Perhaps Carrabba still writes lyrics in broad terms, but this willingness to sculpt his sounds on the softer side indicates that he's discovered a way to sustain this allegedly adolescent music well into his adulthood.

With its mix of intriguing sounds and occasionally underwhelming songwriting, Always Ascending feels more like a first effort than the band's actual debut did. As it stands, it's a somewhat shaky but promising start for the revamped Franz Ferdinand.

Fallon unapologetically mines bygone eras for inspiration, but he does so with the care of an archaeologist on the biggest dig of his life.

The masterful way Wasser balances challenging moments like these with more familiar fare makes Damned Devotion one of the most complete, and daring, portraits of her artistry.

For an album whose lyrics often feel despondent, this record feels like a gracefully administered tonic.

Heartache is likely the most mined substance in all of pop music, but Williams applies such panache to the material that it's hard not to get wrapped up in all of the delicious melodrama.

Twin Fantasy leaves no doubt that Toledo is a strikingly gifted and thoughtful songwriter who also has a firm grasp of how to make his material work in the studio, and isn't afraid to think on a grand scale.

Since this is a series of five-song EPs, Human Problems isn't paced like an LP, which is a benefit. Perhaps there are moments that drift, such as the mellow bachelor pad neo-instrumental "Everything Is Now," but they're designed that way, offering color and texture to music that already had a surplus of both.

Keyboardist Cleo Sample and singer/songwriter Kendra Foster are among the variable cast that joins that trio, so the set unsurprisingly has the densely layered, spaced-out, and fiery qualities of D'Angelo's Black Messiah.

Necessity might be the mother of invention, and their lack of training certainly gives their music a wonderfully eccentric slant, but that's just as likely due to their restless imaginations as it is circumstance.

John Tejada's fourth full-length for Kompakt is a succinct, incredibly focused album of complex, melodic techno tracks.

Unlike many lost albums of demos or unreleased recordings, Beautiful Despair actually stands alone as a really good, sometimes great TVPs album, and that's down to Head's recording and Treacy's reliably weird and wonderful songs.

The band purportedly balance their compositional process between writing songs on their instruments and utilizing electronic production programs that they then translate to live instrumentation. As a result, these songs have the wave-like flow of electronic dance tracks but with the expansive, acoustic atmosphere of classic ECM recordings.

Equal part greasy, Sabbathy hymns ("Shipwreck," "Orca") that connect with the subtlety of a windpipe massage, and epic, semi-orchestral blasts of Spaghetti Western art-rock ("Curse of the Red Tide," "Ballad of the Deep Sea Diver"), Legend of the Seagullmen delivers all the thrills of a big-budget B-movie with the sonic might of a broadside cannon.

On average, it's not one of Son Lux's catchier albums, but it is spellbinding, strange, and moving, and still as far away from expectations for a piano, guitar, and drums trio as any in existence.

Transangelic Exodus is a scrappy yet poignant rock & roll narrative of inner conflict and acceptance; its songs are a confessional and confrontational commentary on a historic period when so much is possible, even as fear, hate, and paranoia still hold the reins of power. Its energy, vulnerability, rage, and crafty poetics are awe-inspiring.

They sound like a band treading water, desperately looking for their place in the modern pop landscape and never deciding whether to go pop or stay totally weird. This indecision leaves them stuck in the middle of the road, which isn't a very interesting place to be.

The Deathrays deliver the sonic equivalent of a fighter jet buzzing a control tower, and while they may not bring anything too new to the White Stripes/Black Keys power duo model, they've certainly proven that they belong in the same arena.

Conceptually muddled, qualitatively uneven fifth full-length.

These old-fashioned album rockers are so loud and awkward, they overshadow the excellent singer/songwriter album that lurks at the core of I Knew You When. Such imbalance makes I Knew You When a bit incoherent, yet in its quietest and angriest moments, it offers some of the best music Seger has made in the 21st century.

The songs are all about stressful experiences, conflicts, and struggles, and this uneasiness is felt throughout the record, but all of this cathartic energy is harnessed in a highly skillful manner. Messes almost seems too accomplished to be referred to as a debut album.

Here her vocals are resoundingly clear, and her lyrics are sharp and direct, sometimes to a startling degree.

