The entire compilation is an incredibly fun listen, reaching into a multitude of unexpected directions to find rough-edged, rule-breaking material.

Public Luxury is a howl of musical and verbal liberation that comes from the heart and the mind. America needs more music like this, and it's good to have Downtown Boys back.

On The Wow! Signal, they've harnessed that emotion and paired it with their most solid songs in ages, reaching for something more in that great beyond. It's a seamlessly executed and proudly over-the-top experience.

The title bitknot and its wired-matrix cover art were meant to represent memory storage as well as the idea of interdependence, a notion under threat in the era of hyper-individualism. This conflict is also reflected in the record's juxtaposition of catchiness and dissonance, although its artfulness lies in a balance that favors the former without neglecting the latter.

While his writing and some of his mannerisms might be a shade too familiar for die-hard fans of classic R&B, Wallace has a voice that leaps from the grooves with a particular grain that sometimes evokes a hybrid of Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, and Rance Allen.

Considering how good this music is, one can't help but wish there was more of it, but that's the only serious complaint that can be levied against New Self, which shows the Bobby Lees have come through a difficult time stronger than ever.

Staples is fearless and confident on Cry Baby, one of his absolute best -- and most important -- works.

While Rodrigo's emotions may be all over the place, she expresses them with some of her most cohesive songwriting.

All of Castle Park hangs together nicely, evoking a kind of celebration of the '60s mod rock that influenced him, and by extension Coxon's own British pop legacy.

Even on songs like these that have appeared in many versions over the years, the character of the Chrome Hearts -- the emphasis of the organ and keys, the drawn-out interplay between the guitars, the thoughtful and generous communication between the players -- makes even these well-worn tunes sound new.

The result is the most texturally detailed, sonically overwhelming BIG|BRAVE record to date. Nearly every moment is bristling with blown-out distortion, yet it's shaped so that there's enough space for all the elements to breathe instead of cancel each other out.

Songs of Personal Loss and Protest is one of his best-realized projects in some time, a bit more subdued than classic JSBX but a superb evocation of what he does best and a sonic second wind from one of indie rock's great wild-card talents.

While Ei8ht is less focused than some of the band's earlier rock-oriented work, it's interesting to hear them stretch out and experiment at this stage in their career.

BODY SOUND is an immersive effort that finds magic and wonder in common objects and situations.

There’s awe and sadness in certain passages, but the primary reflections Setting uncovers are ones of joy, contentment, and gratitude. Tuning in deeply to their music inspires similar feelings.

Horse Lords' music is both demanding and rewarding, and the group continues to innovate while remaining hopeful and celebrating life.

Snowdrop doesn't reveal much that is new about Mono; that said, it does portray them at their creative, committed, focused, best.

Throughout, Bingo!'s highly saturated live sensibility takes listeners into the dance club, and even on tracks with titles like "Power Snoozer" and "Chill Pill," its tempo never drops below 120 bpm.

Precreation Percolation is a welcome reminder that Super Furry Animals were one of the most interesting, consistently surprising, and always worth hearing bands of their era.

Unpredictable and gripping across its 13 tracks, Amba and their well-chosen collaborators have delivered an album that's bursting with authenticity and the emotion of things too-long gone unsaid and underrepresented.

Their discography is still remarkably consistent, but Roses might be the point where Widowspeak becomes a classic band instead of one inspired by them.

Results may vary on whether listeners find the lyrics cathartic, cringy, or neutral on the relatability scale, but it is Of Montreal's most consistently strong and musically accessible group of songs since at least the party album Ur Fun (2020) and arguably as far back as Lousy with Sylvianbriar (2013).

Not too many groups took this kind of dark trip during the trip hop era, maybe none of them and that was why they genre soon faded out. Tara Clerkin Trio bring it back here with a vengeance and give it the kind of imaginative, dark, moody, and meaningful reboot it desperately needed.

Of all of Perry's posthumous releases, Spatial, No Problem. is one of the truest, most joyous tributes to his endlessly imaginative spirit.

Fantasia might not register as a simplified reading of Slift's progressive heaviness, but at times it offers the clearest view yet of their intense vision and precision technical abilities.

"Anyone in Love" sets the tone for a first half where Ngonda dispenses a lot of wisdom and a little admonition. .... The second half is more personal, generally more impassioned and conflicted.

Offers some of the most emotionally poignant songs of the band’s career.

Their hardest-rocking and emotionally urgent set in a while, I Built You a Tower is a strong reminder of why Death Cab have touched so many hearts over the decades, still refusing to rest on their legacy with this liberated, creative flash that pays off in droves.

Despite its gentle presentation, Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation offers music that questions time, space, and dimensionality, and ultimately points to questions as yet unspoken.

Xylitol's music approaches jungle from a unique perspective, channeling the experimentation and hypnotic power of kosmische music while fully understanding the exciting impact of heavy bass and explosive breakbeats.

It’s the most accessible and fun of the triad of albums and represents Drake at his most interesting and least lazy.

Time is a welcome studio reunion between Mahal and PBB, and a superb reworking of the original album while juxtaposing styles, sounds, and rhythms with joyful abandon.

