Dissed is the kind of record that feels like it came out of nowhere to blow minds, and even though you can trace it clearly when you check out his previous work with the band Ovens or early solo recordings, it trumpets Molina's arrival with 12 short blasts of perfection.

He's one of the rare artists who can lay claim to four (or five) albums that are all distinct from one another, all him, all high quality.

Bleeder is one of the best outsider metal albums of the year.

The movie and score are fun and entertaining, but at the same time, the ugly bits of hate speech are jarring and take away from the sheer pleasure of it all. Listen (and watch) at your own discretion.

Physical provides ample proof that he can take the skills he's honed with that group [Factory Floor] in entertainingly different directions.

Khruangbin's music can still work as an ebullient, sun-baked soundtrack to daily activities, social gatherings, or cross-country road trips, but their songs have gotten more expressive and soul-searching, and Mordechai rewards closer listening more than any of their previous recordings.

Released almost exactly two years after that EP [Texas Sun], Texas Moon is spacier and a little moodier, and Bridges' writing this time gets as personal and spiritual as it does in his solo work.

By the time the title track brings the album to a close with mournful synths and drums that sound like they could punch holes in the sky, Exister finds Vasquez reclaiming all of himself with painful eloquence.

Vulnerable but full of punk-rock spirit and lessons hard-won, No Need to Be Lonely is also consistently hooky, with singalong choruses that often double as calls to action.

The Ship is a memorial to and meditation on history and human foibles. Just as importantly, it places an exclamation point on Eno's career as curiosity, experimentation, chance, and form gel; his relentless sense of adventure remains undiminished by time.

Despite only taking a couple of years to put out a second album, Lenses Alien also feels like an altogether more grown-up record.

There isn't a hint of fussiness and the songs and the performances are so understated, they only seem richer with repeated spins.

While observing the spaces between, Marshall's songs, reflective, consumptive, instructive and compelling, simultaneously create and destroy spaces between worlds he observes, so he might remake the world he lives in with restaint, grace, a broken heart, and brutal honesty.

This album is the prescription for anyone who thinks rock has imploded or has nothing new to offer.

e. This all-or-nothing approach makes Deep Trip an exhilarating listen that's just as capable of amping listeners up with its vital punk energy as it is freaking them out with its surging undercurrent of mind-altering sludge, making for yet another feather in the cap of Sacred Bones and their ever-growing lineup of head trip-inducing bands.

Beyond isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard.

If they remain a little constrained by their formalism--they're so determined to be part of a tradition they can often be swallowed by it--it's nevertheless hard not to admire their ambition.

This set is drenched in mystery; each track unfolds and transitions seamlessly as it builds and expands, enveloping the listener.

Shlon is the album where Souleyman reveals his comfort with his new band, who have, after all, traveled tens of thousands of miles together. He also returns to the incendiary approach of his early albums, worrying not so much about hip textures and beats as delivering these songs as soulfully and energetically as possible.

If the Hold Steady sound a lot more polished and accomplished in 2023 than on 2004's Almost Killed Me, they're gained far more than they've lost in the course of their evolution, and The Price of Progress finds them writing and performing at the top of their game.

Vertigo is more expansive than Open--even with its humid, uneasy sense of musical claustrophobia. It's no less engaging for its dissonance and tension. This is possible because The Necks understand how to instinctively balance sonic seduction with limitless exploration.

Travels with Myself and Another distinguishes Future of the Left from Mclusky without completely severing ties, and proves they're a band that can keep post-hardcore exciting with righteous anger and merciless wit.

Mod Prog Sic finds Black Dice pushing themselves even further into a place of singularity, making music that's gross, funny, captivating, scary, and beguiling at once, and finding new details in the extremes they've been exploring for decades.

Krüller is one of the most accessible-sounding Author & Punisher releases, but it's still vast and uncompromising.

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

It's Dulli's band, and what he's delivered here honestly satisfies.

Whatever romance he lacks in the textual medium he more than makes up for in melody.

If you have a grand desire to take on the world and want a suitable indie rock soundtrack, Brill Bruisers will certainly do the trick, and if this isn't the best effort to date from the New Pornographers, it most certainly doesn't disappoint.

What's startling about Sea Change is how it brings everything that's run beneath the surface of Beck's music to the forefront, as he's unafraid to not just reveal emotions, but to elliptically examine them in this wonderfully melancholy song cycle.

The band's tendency to start a song quiet, loose, and lovely and then slowly sweat it into a faster, intensified crescendo is familiar by now, but somehow remains vividly evocative.

The Starlight Mints weren't excessively ambitious in the studio and the coolness of Built on Squares makes for a pleasant listen while capturing a band in the making.

The material is stellar.

loss. Didn't He Ramble shows that as a performer and a songwriter, Hansard can create powerful and satisfying work that's up to the standard he set with the Frames, and this is a step up from 2012's impressive but uneven Rhythm and Repose.

Without diminishing her legacy as the mainstream bounce ambassador to the world, this gospel turn ends up being the most meaningful and powerful album of her career to date.