Here Come the Runts doesn't shine or resonate like Awolnation's previous material, though it is quite clear that Aaron Bruno's songwriting abilities are understated. His penchant for effortlessly combining bright melody and harmony with gritty distortion and towering walls of sound never ceases to entertain.

There are no easy answers or happy endings here; as Vasquez grows more skilled at expressing his pain, he delivers his bleakest--and most cohesive--music yet.

She radiates genuine personality, and her second full-length demonstrates just how well she can bend pop structures to her will and sound fantastic in the process.

Bardo Pond seem to be on an eternal, destination-free odyssey, and Vol. 8 is another strong stop on their trek.

Throughout, the album's stories, turns of phrase, and underdog romanticism loom even larger than its melodies, but what leaves the biggest impression is that barely restrained revelry.

Resolve is easily Ackroyd's most confident and mature statement. She remains devoted to lyric melody, but her re-combinations of sounds and textures inside these compositions are almost compulsively listenable, even as they move toward the undefined--and untamed--musical border she seeks.

While that's brief by 21st century standards, it's plenty and proper on a collection of songs framed in kinetic, inspired performances by one of the greatest soul bands to emerge in decades.

Walk Between Worlds offers further proof that Simple Minds can flaunt what they are because they finally understand just who they are.

Their new way of constructing songs and the more open nature of the sound have done nothing to blunt their emotional impact, and Microshift ends up being just as powerful and cathartic as previous works while being richer and more musically satisfying.

It stands with their best work--some songs would no doubt end up on a greatest-hits collection--and in that regard is some of the best pop music anyone could hope to hear in 2018 or any time after.

They're working on keeping the flame burning, and Black Coffee may be their most effective testament in that effort to date.

Themes of nourishment, transformation, and compassion thread through meandering and often lengthy tracks like "Kukkuripa," "Aery Thin," and "Gull Rock," the latter referring to the distant rock hulking out of the Celtic Sea's golden horizon on the album's cover. For their part, the five other members of Red River Dialect add their own distinctive voices to the conversation, swelling and jangling together in loose formation to create a musical landscape that, if photographed, might look very much like that sea-encircled rock, dark in its own solidarity among the sun-crested waves.

Trinity Lane is honest, well-crafted, and hits an emotional bulls-eye: it's Lilly Hiatt's strongest and most moving work to date.

Love Jail isn't magnificent by any means, but it is stronger than its predecessor. Dommengang's much improved songwriting, relentless pursuit of more spacious atmospheres, and richly textured backdrops inside the hard rock cave provide ample evidence.

Rifles and Rosary Beads is unlike any other record. It edifies and empathizes with the experiences of its participants in delivering brutal yet tender truths; it confronts listeners to embrace without judgment the struggle of war survivors, while experientially relating the extended fact that over 7,400 veterans commit suicide each year. Gauthier and her collaborators look into the gaping maw of war, its trauma, isolation, rage, and loneliness, to reveal the human faces and hearts of its witnesses. Popular music can do no more than this.

Die-hard fans may appreciate the musical switcheroos on The Worm's Heart, but others may not understand the need for them.

With enough highlights to form a single digestible effort, Migos could have delivered another culture-defining classic with just a little trimming. Instead, they've taken what should have been a potent, big league statement and diluted it.

The album finds them delivering music that feels fresh and inspired; this is what Turin Brakes do, and Invisible Storm shows they continue to do it quite well.

By turns gentle and bold, traditional and boundary-pushing, The Thread That Keeps Us is another fine example of Calexico's ever-broadening horizons.

The Official Body is a frequently dazzling example of how resistance can be fortifying and even fun.

Whether they're sophisticated or visceral, Shame's energy and confidence makes Songs of Praise an exciting debut from one of the most vital-sounding British rock bands of the late 2010s.

Even with thirty-plus years behind them, Corrosion of Conformity can still reach the nosebleed seats without sacrificing any integrity. It may all feel a little familiar, but it still burns going down.

All in all, Between Two Shores is an effort that will please his fans while showing he's still learning new tricks in the art of record making, and he's putting them to good use.

A skillful debut by musicians with notable prior credits, they've settled into something intriguing and distinct out of the gate.

The Limiñanas sound like they're too cool and nonchalant to even have a phone, much less use one to make a less than great record.

While Cook's credentials are undeniably impeccable, they don't outshine her talent, and she just keeps getting better.