The songs here are always tender if tangled, and the record closes on the quasi-acoustic, more clarified "A Moment in My Eyes," a bookend that parts ways with the album's swirly, fuzzy, knotty headspace and floats listeners back down to earth ("Black-and-white photos/Spillings of a dream").

An album that demands and rewards close listening, Inferno remains true to the world Boards of Canada have created while engaging with the world at large.

This album is a great starting point for Grohl, who proves she can handle both aggressive alt-rock blasts and hazy shoegaze escapes on the journey to hone her own sonic perspective.

McCartney's gift for hummable pop songcraft endures and more than one of these songs is likely to pop into your head days after listening. Yet, it's all those little moments on The Boys of Dungeon Lane and the way McCartney brings his past to life that makes the album one of his most affecting.

Crawlspace of the Pantheon sounds like the work of a band that still has plenty of gas left in the tank, regardless of how long they've (or he's) been at it. Play it loud.

Mendez's gentle vignettes have carried an outsized emotional heft, but his wistful melodies are just as likely to bring listeners back.

There’s a newfound lightness here, and even though the amps are still maxed out and the songs aren’t exactly chipper hymns of optimism and renewal, there’s a sense that Iceage is finding hope within the chaos for the first time.

The overall sound of Nowhere doesn't veer too far off course from her warm and welcoming approach in the past decade, but thankfully adds some life back into the mix after two relatively subdued efforts. Her observations are as sharp as ever.

On these songs as with so many before them, Vile is just walking us through the strange side streets of his mind, moving from one circular riff to the next and guiding us through the weird haze with a knowing smile.

Whether or not Wild at Heart stands as Diamond's final album, it completes a tidy trilogy of Rubin-produced records that are among the most satisfying of his long career.

Heavy Water is unique in its sonic remembrance of a more modern tragedy, one whose environmental and emotional repercussions are still being felt today.

Another accessible set where listeners can imagine meeting him in a bar to chat about the old times and catch up on the new.

Lyrically and vocally, Kehlani exudes more warmth here than ever, and the album's additional echoes of '90s/2000s contemporary R&B is enhanced with the featured artists.

IT’S BEEN AWFUL is the sound of Rashad breaking lock after lock open, and letting everything bundle out into the open; on the late-summer air, his flurried thoughts spread into a stunning whole of growth and selfhood.

Kramer and Moore interact with each other's fiery and ungovernable sounds effortlessly, often finding anger and peace within the same tune. They craft an atmosphere that stays in this tenuous balance for the entirety of the album, acknowledging suffering and universal loss while always keeping the hope for something better as a guiding light.

It's her most purely satisfying live set to date.

Gravity Freeze may lack some of the unhinged excitement of previous albums, but the depth and feeling they put on display is impressive and makes the album a detour well worth taking.

As an artist, Anderson's own contributions to American independent music are significant, making her sharp rebuke of nationalism and xenophobia even more powerful.

Anguished, inspired, and exceptional album.

The ever-present -- and ever-changing -- blend of grief and joy within Bleachers' music is always heartfelt, but it's rarely sounded as rousingly real as it does on Everyone for Ten Minutes.

It's another triumph, albeit a low key one, for one of the best bands of their era.

Their music is soothing, rustic, lonesome, and ethereal all at once.

OOIOO and Lightning Bolt both make adventurous, awe-inspiring music, and their split LP feels like a triumph for both acts.

Bitches Blues is the sound of a band experimenting with and developing a language distinctly their own; it is at once physical, fluid, wildly creative, and deftly spacious, revealing a striking 21st century approach to the guitar/keyboard/drum trio.

At the time of American Stories' release, striving for harmony was a rare thing. It's still a noble goal, and on these songs, Rostam achieves it beautifully.

Hope!! may be bursting at the seams, but its communal power is also life-giving.

This glorious weirdness was present in Harding’s earlier work but feels like the main event on Train on the Island. It never intrudes on what can be enjoyed as fantastically crafted songs, but accentuates the beguiling personality that makes them more than that.

James' own lyrics are plainly stated and confessional, as on tracks like "The Book of Self Doubt" and "Seems Like I," though she often embellishes them with pitched-up accompaniments. The tracks with guests are often the most successful, as they offer a bit more tonal and melodic counterpoint.

It's brimming with invention and exploration offered with generosity and creative openness.

Lavender Networks almost feels like a successor to Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy because of the way it juxtaposes surreal aggression with a softer, more sensitive side.

Often riveting and never boring, and with credit to the band's charismatic leader, the album makes for an exciting and noteworthy debut.

Raye affirms that she's a virtuosic vocal dynamo, belting, crooning, and providing spoken exposition, and even her lowest moments of self-abasement are related with clever wordplay showcasing her flexibility. For all the bereft emoting and chemical self-medication that occurs throughout the sequence, Raye's desire to soothe, heal, and instill hope in broken-hearted listeners is apparent.

Altogether, their work is intricately detailed (if never overstuffed), vibrating with unease while somehow welcoming the listener with a sense of comfort.

Much more than just more of the same, Badges is a step forward for the group. Sounding more confident and comfortable, it's clear that they've gotten over the shock of being together again and have settled into being the kind of thoughtful and dramatic indie pop group one always hoped they would be.

