Azel is essential, not just for Bombino's growing legion of fans or even those of music from the Sahara region. It is a remarkable example of 21st century popular music.

At their best, Black Mountain approach '70s rock with a 21st century mindset, and that's the sort of sound and feel that make IV so effective.

Though more than a few of Wilkinson's contemporaries are working in similar territory, A Mineral Love goes beyond mere re-creation. For Bibio, these are the good old days.

As a whole, the album plays out a bit unevenly, with some distinctive artistic peaks and a few mis-plays made in the name of experimentation. Still, with the long gaps (six years) between each of their releases, it's hard to fault Autolux for making a worthy stab at reinvention.

A lifelong troubadour whose wandering ways have seemingly found some respite as a Los Angeles family man, the native Chicagoan cracks open the door and reveals himself in a way that manages to strike an elegant balance with his more cryptic tendencies.

The unpretentious nature of the music and Graham's laid-back attitude give each song an everyman quality, presented by a youthful, wide-eyed raconteur who has just enough life experience to speak to a wide audience.

While Adventure isn't as raw and uninhibited as some of their past work, it continues the enduring legacy of their peppy garage sound with effortless confidence and nostalgic winks to the past.

There's that sense of uncertainty on the entire album, which serves as both an extended trip down memory lane and, perhaps, a goodbye. But whether this is simply a bookend before a new phase or a complete finish is up in the air. Either way, Stories for Monday is a total celebration.

Adding more noise and toughness to their sound on Lost Time was a genius move, taking an already very good band and pointing it toward greatness, or at the very least helping Tacocat make one of the most fun punk-pop albums around.

This is a mature, introspective work from a man looking for answers to the questions of life and love, and it's a brave and genuinely impressive return to the spotlight from a major talent.

On The Wilderness, Explosions in the Sky deconstruct and rebuild their sound from the ground up, giving it a revitalized sense of urgency and resulting in some of their most dynamic work yet.

After a listen or two, Black Stone Cherry's back-to-the-cradle approach proves that track for track, Kentucky is not only more consistent, but more satisfying than previous albums.

While it's not all good, there are some sublime moments within the album's ramshackle bulk, and its blast of free-range creativity is in itself something to celebrate.

It's an intense and trippy odyssey, one that should make fans old and new appreciative of Jurado's depth while mulling along.

It's certainly not an upbeat listen, nor are its myriad regional allusions easy to parse for non-Australians, but it engages enough on a cerebral level that it's consistently intoxicating, even at its most lethal.

Toher's music has become more powerful as he's made it more delicate, and Wuthering Drum is a compelling debut that casts a lingering spell.

It's an impressive debut, one that should easily win over fans of simple and true indie pop, and also one that promises great things in the future.

There's plenty here to enjoy at a high volume, and at twice the length of their debut, Bloodsweat practically comes off as a double album.

It's a thoughtful and neatly crafted album whose detailed framework feels like the right fit for Bachmann's rugged, world-weary meditations.

Jomsviking effectively distills all of the band's predilections into one big, dragon-headed longship of an album, sails aflame and headed straight into the mouth of Valhalla.

It's a casual, tossed-off affair, although one filled with mutual admiration, riveting one-upmanship, and a glorious journey across the hip-hop production spectrum, from Mannie Fresh to Metro Boomin.

untitled unmastered. is no mere offcut dump. It's as vital as anything else its maker has released.

Sprawling and searching for truth, Hella Personal Film Festival is another excellent Open Mike Eagle album, and if it doesn't entice those with short attention spans, that's their loss.

Often, he returns to this revved-up blues--something that's more appealing when it boogies ("You Left Me Nothin' But the Bill and the Blues") than when it slams ("Distant Lonesome Train")--and while that anchors the bulk of the record, the moments that linger are the departures.

They are just as vital, exciting, and necessary as they were in the beginning and this record stands with their best work.

White Denim sound as strong as ever on Stiff, even when the itchy undertone of the songs begins to rise to the surface.

The instincts these players offer in these works display the duo's mutual desire for intimate communication and spiritual trust through the medium of sound. Their uncompromising movement toward them results in a shared musical mind that speaks in a distinctive, unique emotional language.

Potential is an intriguing glimpse at the human identities hiding behind computer screens, and how emotions are expressed through the filter of social media.

Hitch doesn't really deviate, at least sonically, from the template. Where it does separate itself from the two prior outings is in its lyrical themes.