Could It Be Different? is an exhilarating album that hits hard on the emotional front while making sure to move feet at the same time. It's a small step up from their previous works, with stronger sounding and with sharper hooks that help make it even clearer that the Spook School are one of the most exciting and important bands of their era.

Kacirek and Müller are credited, but it's difficult to discern their contributions to the piece. The title All Melody seems to refer to the singularity of the sounds combining together. It also suggests that while empty space is often a major element to the album, what is present is entirely melodic, and purely based in emotions.

Dream Wife have seized a certain energy that is undeniable and--despite the myriad inspirations and easy comparisons--feels so fresh and alive, enough to make their trailblazing influences proud.

It's art with a beat, noise with hooks, and more proof that No Age are one of the great slept-on bands of their generation.

Much of the time, Freedom's Goblin plays like Ty Segall's version of the history of rock & roll as seen from his perspective, and it's as idiosyncratic and exciting as you would expect. It's also some of the very best music Segall has given us to date, essential for fans and strongly recommended to curious newcomers.

While this sounds like it could be an impossibly tall order, or something that requires an encyclopedic knowledge of music just to listen to, the band achieve a remarkably, almost effortlessly cohesive sound, and it goes down much more smoothly than one might expect.

More nuanced than previous releases but recognizably brand-related, Marble Skies is another win for Django Django.

Accessible and friendly yet highly profound, Vision Songs is a truly uncommon work, and easily one of Laraaji's best.

Exploring new directions with experimental confidence, an ever-playful BØRNS takes the necessary steps in artistic maturation on Blue Madonna, a worthy and satisfying follow-up for the mischievous Lothario.

This Is Glue ends up a clear improvement over the band's debut and something worth recommending to fans of classic jangle pop and anyone looking for some catchy indie rock to help them break free of all the bands that seem content to just cruise along in low gear.

The release is best summed up as stream-of-consciousness bubblegum pop, seldom committing to an idea for very long, but still maintaining a driving sense of excitement.

Earthtones is a refreshing, playful set that hits a sweet spot between classic smooth soul and Jurvanen's pensive soft rock.

Even when the Johns' sentiments are morbid, I Like Fun's music seizes the joy of the moment.

A vibrant album that explores the political and cultural tumult of the late 2010s with anthemic heft and individualistic perspectives.

The House reinforces Porches' standing as a distinctive voice in a crowded field of wistful D.I.Y. indie electronica.

While some older fans who haven't kept up with Buffy Sainte-Marie's work from 1992's Coincidence and Likely Stories onward might be surprised by the sound and spirit of Medicine Songs, this music leaves no doubt that she has no interest in aging gracefully; at 76, she's as fierce, aware, and committed as any artist a third her age, and these tunes speak to the madness of 2017 with a stunning clarity.

While the album is integral to its predecessors as part of a loosely conceived and articulated musical trilogy, it stands on its own as an exercise in close listening, careful communication, and quiet revelation.

The result is another eclectic, iconoclastic record that doesn't sound like anything else happening in the world. That the Go! Team can sound as fresh and inventive on Semicircle as they did when they started is an impressive, almost miraculous, feat that defies nature and defines triumphant joy.

Ruins is never complacent, though, keeping its rough, rustic edges, and allowing for the sounds of fingers on frets on quieter tunes like "To Live a Life." Lyrics don't put on a false front, either, and that's ultimately what makes the album linger.

The tones, timbres, and sounds that draw listeners to this type of music are all there, but as a whole, Jaguwar struggle to establish their own voice on this debut.

On Wrong Creatures, it's refreshing to hear a band so wrought with spiritual and emotional demons find their rock & roll grace and let it rip.

Along with the aforementioned "Havana," these [Latin-inflected songs] are easily the most potent songs on the album, and showcase Cabello's effusively resonant voice and playful charisma. Admittedly, the album leans a little too heavily on ballads and midtempo acoustic guitar numbers that work against the vibrancy and momentum of the Latin tracks.

While the bulk of Underworld is immediately enjoyable, there is a lot of material that is ultimately unmemorable, despite a handful of key tracks that serve to satiate until the next release.

While the feisty, Imagine Dragons-meets-Twisted Sister vibe remains their forte, it's Vale's pop proclivities that ultimately win out, suggesting that future endeavors may rely less on fighting the man, and more on working alongside him.

