Down Tools shows Mush can smooth down their surfaces a bit and still sound challenging and subversively witty, and as long as they do, they'll be worth hearing.

A special work, Loggerhead is among the most necessary albums of its time.

Found Light is recognizably the work of Laura Veirs, but with a freedom and sense of creative possibility that hasn't always been part of her music in the past. It's an engaging new chapter in the career of a gifted songwriter.

I Am the Moon: I. Crescent is dazzling in concept and execution. Tedeschi Trucks Band embrace this narrative with ambition, and expose its lessons with creative imagination, emotionally intelligent songwriting, and mind-blowing musicality.

In between "Confession" and "Float" is the sharply contrasting "The Hour," whose haunted, fingerpicked folk and mournful vocal draw on troubadour tradition. Everything else falls somewhere in between, and somehow, from its pastoral opening title track to its glistening rock closer ("Willow's Song"), Sound of the Morning makes sense, through acknowledging struggle and uplifting with a gumption and determination that's reflected in its design.

The live performance here by the Ensemble Intercontemporain (a group that once upon a time would have had little to do with Reich) is sharp, and the Salle Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris serves the work well acoustically.

Despite the involvement of roughly two dozen production partners, the set is cohesive, almost to a fault, and most stimulating when it's slightly vaporous yet bristly, with a foundation in low-end thrum.

It's an album that leaves you feeling quietly joyful and, as in the spare, poignant closer "Writer," in which Nutini ruminates on the interplay between art and life, might just make you cry.

It was clear that Gwenno had reached her stride early as a solo artist; now with Tresor, she's shifted away from that bright, shiny formula and come up with an album that goes one step further to cementing her in the experimental pop firmament.

Though she took a roundabout path to make and release Giant Palm, the way Bock shares her profound moments and little insights with a generous spirit makes for an often brilliant debut.

Is it possible Guided by Voices have become the best recording act of their day? Add Tremblers and Goggles by Rank to the dozen other LPs they released in the 60 months previous, and the argument doesn't seem the least bit unreasonable.

The result is perhaps the best recorded document of Prince & the Revolution in full flight: they sound invincible here.

While sincerity emanates from Finnigan in every song before it ["Crash & Burn"] -- the singer's empathy enables him to personify characters convincingly -- the words and emotion here pour out, like they had to be released, requiring no imagination.

Whether it's highly relatable or a bit paint-by-numbers is up to the listener, although the blueprint here is an auspiciously well-tested one.

GUV IV is yet more proof that no matter the genre or sound -- whether it's the band's beloved jangle pop or something further out on the indie pop spectrum -- they are up to the challenge and will deliver the goods.

From the puckish refrains of the lovely "Sunday Venus" to the intricate "Arm of Golden Flame," the two characters intertwine amid fascinating compositions that are intellectually challenging but ultimately rewarding.

It documents a gifted artist in full command of her gifts, and it's more than worthy of your time and attention.

Fueled by the long-promised light at the end of the tunnel after the COVID-19 lockdown, it's also the band's most vibrant and accessible outing to date.

Remaining in the same musical neighborhood as his debut, its sentiments were inspired by looking back at that transient time just before young adulthood, in his case in the early 2000s. ... That lesson in experience and optimism shines through dreamy guitar atmospheres on much of the record, including opener "Corncob."

A welcome new entry in PT's catalog, it reveals in fits and starts that the band have plenty left to say -- just what that is remains elusive and unclear on this wide-ranging return.

For her eighth studio album, Home, before and after, she animates ten unpredictable tracks with a combination of elegant piano accompaniment, overtly playful pop, and a return to dramatic symphonic fare, often within the same song.

By marrying this thick haze -- somewhere between shoegaze and analog drone -- to introspective, melodic songwriting, Soccer Mommy winds up with an album that feels simultaneously familiar and fresh, a record that delivers deliberate surprises while also acting as a soothing balm.

Though Danilova closes the album with the exultant "Do That Anymore," in its own way Arkhon is more challenging than her music has been in some time. Some of the changes she introduces don't seem necessary until they're heard, but they're all in service to her commitment to using sound in powerfully empathetic ways.

Ultimately, Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind is stellar; it offers fresh, wildly creative terrain for the Amory Wars saga to mine going forward.

It's that balance Gray strikes on Superache between plumbing his own candidly intimate fears and simultaneously pulling together all of his musical influences into his own distinctive sound that lends the album such magnetic, transformative power.

