Crowell proves in The Chicago Sessions that both his pen and voice are still as vital as ever.

These are deeply personal songs that chart the different kinds of emotions he’s working through, whether it’s to do with the affairs of the heart or the turmoil of the outside world; it’s also a wildly ambitious record that takes its musical cutes from Black American popular music. The sum of all these great parts makes for a thrilling listen.

Rodriguez-Lopez’s work is excellent across Que Dios Te Maldiga De Corazon, making exciting and rewarding arrangement choices. It’s not like The Mars Volta needed freshening up only seven months later, but it’s a worthwhile project.

The LP falls just short of the Orb’s most essential work. ... This is one of those Orb releases that pleasantly bides its time, waiting for that rush of inspiration that turns out to be only a parade of pretty neat ideas.

First Two Pages of Frankenstein is still obviously the National’s work and sound, but it wants to reach out more than they ever have.

It’s bursting with ideas and is, unsurprisingly, a bit of sprawl. It’s fun to hear the group exploring new musical territory, stretching their sound in ways they haven’t before. The long break between records has made for an exciting set of songs.

It’s albums like That! Feels Good! that younger generations and trendsetters should be paying more attention to, as incorporating the still-relevant past into new work is not only what can make some of the best art but some of the bravest art.

There is something to be said for alchemy, but Keep Your Courage would be better if Merchant lightened up a bit. ... The beauty of the songs here offers solace more than anguish. The fact that everything changes can be hopeful.

Pain remains a fertile ground for compelling art, but the brilliance of Rat Saw God lies in how the band also captures the resistant luminance within that pain. The characters in these songs suffer, but Hartzman draws them from places of empathy and honesty.

A lively record that snaps like a pair of hipster’s digits. The arrangements are tight. The main players (guitarist Danny Caron, bassist Ruth Davies, and drummer Leon Joyce) capture the cool vibe of the originals.

The poetic lyrics combine with the sensitive instrumentation to create a sum greater than the individual parts. The words have a more profound sensibility than their dreaminess initially coveys. The musical sounds become more complex when taken in sequence and as a whole.

The results are every bit as sublime as anything he and his partners in collective aural immersion have ever released.

While this lack of dynamic intensity may be a turn-off for some listeners, it’s clear that Horn has carefully crafted a cohesive mood and atmosphere.

The idea of being a father, bringing a child into a world as frightening as ours, is a sobering and potentially overwhelming thought. This music beautifully scores these feelings.

She’s distinct enough of a vocalist that even if some of the songs start to bleed into each other or sound a bit monotonous, her charisma and talents shine through, making even the most rote of Higher Than Heaven sound pretty special.

It does not amount to a classic statement, but I don’t think she anticipates it as such. It provides a coda for Big Time, completing a set of thoughts begun with that album’s recording. It reaffirms her rising status as a worthy successor to esteemed figures like Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Iris DeMent.

Especially remarkable about Maal’s work on Being is how thoroughly his ethos as an artist and human permeates every piece of the production. His support of younger artists feels organic amid modern electropop sounds, an essential element of his overall emphasis on collaboration.

As long as 72 Seasons is, it is somewhat redeemed by Hetfield’s openness. He lays himself bare in a way he’s never done before, a brave step for any artist who deals with mental health issues, especially in his case.

Neither breakthrough nor misstep, A River Running to Your Heart continues the spirit of quiet experimentation for which Fruit Bats are known.

Plastic Eternity will be a hit-or-miss affair for some listeners, partly due to its length. This is a generous record with 13 tracks in total. There is a feeling of fan service, which is not necessarily a bad thing after 35 years as a band, but self-caricature is avoided.

Miracle-Level by Deerhoof is as vitalizing as it is soft-hearted. The studio sound has fully revealed accomplished players interested in exploring the humanitarian capabilities of music, expressing, however vaguely or explicitly, a longing for the miraculous and a rejection of the mundane.

