gun continue to exceed expectations.

Overall, the album doesn't have a lot of replay value besides a few stand-out songs like the Drake-featuring "Oh U Went" and "Went Thru It," which is led mainly by the strength of Metro Boomin's production.

Cynical and crushing, Bright New Disease is the sound of a short-term supergroup flexing their technical skills and boundless musical knowledge. It stands as a commendable and blistering — albeit slight — diversion from either band's respective output.

Duffy relinquished control and precision — and perhaps loneliness — in favour of something more immediate, striking, and impulsive. The resulting six-song record has a looseness to it that celebrates the uninhibited power of spontaneity and invention.

Condensing her struggles into meditative lyrics and singing from the perspective of fictional characters, this is a jazz project in its purest and most unadulterated form, and a very solid start to Ndegeocello's tenure at Blue Note.

As with all successful concept albums, its individual songs work as well independently as they do as a whole. It's depth shrouded in mischief, and it's proof that King Gizzard have mastered creating music that's as heavy conceptually as it is sonically.

The record is an achievement of pop-house production, and Jayda's performance throughout is earnest and enthralling — It's a strong effort and vital evolution in her ever-shifting career.

This might not be the most urgent Sigur Rós album, but it'll surely be remembered as one of their most gorgeous. For a band so well known for all things beautiful, beauty for its own sake is hardly a problem.

Queens of the Stone Age dial back their intensity and step up their groove to develop a new sound for the end of the world on In Times New Roman…. For better or worse, it's clear that the band are not the same alt-rock anthem-makers they were in the Y2K era.

Time Ain't Accidental is filled with minimalist modern country ballads that gently dissolve like a sugar cube on your tongue.

Heaven Is A Junkyard will make you feel its spiritual tone and tenor, a superpower that has laid dormant with Youth Lagoon, now awakened by Powers finally finding his voice."

It's far more experimental than her last effort, but in a thoughtful way that makes for a refreshing listen.

Throughout Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, Dixon continues to show off his acrobatic way with words and parades his affecting precision of imagery.