They don't try to reinvent the wheel here, largely sticking to the rootsy punk vibe of blown-out speaker vocals, overdriven guitar twang, and thumping drums. Yet, there are still some ear-popping moments.

It’s another album of subtlety and intriguing songwriting choices from Cola, not reinventing their sound by any means, but bringing in new ideas that keep things engaging and confounding in equal measure.

It’s a mellow experience without being a simplistic or obvious one, and this relaxed environment creates easier points of access for ideas that would be too weird for some listeners if they weren’t couched in welcoming chimes of guitar or smiling synths.

Look for Your Mind! is a relatively more romping set of Lemon Twigs songs, but the performances remain airtight and the song construction is as intricate and involved as any of their previous work, keeping them one of the most intelligent and infallible bands making power pop in the 2020s.

Roxanne's music is still spacious and immersive, but Poem 1 feels realistic rather than dreamlike and abstract.

Between the Joe Jackson snarl of "Pay No Mind" and the Beatlesque punk riffing of "Little Strange," there's a satisfying balance of smart pop songcraft and rugged power that suggests he's found the sweet spot.

Decades into Melanie C's storied career, Sweat is one of her best.

Loose yet consistently engaging, i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley is the work of a band in its element.

They’ve been honing something so unique for so long that the new material emphasizes how timeless the older material is, and how it’s all been part of the same strange and beautiful continuum.

For all the hype and controversy Kneecap has received, it feels like the group is simply getting back to basics and doing what they do best on Fenian, resulting in their most accomplished effort to date.

Mostly playful in tone despite its timely, often serious topics, Long Wave Home makes for another strong entry in Hoop's catalog.

The vital In Times of Dragons whisks Amos back to hallowed days, penetrating the soul and shaking foundations in a manner that hasn't been heard since Pele, Choirgirl, Scarlet, or Posse.

Dandelion functions as both a sequel and an appealing fresh start.

Produced by the aforementioned Johnny Wilson, Live Forever is full of warm and gritty textures and includes just enough crowd noise to transport listeners without competing with the music.

While it may be enough for most people to look for a best-of compilation, there are many delights to be found on this set.

A meditative work reflecting on loss and commemoration, as well as nature and the environment. The slowly unfolding composition, divided into two parts, is intended for deep listening.

While the production still has bite and the danger of unpredictable straight-to-tape recording, the songcraft is completely in focus. It's where the long-germinating seeds of White Fence's psychedelic excellence finally bloom into their full glory, and these songs are among the best the group has ever put to tape.

It might take a few listens or views to wrap one's head around what Angine de Poitrine are doing, but their music is actually a lot more accessible than it may seem at first, and their second effort is an incredibly fun record.

Piss in the Wind is fairly depressing at times, offering just a few short moments to perk up the 21-track runtime, which shouldn't surprise longtime fans of Joji's wounded, narcotic beauty.

The band leans into their music's humanity with a strong folk influence that feels cozy and encouraging, whether on the lonely campfire songs "Projectors" or the lullaby-like cover of Neil Young's "Red Sun" that showcases Markus Acher's yearning vocals.

Although the album lacks the emotional punch of Ware's preceding dancefloor-oriented albums, it's always entertaining, full of stunning vocal performances.

The driving "Alone with You" might seem seductive and romantic, but it's about much more than just physical pleasure, as dal Forno sings about building a future with a partner and "lock[ing] away bad memories together." The dreamy, lo-fi "Gave You Up" is particularly entrancing, with dal Forno's sighing vocals meshing perfectly with the hypnotic guitar strums. Throughout the album, instrumental tunes act as curious segues between moods.

As Miss Grit confronts and conceals their heartache on Under My Umbrella, they continue to unite high-concept ambition and pop immediacy in fascinating ways.

These songs are made all the more touching by tender, intricate performances that revere the small details and internal effects of life-changing loss, heartache, and self-awareness.

Weller at the BBC (Vol. 2) is a dense digest of this particular category of his art form, and he shines throughout all of it.

Maybe it's divine intervention and maybe it's decades of working on their craft, either way on 13 White Denim sounds like a band born again.

Romanticize the Dive is yet another great Metric album, another stunning showcase of Haines' second-to-none vocals, and an example of how if a band plays with emotional and sonic imagination, indie rock doesn't have to sound overcooked and insipid when it is blown up to twice its size.

You'd have to go back to the 1970s to find a Ringo Starr solo album that was as well-crafted with his particular skills in mind as Look Up, and Long Long Road shows Burnett and Starr continue to work together beautifully.

If there's a gripe to be had about the record, it's that it isn't longer than nine tracks, although there's something to be said for mirroring the debut in leaving us wanting more.

If "back-to-basics" sounds like your ideal Foo Fighters mode, then Your Favorite Toy is one of their best to date.

Tomora comes off as a good-natured side quest, freely venturing into unexpected territory and maintaining an adventurous spirit.

Malik's reliable vocals and the top production quality deliver the goods, but here's hoping the restrained ideas on Konnakol yield a more liberated approach next time around.