While elements of homage and pastiche run throughout 1982, A Certain Ratio never lose themselves in the past, and the group’s vibrancy shines throughout the record.

Fantasy is, in many ways, comfort listening; the layers of these songs form the sonic equivalent of a warm blanket. Yet this warmth, after all of M83’s successes in refining their style, wanes more quickly than it has in the past.

Democratically curated and effusing a palpable enthusiasm, the project stands as a testimony to the power of aesthetic commonality, enduring friendship, and the magic of teamwork, something we could all use more of these days.

Like the Seventh Seal, Memento Mori raises questions but never brings resolution. ... I It is a testament to their continued relevance and the unexpected wonder in remembering our shared condition.

It’s not quite as revitalized as Thrashing, but it’s also not as laid back as Open Door Policy. Finn’s stories, while often about addicts, aren’t quite as dark here as they are on his more melancholy solo albums.

The pleasures of Continue As a Guest are worth putting in the extra work to enjoy, and after two decades of great music, Newman has earned the right to change up his style a bit.

The fuzzed-out lead guitar, the languid vocals, and the unbridled backbeat that keeps it all together nail this resemblance down, recalling Bug-era Dinosaur from the late 1980s. ... Tracks like “Wishing Well”, “Cheewawa”, and “Bainmarie” from that LP are beautifully rendered.

Stoned Cold Country represents the most overplayed hits on classic rock radio. They are all great songs, but they seem to have been chosen by whatever had the highest stream count. What’s more, the arrangements of these warhorses rarely vary beyond faithful recreations, except for an added texture here and a different intro there.

93696 weighs in at nearly 80 minutes, and its numerological conceit does make one suspect even the song lengths might be perfectly poised elements in some delicately balanced scheme.

While With Love From is not the most visionary pop record released in recent years, it doesn’t need to be.

The duo reaffirm their status as hyperpop ambassadors while implementing a notable mainstream savvy, including memorable beats, hook-ish melodies, and vocals that epitomize an au courant slacker vibe.

Neilson and co. still know how to get wild — their usually-yearly “SB” EPs are filled with experiments and unchecked ambition — but for all the years of waiting, V is simply a good new album from the group. At times very good, but not with the consistency they had become increasingly known for.

Their sense of surprise was exchanged for maddeningly consistent predictability. We are left with Songs of Surrender, a quadruple album that sounds exactly how you think it would.

Though it’s easy to think of Aşk as Altın Gün’s comfort zone, it’s also clear that this album has a lot more to give in terms of energy and creativity, one that continues to seize new acid-soaked horizons.

Dickenson’s anger against America’s direction has musical muscle behind it.

The album is not only precisely what Cyrus’ discography and identity needed but perhaps what we as a culture need now.

There isn’t a single dud among the 13 songs. They’re expertly played and attractively produced by Buck. Some of them partake of a dreaminess, yearning, and even an occasional touch of sadness that complicate the album’s generally sanguine musical disposition. ... A Colossal Waste of Light really does come to sound more and more like vintage R.E.M., hence the unavoidable and unfair comparisons to Stipe.

In general, Kanaan drops her listeners off down the street from where she’s picked us up. We may recognize the surroundings, but something feels different about where we find ourselves by the time her music’s ritual magic has achieved silence.

Meg Remy and her collaborators have channeled her recognition of the communicative depth of dance music with creative, nearly flawless production. The result invites us to consider and embrace this blessed mess that is our bond and is an early frontrunner for consideration among the year’s best albums.

Your Mother Should Know is an artist at the peak of his powers, interpreting the songwriting of a group of musicians whose music will last long after we’re all gone.

Whether calming you with lush numbers like “Aerodrome” and “The Coming Days” or tickling the edges of your mind with “Thorn”, the result is another stunning record, no matter who’s pulling or plucking the strings.

If How to Replace It proves anything, it’s that dEUS remain as restless on matters of genre as they ever have.

