Sentiment is a deeply melancholic work suffused with a gentle beauty in the emotions Claire Rousay expresses in the lyrics and the ambient delights that the music provides. The outcome is partially surprising, given the context of Rousay’s previous efforts, but a warm, welcome surprise.

Myriam Gendron’s earlier attention to the poetry of others and the rich body of North American folk songs have made her into something of a musical doula, birthing something new while never trying to sever the cord between worlds.

Lives Outgrown, focusing on life’s ticking clock, resumes the folk stylings of Out of Season but with some significant changes in instrumentation and production. “Tell Me Who You Are Today” is cleverly mixed so that Gibbons’ voice appears to call and respond to itself and emerge from different spaces. Her acoustic guitar and the string arrangement, here and in other songs like “Burden of Life”, are redolent of A Moon Shaped Pool-era Radiohead.

Lynks’ personality and lyrical prowess carry the record, but the hooks make the album so relistenable.

Their sunny melodies and sincerity go a long way to making their music compelling, and that is the case whether they are playing in their comfort zone or expanding their craft incrementally. Poetry is another stellar effort in Dehd’s development; one can envision greater things for them yet to come.

This album is both demanding and supplementary, able to conform to different social contexts and scenes of social life. There are moments of introspection, uncertainty, and anxiety but also emotional release on this new LP.

Listeners following Hana Vu’s career will find that Romanticism consolidates Vu’s work so far while hinting at new directions her future work might take. At the same time, Romanticism feels like a fitting introduction to potential new fans, who will more than likely be enticed to explore Vu’s back pages.

Dominic Maker, Kai Campos, and company stir their influences into this album so well that The Sunset Violent is distinctly a Mount Kimbie record and an enjoyable one at that.

An album that feels like such an eruption of creative energy from a band on a renewed jag of pure inspiration.

While OUI, LSF’s experiments may take a little time to appreciate, it does feature plenty of instant gratification for those on their singular wavelength. Hopefully, it won’t take another decade to get the next one.

An album with plenty of lightness but lacking the whimsy or puerility we might associate with that poetic phrase.

There’s a joyful element to Rhumba Country that may be found in the Lord’s spirit, the pleasure of bouncy rhythms, or the magic of making music. Pokey LaFarge presents us with the evidence. We are left to decide what it means. He keeps the preaching to a minimum and implores us to dance.

Their twee tone and lighthearted energy, which persist despite the album’s often pensive and wistful lyrical content, mask serious craft and scholarly mastery of the complex techniques the Lemon Twigs’ forbears invented. Riches abound.

In tandem with Danny L. Harle, known for inventing the new personal genre called harlecore, and collaborations with Caroline Polachek and Charli XCX, Dua Lipa and Parker made Radical Optimism sound extremely lush and slick but raw and fresh.

With a running time of 86 minutes, Fearless Movement demands commitment from the listener through its stylistic twists and turns. The first half, emphasizing vocals and choral hooks, is likely more accessible to general listeners than the second half. But fans of contemporary jazz will find plenty to enjoy throughout.

Pull the Rope is a refreshing new chapter for a perpetually vibrant group.

This album may not replace fans’ favorites at the top of the Vampire Weekend rankings, but it shows this band has much more to offer as it approaches its third decade of existence.

One’s appreciation of Look to the East, Look to the West depends mostly on their appreciation of Campbell’s voice and artistry. Times have changed, but some things remain the same.

Tacking back and forth in this way, Time is Glass builds momentum as it advances. There is a subtle Dantesque feel to the album’s sequencing, with the tracks seemingly occupying a space of increasing darkness followed by light.

Even by Mdou Moctar’s high standards, Funeral for Justice is extraordinary. It is searing in music and lyrics, with messages that are essential in a world on fire and whose sounds can carry those messages far and wide. More than any previous Mdou Moctar album, it feels alive.

After spending a record ruminating about the past, Old 97’s are back and “better than brand-new”. More than anything else, American Primitive‘s simple gift of new music that confronts the present moment and all its apparent contradictions is what Old 97’s fans should be most grateful for.

Hyperdrama, while possibly their best effort since, doesn’t quite capture that same energy, though it does come close. Whereas Cross felt like the essential festival season soundtrack, Hyperdrama is more akin to a messy night out on the tiles with an old friend who’s picked up some new party tricks.

This is not the perfect record with a lot of unevenness, but they found the right approach which means that to master it and finally reach a perfect match, they need to do another one with the same settings.

The Black Keys, get in, rock you, and get out. If song quality seems to falter toward the end, it is only by the slightest of degrees, making Ohio Players one of those records that can be enjoyed in one satisfying sitting.

Despite their garage rock machismo, Neil Young and Crazy Horse are ultimately old-school romantics. They deliver hard-won life lessons amidst their squalling guitars and Molina’s insistent drumbeat.

In this most recent work, she continues cultivating an expansive and complex sense of roots and relative self. It’s a joy to witness.

There will always be a welcome space for groups who take a signature sound and continue to perfect it, and when it all comes together as effortlessly as it does on Final Summer, it is worth calling attention.

Hey Panda is a bold update of the group’s sound—layered, complex, day-glow-colored with decidedly modern R&B and hip-hop influences. Here is a band that’s not done evolving.