'Flicted is bright and lively in its form and rhythms, its electronic beats and processed voices percolating cheerfully and impishly, his pianos interweaving with spectral voices to create shimmering waves of melody.

An album that is more cinematic than the intervening releases in more ways than one.

Mississippi Son is an unromanticized testament to living the blues and sounds like it came from the soil. As such, it's a late-period masterpiece.

There's a warmth to Up and Away that does suggest analog, with help from plenty of dreamy reverb and additional acoustic textures like Arabic stringed instrument the kanun, which serves to amplify the album's cosmopolitan flair.

Shearwater have crafted their most resolute, or shall we say Shearwatery, effort to date.

Honestly, Nevermind is a welcome development in the Drake saga, a left turn off what was starting to seem like an endless stretch of trap-heavy highway. The destination is still sad and self-involved, but at least the scenery is colorful and never boring.

Ugly Season is a powerful statement as both an album and a score for a dance piece, and its intertwining of self-expression and healing is peak Perfume Genius.

Deep in View is a sturdy, engaging, and highly listenable debut that feels less like a continuation of Ought and more like a new path branching off some of their best work.

On Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions, the Dream Syndicate aim for mood and atmosphere rather than showing off their chops, and the performances serve the nuances of the songs without pushing them to places they don't want to do.

The language Halvorson constructs on Amaryllis is lush yet balanced and symmetrical. Her harmonic core, though fluid, offers a generous tonal palette for ensemble players and soloists alike, no matter who ultimately converses with who, while her melodies are simultaneously memorable, complex, and thought-provoking.

Belladonna is as lighthearted as it is provocative. Halvorson's love of wide tonalities and intricate harmonic interplay are anchored by sophistication and a healthy dose of wry humor. She weaves them together in five pieces that nearly sing.

Magic Pony Ride is more comforting than challenging, but it's still highly enjoyable, providing a unique view on family life from an artist who has remained inventive for several decades.

Where Womb felt like the closing of a chapter, graves feels like a promising rebirth for Purity Ring.

Mercury cuts to a deeper emotional core than the Range's previous work, and it's easily the producer's most successful release to date.

If 40 oz. to Fresno isn't the most ambitious entry in Joyce Manor's discography, it is at least one of their most enjoyable.

While the rap-preferring fans will still gravitate to his first two efforts, listeners with an appreciative ear for his genre-sampling maturation into the mainstream will find Twelve Carat Toothache to be a fascinating emotional exploration of a conflicted artist who can't help but churn out star-making hits at the expense of his own happiness.

Proof is a shining example of how to do it well, drawing listeners in with the familiar and enriching the experience with a special, personal touch.

Gallagher retains a slight edge to his voice that enlivens even staid settings, but this gift isn't necessarily necessary as his urgent delivery does give the album a driving force. He's working in a tonier setting, relying heavily on studio wizardry and polish, yet Liam Gallagher remains a rock & roll star, the kind who turns generic material into something worth a listen.

Unmistakably influenced by the late SOPHIE, who appeared on Hi This Is Flume, the production has a stretched-out, rubbery-yet-metallic quality, and the songs balance sugary vocal hooks with truly intense beat formations.

On Madness as a whole, Poliça were evolving even when the world seemed to come to a standstill.

This Is Brian Jackson's music is timeless, a musical montage reflecting his multi-disciplinary immersion in jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop, without sacrificing the focus, generosity, inspiration, and openness that have been at the very heart of his music all along.

Not only is it nice for long-time fans of his work, it gives those looking for someone making these kinds of desperately beautiful, painfully human songs a new artist to discover and love.

Inside Problems deals with weighty themes in a modest, manageable way, and that's one of its greatest virtues; here, Andrew Bird is a mildly quirky regular guy with some thoughts to share and a fiddle to help carry them across, and self-analysis is rarely as fun and rewarding as this.

Once again, the Drive-By Truckers have made a strong album well worth your time and attention, but Welcome 2 Club XIII suggests they're having a problem embracing uncomplicated joy in 2022 -- but then again, so do most people.

They've tapped into the source of indie rock's greatness like few bands have been able to and Versions of Modern Performance isn't merely a homage or a neat trick, it's another very strong, very satisfying link in the chain connecting past to present.

Love conquering all can sometimes be a hackneyed notion, but here Fantastic Negrito makes it feel earned.