A well-crafted and brilliantly performed album, it showcases a group bringing in new influences and ideas, all with an infectious sense of enthusiasm and energy. It’s an exciting third chapter for a band that, for all that assuredness, still sounds hungry.

This music is too good not to be shared. DeMent sings and writes from the heart. The 13 songs are powerful statements of love and indictments of bad behavior.

All the pieces are there, and many fit together quite well, but the sum of the parts is not delivering what was promised.

Trustfall, her latest studio effort, is the most vulnerable she has been in years in a way that doesn’t sound formulated but honest and reflective.

It’s too early to say if the era of Alien Lanes is gone for good, but it is safe to say that this group lineup has helped add another tool to Pollard’s songwriting toolbox. Not to mix metaphors, but it’s a look that they wear well. Consider the transition successful.

Yes, goddam it, Cracker Island is as good as Demon Days.

Breaking the Balls of History continues this momentum of irrepressible songcraft. Carrying the torch for three decades now, Quasi have become one of the more enduring musical collaborations out of the Pacific Northwest, and this is a peak moment in their discography.

This is his most consistent, fully realized album since Brick by Brick (1990). It’s maybe even his best in more than four decades since New Values was released in 1979.

Like their first reunion album Wonky, Optical Delusion makes a case for Orbital remaining a creative working force without actually being their best work.

Acid Arab weave sand-blown Korg synth filigrees in ways that would make Dabke keyboard titan Razen Said proud. On ٣ (Trois), their third album (of course), the pulses quake, inviting us all to the post-pandemic party.

The inclusion of trans rapper Rahrah Gabor on “Closure” is a fun and exciting change of pace but is still a small interlude on a record that is otherwise without features. Likewise, from its production choices, lyrical and thematic content, and overall aesthetic, Raven is less a bold artistic statement than its author might wish to convey. Despite its flaws, Raven is still a worthwhile listen.

The sensation of incomprehension itself is part of the record’s charm. The music itself is suggestive, rapturous, mysterious, and mesmerizing. The lyrics set the mood. Each song works on its own. The connections between cuts may be vague, but they share an alluring magnetism.

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is one of these future classics. ... Engaging at every turn and carefully calibrated to its point of view, it represents art pop hitting yet another dizzy apex.

“Birdy From Another Realm”, feel like the well-trodden ground in the artist’s oeuvre. This can be a little jarring when set against the more creatively and emotionally ambitious tunes and, while perfectly pleasant, could stand in the way of the project as a cohesive experience. All of This Is Chance is nonetheless a beautiful and bold album that showcases an artist unafraid to develop her sound further, revealing more of herself in the process.

The careful precision her distinctive guitar playing and vocals bring to this project center Sunny War as one of the most promising and exciting voices in American roots music.

Black Belt Eagle Scout teaches us, guides, and inspires us, all the while dazzling us with lush atmospheres, seismic rhythms, and a voice that unfurls from another and perhaps a better world.

The record is not as dominating as Twain’s existing body of work, but it externalizes a beloved household name getting to know herself better.

He can take the bleak and inhospitable subject matter and give it just enough life to make it a rewarding listen for those who partake. It’s a delicate and risky maneuver, but Cale has managed it here.

For those who appreciate a particular branch of dance-pop, Diamonds & Dancefloors is a euphoric escape from the harsh realities of adult life.

We’re hearing Junior Boys’ elegant growth and evolution with their sound. We’re constantly impressed with how Greenspan and his partner Matt Didemus create some moving sounds, pivoting away from their synth-funk past.

The rhythm-laden new record sounds more relaxed than their old ones. The band’s sound has matured.

If The Baby announced Samia as a vocalist and songwriter to watch, Honey makes it clear that we’ll be watching her for a long time. With ample self-awareness and a keen sense of the surreal, Samia has delivered a sonically dynamic voyage through the monstrous and merciful extremes of intimacy.

Every Acre showcases McEntire’s poetic worldview as she seeks to find meaning.