If he sometimes sounds like he leans too hard into his rasp, this vocal tic is mitigated by those songwriting skills and the supple sound of Cobb's production, elements that turn Encore into a minor gem.

Traversing a wide range of moods and textures, World of the Waking State is a highly introspective work, perfectly suited for late nights spent lost in deep thoughts.

It looks like they were having fun, but sounds slightly less so--overall, it's clear that no one here was expecting to blow the industry apart; instead, they sound content just making music and recording the experience.

Ultimately, while it takes on big-picture perspectives and complicated emotions, Mount Qaf is a feel-good release whose hooks and invigorating spirit may be its most powerful takeaway.

Even if Piteous Gate was more abrasive overall, Hesaitix ends up being more challenging, never giving away any easy answers and causing the listener to listen deeper.

Regardless of a stumble or two, Asking Alexandria is well worth a listen. While The Black was a passable offering at a time when it seemed like it would be a permanent arrangement, this reunion simply feels right.

Full Closure and No Details is messy and not entirely focused, but it possesses charm and character, and points to greater things ahead from Cohen.

It's an album that feels lived-in, filled with songs etched from hard-earned experiences with music to match.

A quick blast of rock action that roars with gleeful release.

With his often muted horn and inclination toward long, extended phrases, Scott feels as much like a vocalist as he does a trumpeter. It's a sound contrasted nicely by his bandmates Cook and Pinderhughes, who accent what are often purposefully pixelated grooves with soulful, harmonically nuanced improvisations.

Playful, fun, and steamy, Afternooners is another remarkable collection of obscure heat from the visionary artist.

Lost at Last, Vol. 1 is filled with loose ends and mess. ... Even if Langhorne Slim can't come up with the tunes to suit his sound, that sound is bewitching enough to make Lost at Last, Vol. 1 worth a listen.

As a songwriter Garrie is the consummate craftsman, playing the everyman bard while Olson and Forester's production sets the stage without ever being cumbersome on this strong release.

Even though some of the tracks are a bit slower and obviously produced while Thomas was ill and bed-ridden, they don't seem too sluggish or lazy for their own good. An easy success.

These are complex songs worthy of a band as rich as the Turnpike Troubadours, and both Felker and his group are at a peak on A Long Way from Your Heart.

Wood$ still writes primarily about his indulgences--liquor, weed, pills, women whose acquiescence evidently falls short of his standard--and occasionally shows some vulnerability.

On Pressure, the solid if routine follow-up to Trap or Die 3, Jeezy doesn't deviate from his standard set of themes. He's still rhyming about his rise from the bottom, the product he's shifting, and all the disposable wealth and women that have come with it, all the while castigating would-be detractors and snitches.

The addition of meandering, deeply scuffed instrumentals like "(You Can't Hide)," "Maine Vision," and "(Crowded)" come off a bit like unnecessary exercises marring the terrain. For the most part, though, Bonny Doon is a charmer, rambling contentedly down its lost highway of rickety guitar pop.

With an inspired guest list and excellent production, The Beautiful & Damned is a satisfying artistic accomplishment that cautions as much as it seduces.

The energy level is high and restless, in a near-permanent state of agitation, heightened with machine beats that judder and bounce, synthesizers that plink and probe, and Williams' animated protestations. The rollicking temperament gives all the material, and that includes "Don't Don't Do It!," regarding the fatal police shooting of Keith Scott, a replayable quality.

Their fourth album of 2017 may not be their most exciting of the year, but it is their strongest and shows that King Gizzard don't need any bells and whistles to make a great psychedelic splash.

Provocative and muddled, Revival percolates with ambition but doesn't lack in laziness either.

Steffi excels as both a curator and mixer, crafting an extraordinary mix which feels like one whole composition rather than several pieces stitched together.

Sillion is all top-shelf and one of the strongest releases of his career.

Keeping up with Children of Alice's quicksilver changes and hypnotic passages requires listeners' full attention, but it's well worth it--these ever-transforming soundworlds honor the magic that Broadcast tapped into with Keenan while suggesting an equally fascinating way forward.

Stranger has its cloud-rap niche and should please listeners eager to enter this world, but casual rap fans should arm themselves with enough patience and caffeine before taking the plunge.