Rather than offering something for everyone, Big Time wrangles complex, overwhelming emotions with a broad palette that's commanded by its lyrics and tormented vocal performances.

It's clear that they miss their friend and the pain of carrying on without him is crushing. That they manage to convey those feelings to the listener in such a pleasantly sweet fashion is a credit to them as a group and the album takes them from just another (albeit really good) chirpy indie pop band to one ready for the big leagues, sonically and emotionally.

Stars' endlessly detailed arrangements are as impressive as ever, and become more powerful in the context of these highly reflective songs. Stars fearlessly investigate difficult feelings on From Capelton Hill, and capture a complex beauty in the process.

Harry's House is what happens when Styles steps out of the spotlight to live his life. And despite the fact that there's nothing as immortal as "Watermelon Sugar" to be found, this album, as a whole, has solid bones and is sturdy enough to last.

Cruel Country, however, feels as unified and well plotted as anything in Wilco's catalog, and it's deeply moving, powerfully heartfelt music from a handful of gifted players serving their songs beautifully.

Adding to an already impressive list of achievements, HAAi's first full-length is a stunner.

Blue Skies elevates Dehd's mysterious auras, thoughtful experimentation, and strong songwriting, but reaches its highest levels of beauty and intensity when the band shares more of their unobscured personalities.

Brought up on a steady diet of singles, Templeman has some trouble stringing together a substantive 14-track set and a number of the cuts simply coast along on groove and tone without much else to recommend them. Minus the filler and occasional bouts of clumsy wordplay, Mellow Moon does little to damage the young singer/songwriter's reputation and adds a clutch of well-made tracks to his growing canon.

This is a disappointing backpedal from America's drill ambassador.

Much of Face the Wall brings to mind the kind of ebullient, instant-classic indie pop that filtered through college rock stations in the 1990s. Think something along the lines of Juliana Hatfield improbably crossed with Liz Phair and Enya and you'll get a sense of the giddy, buoyant vibe she captures here.

The sound of Come Home the Kids Miss You is polished and ready for the massive level of worldwide commercial success Harlow has been building up to, but it's difficult to find much substance beneath the expensive sheen.

The lack of variance in tempo across the hour-long sequence makes Heart on My Sleeve downright torpid at points. All upticks are welcome -- the one with an incongruous Kirk Franklin appearance included -- but slow and low is undeniably the singer's forte.

Cave-In have crafted a dense (over 70-minutes long) and rewarding work that's both mindful of the past and focused on the horizon.

Regards / Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffer reveals itself as an inspired tribute to Schaeffer and another fine example of how Matmos' circular interplay of invention and reinvention remains exceptional.

More D4ta is Moderat's most introverted album, artfully expressing the tension of lockdown and facing an uncertain future.

Phillips' commentary on the state of the world is quite artful, but a look at the lyrics and a careful listen to the vocals allows the activist side of the songs to step forward, and when they take shape it's effective in the way it whispers rather than shouts in our ear.

The overall impression of Parks' second solo album is less a collection of tightly crafted songs than of a willowy chunk of music captured during its slow passage on the timeline. How appealing this is depends on one's proclivities, but there is enough ear candy here to hold the attention, at least for a little while.

A Legacy of Rentals captures him at the peak of his powers. It's art wrought from real life which is all the more devastating for it's easy recognizability.

The album is warmer, friendlier, and fuller than anything Hardware has presented before, yet somehow just as emotionally naked.

With a title partly inspired by a surrealist collage by Eileen Agar and partly by the Biblical Jacob's Ladder, it was produced by Tom Carmichael, Porridge Radio drummer Sam Yardley, and singer and songwriter Dana Margolin, who continues to evoke artists like Sarah Mary Chadwick and Torres here with her raw and passionate vulnerability.

Mavis Staples and Levon Helm were two artists who were also friends and admirers, and they knew how to bring out the best in one another, and that's exactly what they do on Carry Me Home, and it's a thing of beauty to witness.

While frequently poignant, If I Never Know You Like This Again feels like a post-catharsis moment of hanging out, talking into the late hours, and making music with friends.

Listeners with an aversion to the zeitgeist razzle-dazzle and rambunctious frivolity are very well served. "Why Try" and "No ID," located in the middle, are supple disco-funk throwbacks; the latter is as bubbly-tough as anything off Evelyn "Champagne" King's first album (if with 2022 attitude). They lead to a second half where the madness is mostly mellow.