Slowing things down has traditionally been a mixed bag for We Are Scientists, but the more relaxed tracks here are big successes.

One Day equally recalls the strengths of Fucked Up’s critically acclaimed second record, The Chemistry of Common Life (2008), which received the 2009 Polaris Music Prize. ... One Day is in keeping with this spirit of invention and reinvention, by expanding the group’s sound while still maintaining an ethos of ongoing collaboration and collective commitment.

While the record isn’t quite as varied as switching from country to rock to classical to jazz, enough traits are buried in each song to make it interesting.

Each instrumental, named after its place of origin, floats by languorously and begins to blur together into a gentle, placid paste not even three songs in. Each track is gorgeous, but they’re all also immeasurably passive, with only a few key differences between each to make them separate entities.

Strays reveals Price’s strong talents as a musician and a human being.

This album is for the traditionalists, who love bluegrass and country in its raw form and find its plainness attractive. These performers are talented and get things right. They are not as concerned with showing off as much as connecting with each other and the material.

The result is a batch of songs that feel like they’re poking at rock and pop conventions without being a full-on piss-take against rock music. This approach means Anywhere But Here is more rewarding the more it’s listened to.

Lessons for Mutants, is a hard one to review. That’s meant as a compliment. ... It is itself a mutant, or in any case, mutable. The more you play it, the less it consents to take shape.

The outward textures here are not raw rock but processed pop, more maximalist than anything the band has put forth since. Still, the bones are the same; this is as sincere a face of the group as on any of their international commercial releases, no matter how surprising its sounds. Tinariwen, it turns out, fares well in a number of different aesthetic frameworks, and Kel Tinariwen serves as a testament to their artistic strength.

They are as thoughtful and provocative as they are productive, as angry as they are respectful, and music and community-building is their chosen mode of focusing tension.

The best songs are the most personal ones, especially those that primary songwriter Williams composed in tribute to his love for his wife.

Reason in Decline is adventurous, bold, and oddly mature for a band of this vintage.

She sings the melodies (mostly) without catchy hooks so that the lyrics float on top of the instrumentation without giving the listener something on which to grab. The effect purposely blurs the distinctions between what is sung and what is heard. Think of the result as sort of a sonic impressionist painting. The blurring is intentional and purposeful. That said, a lot is going on in the music.

An odd vanity project that turned out better than anyone but the most besotted diehards would have expected.

Gold Panda has broken up a significant hiatus of six years to deliver an album that doesn’t shout its presence through a megaphone but instead allows itself to sort-of permeate. It’s a profound statement but done with restraint.

Jepsen’s wide range of diverse influences is still on display, but she’s the most mature and refined she has ever sounded.

First Aid Kit are no longer a one-trick pony—that horse being Americana. There are still tracks that would be right at home on an Everly Brothers record, but unlike the sentiments expressed by their first-person narrators, these 11 songs show the band has taken a step forward.

On Only the Strong Survive, Springsteen places his voice front and center, and his love for this timeless and joyous music is jubilant and infectious.

It is very good. ... There are no major missteps within the album, although not everything works as well as the album’s brightest spots.

The indefatigable tracks are softened by more ruminative numbers, affording respite and retrospection amid the jungle-thick maze of emotion and mood. Ultra Truth is both a danceable and listening collection that packs a corporeal punch and a spiritual cleanse.

As far as archival releases go, Scalping the Guru is a treat. It sure beats the pants off of Our Gaze, when Robert Pollard smashed together two of his recent solo albums but left much of the material behind to rot. Scalping the Guru is fun, rough, and artful.

Crutchfield and Williamson pack a lot in a short time through their inventive songwriting and expressive voices. The two singer-songwriters often stun the listener with their poetic directness.

With 12 songs in a brisk 37 minutes, nothing overstays its welcome, and there are enough changes of pace to keep listeners from starting to tune out. It’s impressive that the quartet is still making music this good as they enter their fourth decade of existence.