Older Than My Old Man Now contains some excellent work when Wainwright's not putting on false bravado or bullshitting, but ultimately, this is for his hardcore fans rather than casual ones.

When "Nox Lumina" closes the album by bringing it full circle, it reaffirms that Lux Prima is the sophisticated, sonically adventurous album Karen O deserves to make at this point in her career.

Liars wanders wherever it wants to, touching on noise, prog, hard rock, punk, industrial and other styles the band has flirted with in the past, as well as a few uncharted ones.... In a lesser band's hands, this kaleidoscopic approach could be a muddled mess, but it makes for Liars' most entertaining album yet.

Even if The Magic doesn't always hold together, it still delivers moments of pure anarchic fun.

Maybe she's lost her appetite to be a weird provocateur, but she has learned how to sharpen and stylize her attack, and that focus makes Chromatica one of her most consistent and satisfying albums.

Sol Invictus is their best and most compelling work since Angel Dust, and the rare reunion album that truly adds to the strength of the group's legacy rather than diluting it.

It is by its nature something quite other, that is at once strange and almost unspeakably beautiful.

The resulting I Am Very Far, which was produced by Sheff, feels both transitory and triumphant, successfully integrating the Austin, Texas-based collective's penchant for lovelorn, indie Americana with the wild abandon of 21st century pop music's increasingly blurry genre borders.

Warm and enveloping, it offers immediate comfort, easing the listener into a world so textured and reassuring it invites the kind of revisits that will let the songs unlock their internal logic at their own speed.

An Inbuilt Fault's subtlety will reward patient listeners, as repeat listens reveal more of its emotions and sonic detail.

All That You Can't Leave Behind is a rock record from a band that absorbed all the elastic experimentation, studio trickery, dance flirtations, and genre bending of Achtung, Zooropa, and Pop -- all they've shed is the irony. U2 also chooses not to delve as darkly personal as they did on Achtung or Zooropa, yet they also avoid the alienating archness of Pop, choosing to return to the generous spirit that flowed through their best '80s records.

As ephemeral and powerful as a crush, Nothing's Real marks Shura as the kind of smart pop star the 2010s need.

Even if it's not their best ever, it's a valid comeback that should appease longing fans.

House of Woo is more of the same, providing soundtracks for chillout rooms where the minds are satisfied and no one can even remember the definition of the word "dour."

Daze is an astounding leap forward, harnessing an overwhelming amount of energy and transforming it into an arsenal of sonic warfare. The album also feels like it's the beginning of what could become a lengthy saga, with many additional battles to come.

Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus depart completely from 2-step and late-'90s Timbaland twitter, polishing their sound to such an extent that absolutely no detectable scuffs are left.

In its own way, Inherent Vice is as subtly and carefully crafted as Greenwood's other scores for Anderson's films, but its wit and heart make it special in its own right.

It's a Myth is a stripped-down indie rock/hip-hop hybrid that says plenty and makes its own cool, low-key fun at the same time.

The glimmers of brilliance captured on Sky Blue are just as equally dazzling and devastating as van Zandt's story and the rest of the masterful catalog he left behind.

It's hard to see why most of this album exists beyond letting Ashworth explore and recreate two kinds of music she obviously loves to distraction. Whether anyone should follow along on her quest is up to their tolerance for sift rock platitudes and hard rock cliches.

Even after ten years of navigating the new millennium's punk-emo scene, Motion City Soundtrack sound positively hungry. My Dinosaur Life is a sugar rush without the crash at the end, just the insatiable need to hear it all again.

Lane's songs and delivery are strong throughout All or Nothin'; they're more polished and crafted than those on Walk of Shame.

So Much (For) the Stardust is a gloriously welcome return to form.

On Band of Brothers, Nelson reminds us that no matter the iconic place he occupies in American popular music as a vocal stylist, he is a classic country singer and songwriter first.

It's a lovely record with a lot of personality and passion that showcases a rarely heard instrumental combo.

Educational and emotional in a uniquely approachable way, these songs are a lovely part of a bigger picture.

The Snowblink singer has a captivating appeal that is hers alone. And when you combine that with a gift for poetic lyrics full of such evocative phrases as "I'll put a bullhorn to the mouth of your ghost" ("Heckling the Afterglow"), you've got something substantial on your hands.

Despite the amount of new material, some of which is not up to par with the earlier smashes and certain album cuts, this is a handy sampling of Girls Aloud's biggest moments.

Oh, Mayhem! won't make anyone forget Palomine, but it is an amazingly strong album that shows they have plenty of life left in them. And truth be told, this isn’t really that far off from Palomine.

Young always seemed a shade too earnest on his earlier records so this unabashed embrace of country-pop--one that wasn't necessarily pushed on him, based on the six co-writes he has here, almost all of them among the poppier material--is at first a little startling but it winds up being the right direction for an artist whose greatest asset has always been his inherent likeability.

This is a gratifying second step from one of the most exciting contemporary R&B artists to appear during the 2010s.

Creed's commitment to Chrome's vision is as strong as ever, and the results will put a demented grin on the face of longtime fans.

There is a warmth, joyfulness, and sly humor to Bahamas' sound here that keeps you listening even when Jurvanen turns toward melancholy sentiments, as he often does.