While not always an easy listen, the album shows more of its intention as it goes, and ultimately makes sense as the next logical step forward in Lamar’s increasingly multi-dimensional artistic evolution.

Only completists will need to collect every volume of the series. Despite their similarities, each volume is an excellent document of any given night on-stage with Neil Young, and Royce Hall 1971 finds him in just as fine form as the best of his solo performances from this time.

As the record swiftly spins through these production and melodic hooks, it gives the impression of a jukebox filled with a bunch of excavated gems, and that's not a bad comfort zone for the Black Keys at all.

Upgrading significantly from 2018's brief and scattered-feeling Daytona, It's Almost Dry finds Pusha T in the role of the cool, collected, bulletproof rapper, and Kanye-produced tracks like "Dreamin' of the Past" and "Rock N' Roll" (both of which he contributes verses to as a featured artist) harken back to his distinctive and sample-heavy style pre-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

The Stones often sound as if they're enjoying hunkering down on a smaller stage, giving enthusiastic performances that avoid sloppiness. It adds up to a gas, a record that belongs alongside Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! and Brussels Affair as among the best official live Stones albums.

While this effort may not be Welch's surprise transformation into a full-on pop diva, Dance Fever is a generous offering to the goddesses of dance and restorative energy.

A Light for Attracting Attention bests The Eraser as Yorke's finest non-Radiohead effort and falls somewhere amongst A Moon Shaped Pool and King of Limbs in terms of scope and daring. As such, diehards should be quite pleased with this release: an utterly satisfying set of songs that stands tall on its own, yet could easily climb the ranks against any of Radiohead's late-era efforts.

One of the best chapters in an already impressive catalog; one that finds a new artistic depth as it faces some of life's eternal concerns.

Un Verano is not only a seasonal statement-piece but a testament to Benito's singular songwriting -- across genres, generations, and even languages, he works to produce enduring landmarks that trace universal joys, sorrows, and passions.

The resulting Blue Water Road is undeniably lighter and less fraught than the singer's previous LP -- and not without grief and tension -- and also has a continuity justifying the decision to stay on a forward course.

Van Etten isn't wallowing in melancholy, she's accepting the sadness along with the joy, using both emotions to push into a new stage of life. That sense of optimism, no matter how muted it may sometimes be, gives We've Been Going About This All Wrong an air of unguarded hope.

Despite -- or perhaps because of -- the difficulties Warpaint overcame while making the album, Radiate Like This is a quiet stunner and a very welcome return.

With Headful of Sugar, Sunflower Bean turn the pangs of growing up into hypnotic, intoxicating pop.

Endless Rooms is another strong outing from the group, definitive proof that they are still gleefully exploring their sound and are more than willing to take whatever approach is needed to put the songs across.

All these slight aural imperfections emphasize the extraordinary casualness of the gig. Young is loose but not sloppy as he plays songs largely unknown to his audience.

While not as immediately accessible as the all-star run of their first three albums, WE will at least be a course-corrector for fans still alienated by Everything Now and the underrated Reflektor, a satisfying journey that realigns the band's heart and soul.

The sisters continue to make a serene and highly appealing kind of pop music informed by their Afro-Cuban heritage.

Every bit as refreshing and even more insightful than her debut, Norwegian pop star Sigrid delivers another near-flawless effort with her sophomore album, How to Let Go.

Less obsessive fans might not see the necessity in seeking out more than one live recording from a window of time when a lot of Young's shows were fairly similar. Young completists will of course need to hear the clarity of this recording, and will appreciate the subtle nuances in every joke, slight variation in delivery, and minor shift in presentation that separate this show from any other.

Not just an escapist pleasure, Wet Tennis is a lasting statement that shines with pop-savvy expertise and marks a significant step forward in Sofi Tukker's musical growth.

An impressive project that brings illuminating new perspectives to their music -- and perhaps some more artists to their listeners' attention.

He launches into bristling pop-punk after the intro, and elsewhere offers honeyed hip-hop, convincing retro-soul, and a touching corrido, among other styles, refining his R&B-rooted bedroom pop throughout.

Clocking in at over an hour, there's enough here for all types of fans to enjoy and rejoice that the guys have returned.

Such an ambitious, border-crossing project can't help seeming overwhelming and messy, but the participants' glee and love of expression comes through loud and clear, and the whole experience is a rewarding one.