The results can be overwhelming and unrestrained, but they also capture a freewheeling euphoric high that is undeniable. Even if you may want to enjoy it in moderation, the band’s universalist vision of indie pop has a little something for everyone.

Hold On Baby certainly has its hits, and Straus’ star power is no less evident even when the music doesn’t measure up. While her sophomore record is somewhat of a slump, King Princess’ talent still reigns.

The songs themselves don’t stand up to his best acoustic work. It’s not a bad album by any means, but it’s also rarely exceptional, and therefore, not very memorable.

An immensely gentle album that needs to be taken as a whole, tracks with titles like “Duet for Guitar and Rain” or “Bells Pt.’s 1, 2, and 3” deliver on their descriptions as tender transitions between Sprague’s clear headed observations.

With Surrender, Rogers has refused to do just that, defying the pull of monotony and cliché, crafting instead her masterpiece.

We have a set strongly influenced by the more experimental side of “post-punk” as well as noise, power electronics, and early industrial music (think Throbbing Gristle or early Cabaret Voltaire).

Toast is an invocation of impending loss so powerful and relatable as to be, at times, unbearable. That Young with Crazy Horse are able to create sublime songs from this ruinous situation is a feat unto itself; that Young only felt safe to release them 20 years after they were made is an indictment of just how ruthlessly personal and genuinely affecting they are.

Household Name manages to be both bold and wary—capturing the kinetic anxiety that arises when a protracted daydream seeps into your everyday.

With Sound of the Morning Pearson has conjured and fine-tuned a far more confident, almost irresistible song set.

On their eighth album, Formentera, they sound as vital as ever, with the creative nucleus of Emily Haines and James Shaw once more pushing the possibilities of what Metric are.

While the weaker moments can leave Beatopia a bit messy or overstuffed, there is nonetheless a special charm to Kristi’s simple songwriting. For a promising songwriter who felt like she has been searching for her creative niche, it is her most distinctive effort yet and also sports her most infectious set of tracks.

There is no doubt that The Other Side of Make-Believe remains distinctly Interpol, and that is a good thing. Twenty years on from their debut, the band have endured, continuing to produce tight rhythms and shadowy urban soundscapes.

Electronics to the forefront and AI involvement in the lyrics, however miniscule; and yet, there’s a warmth and humanity here that’s hard to fake, the product of a band that refuses to stay still.

Flasher is back. Like seeing an old friend who has been gone for a while, there are many new things to discuss and a few to revisit.

Although the songwriting is intimate with the trio’s personal thoughts and feelings, the production and vocal choices sometimes are found lacking.

It’s a record that operates in extremes, with the highs ascending to ultra-catchy pop bliss and the lows exploring barren depths of depression. Each emotion and each moment is transient, leading seamlessly into the next in an overwhelming rush.

With an excellent set of musicians that ably back him over the course of these two albums, Graham Nash: Live finds Nash in fine voice as he brings new life to earlier work that is well worth a fresh listen.

The tracks are largely abstract with long periods of solely instrumental passages, but Hadreas’ artistic voice is evident throughout. If anything, the record demonstrates that his hunger for innovation and evolution still remain intact.

Strange proves on Farm to Table that in refusing to sit still long enough to be pigeonholed, he’s looking to heft a glass of something sweeter than what’s historically been on offer.

Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is an incredibly ambitious, messy, heavy, daunting record.

The new record finds Olsen basking in new love and lost love, using her distinctive tone and quavering vibrato to great effect. Olsen leans country on Big Time, moving between lush slide guitars and piano ballads, singing of grief with a gentleness that exudes as much gratefulness as it does melancholy.

Her cool, laconic drawl works best when paired with coruscating guitars and it’s at those moments that the album really shines. Hopefully, it won’t be a decade until she releases another solo album, as she’s undoubtedly a gifted artist with much to offer.

While again it’s no surprise that 9 of the 18 previously released tracks here are from the first two records, tracks like the aforementioned “Ulysses” and “Evil Eye” (from 2013’s Right Words, Right Thoughts, Right Action, their last full-length with guitarist Nick McCarthy not including FFS) are strong enough to perhaps make some skeptical listeners go back and listen to those records.

Confidence results in Jordana’s most rewarding record yet, one which delivers on her early bedroom pop promise with a refreshing set of tightly crafted indie pop gems.

Truly there are no weak tracks on Versions of Modern Performance, where even the handful of instrumental snippets (“The Guitar is Dead 3” echoes Daydream Nation’s “Providence”) serve as transitions to some of the album’s most muscular songs. Over the course of the album, Horsegirl show they can tackle all manner of post-punk territory, while never losing focus on the value of a well timed hook or buried melody.

Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky certainly isn’t the most groundbreaking record musically but Porridge Radio is certainly innovative in approach and original in delivery and have made an ambitious and compelling record that demands attention, but at times is not an easy listen.

One of Just Mustard’s strengths is that no single strength attempts to outshine the others. David Noonan’s and Mete Kalyoncuoglu’s guitars don’t shred or solo, they swarm and swirl. Robert Hodgers Clarke’s undertowing bass lines rattle the foundations that Shane Maguire’s insistent drumming create.

A solid return to form. The more things change the more some things need to stay the same.