The lack of urgency is also welcome, with Alternative Light Source slowly unfurling as the most natural and comfortable Leftfield album to date.

Tamia does not to attempt to hit those high notes that Williams and few others have been able to reach, but she gets the feeling across. It's a fine finish to her best album yet.

Everybody Is Going to Heaven is a bold statement full of creative ideas, but it's not without its growing pains.

Martha may be saddled with a name that doesn't exactly imply excitement, but one quick spin through Blisters is enough to dispel any doubts as feet start to move, pulses begin to race, and the part of the brain that compels one to sing along is stimulated in a big way.

For all its emphasis on the past, Stripped sounds like a step forward.

The duo's love of huge, fuzzy guitars hasn't dimmed and anyone who shares that love will find Balance to be something pretty special. So will lovers of psychedelic music, fans of dream pop, shoegaze aficionados, and people who want music that will remind them of the past, but take them somewhere new.

Harvey sends off his final Gainsbourg project with the same spirit he introduced it with: savvy, humor, and an illuminating musical and literary spirit that defies anyone to follow him. Ultimately, it's perhaps the only kind of tribute Gainsbourg could--or would--accept.

The album's deliberately murky tone (courtesy of Taylor Goldsmith and Jim James) doesn't always help, but in spite of its sometimes gimmicky tone, Sweet Creep is evidence that Jonny Fritz is a genuine talent and a first-rate songwriter, and with luck, he'll let his guard down some time and let us hear him without his persona getting in the way.

It's one of the best records of their long run, and if Stewart and company keep making them this good, this real and this emotionally fulfilling, one can only hope they keep doing it forever.

The Rise of Chaos manages to entertain, and that the album does so with such gusto is the mark of a band with more than a little fight left in it.

Small Town is an excellent showcase for this duo; here's hoping it's only a first volley.

What makes the record so satisfying is how Millsap winds up fusing this thoroughly Southern sound with his literate, folky storytelling, which means that Other Arrangements is vibrant and alive even when he's evoking styles that have been around for ages.

Continuing in the direction of Fred Thomas' previous two albums, the equally outstanding All Are Saved and Changer, Aftering is filled with vivid descriptions of particular moments from throughout the prolific songwriter's life, as well as more general encapsulations of the bleak, uncertain feelings clouding the landscape of late-2010s America.

The set provides both reliably dreamy background grooves and, for the more attentive listener, frequent moments of discovery, making it seem more cutting edge than throwback despite its main inspirations.

Though it's unlike anything he has attempted before, the ambitious sounds of Tracing Back the Radiance still bear the distinctive stamp of his artistry, one that feels restless, nostalgic, and quietly hopeful regardless of the form it takes.

Ultimately, four albums in, Spook the Herd proves Lanterns on the Lake to be one of the most consistent acts in the business.

By adding these new sounds, the Cadillac Three seem younger and savvier, playing country-fried rock & roll for every imaginable creed, knowing that the best parties are the ones where everybody is invited.

City Burials is not a reinvention, but it does contain periodic re-engagement with the steely dynamics of heavy metal. Renkse's excellent songwriting, coupled with his best overall viocal performance, serve to energize Katatonia, who remain vitally creative in their third decade.

Fake's music has always been highly inventive and emotion-rich, but this is the most urgent and vital it's ever felt.

The album is a strong reaffirmation of Francis' stylistic elasticity. It covers even more territory than AlunaGeorge's preceding second album, I Remember, while coming across as more unified. Francis also challenges herself as a vocalist.

While their sophomore set was great in its own right, Impossible Weight feels leagues ahead, an introspective maturation that allows for both reflection and catharsis.

Something to Lose is more like a thoughtful early-morning walk through empty city streets. The glistening production and yearning performances don't change too much from song to song, but converge into an album-length mood of reflective bittersweetness.

Song for song, Hologram is a highly concentrated dose of all of A Place to Bury Strangers' strengths and a welcome return.

Intriguing from beginning to end, Cocker's lush, emphatic takes should delight fans of vintage French and Baroque pop.

He relates without judgment these possibilities for others journeying through this deeply troubled world, rendering I Just Want to Be a Good Man an outsider gospel masterpiece.

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.

The results are naturally a bit scattered sonically, as any record featuring Steve Vai and the Roots would inevitably be, yet it's tied together by Rundgren's aural aesthetic and sense of mischief.

Johnson's metered songwriting and warm, textural playing keep the project's earthy spirit intact as it continues evolving with every new set of tunes.

Rajan might not quite reach the top rank of modern psych albums -- "Nightmare" hews a little too closely to blues clichés and the occasional bit of editing could have been done when the tracks started to drift too much -- but Blackwell has made a strong and never less than interesting step in that direction. Even if he swings back to the more well-known Night Beats formula, this will stand as a fun experiment at the very least.

Though Tamko continues to address uneasy subjects and feelings with her music, she sounds more assured than before on her illuminating third album.

Metric have always been the kind of band to take big emotions and make them sound stadium-sized. On these two albums, they take stadium-sized emotions and make them painfully real and bleedingly human.