Through it all, Leonard maintains an intangible charisma that, along with sustained vulnerability and a knack for keeping the familiar in play while distorting it, has the potential to enthrall.

All this adds up to another midlife triumph from Mould, a record that harks back to his past while completely occupying the present moment, no matter how uncomfortable or painful that may be.

It's one thing to make a great debut album, and quite another to make an equally effective follow-up. Night Moves have done just that on Pennied Days, an indie pop marvel well worth your attention.

Complaints are tempered by the fact that this is a mixtape, where casual segues and half-finished cuts are the thing, and with so many compelling moments, Drink More Water 6 offers much wider appeal than the usual sideline release.

Dame Fortune is a culmination album with an artist's evolution pushing things forward with all his strengths in tow. Check Dead Ringer for that debut spark, and look to this one for something more skilled, bigger, but just as free-spirited.

In spite of his occasionally weighty subjects, The Very Last Day is an entirely energizing listen.

An exploratory work, Glitterbust nevertheless has an appealing serenity that makes it unique within Gordon's discography.

Even when the album drifts toward the traditional--as it does on "Hurtin' (On the Bottle)" or "Four Years of Chances"--Price's sensibility is modern, turning these old-fashioned tales of heartbreak, love, loss, and perseverance into something fresh and affecting.

New Misery may be uneven, but it confirms Cullen Omori has a musical future one might not have expected based on the Smith Westerns.

Through it all, and sometimes in spite of ambitious arrangements, Jones proves himself to have a way with poignancy and yearning melodies that stick.

Between this record and its predecessor, their creativity seems to have entered a fertile new phase.

Hearing him sing is always a richly enjoyable experience, but The Narrows delivers as both form and content. It's recommended to anyone who has ever found pleasure in his work.

In essence, Brute is dark ambient grime, with Al Qadiri's stamping drums and probing bass frequencies heard less frequently than her synthesized choirs and horns. At its most vivid, it evokes the feeling of anticipating a shove or a bean bag round.

Creatively, Gensho is so rich and expansive, fans of both acts should find it indispensable.

The score is a thoroughly stunning work, showcasing Clark's versatility as a composer and producer, and providing a suspenseful, exciting listening experience.

Loose, languid, yet structured enough to feel like a proper bit of pop craft, it brings things back to earth, if only for a short spell, its unfettered hippie heart aglow with positivity and possibility.

Near perfect and a step forward as well, Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future belongs on Underworld's top shelf.

What began with hope and reassurance ends with darkness and uncertainty. However, despite the loss of faith and the world crashing down, the band declares "here I'm alive" and the cycle begins anew.

Chaosmosis finds the band scaling back their predecessor, narrowing their vistas so drastically it often seems as if the group cobbled it together on an old Casio.

An album that once again proves Pop never was and never will be an ordinary guy.

This isn't a collection of overlooked compositions, it's a bit of pop archeology, excavating records that feel right. Every one of these 19 cuts certainly does feel right, sounding sun-burned and blissed-out, embodying the hangover of the hippie dream.

When she gets heavy with either beats or ballads, This Is What The Truth Feels Like slows to a crawl. Cut away these excesses--these moments of emotional bloodletting or thirsty appeals to the top of the charts--and This Is What The Truth Feels Like manages to be as fleet, giddy and charming as Gwen Stefani ever is.

Nothing bores and the album moves through its track list with a purposeful flow, and while electro-trap fiends and "Harlem Shake" lovers may be thrown by all the artful noise, Aa still rocks the house, as Baauer evolves from meme generator to master craftsman.

For the rest of us, Weighted Mind is a poignant, bracing work by an adept singer and songwriter. She openly invites us into her world with real vulnerability and honesty, and reveals her inner strength in doing so.

Liima still recognizably sounds like Efterklang, but it seems like there's less pressure for them to construct a monumental statement here, and the group seem to enjoy their freedom.

Jones covers a lot of musical ground on this album, and it's all of high quality, confirming his place as one of the top-tier American Primitive guitarists.

While enlightenment through disorientation might not be everyone's moment of Zen, Eraser Stargazer suggests that Guerilla Toss is an acquired taste more listeners could develop.

Even with the album's graceful inclinations, it still sounds as bleak its title, but the way the Body combine disparate components into their brand of mutilated "gross pop" is truly fascinating.

Ultimately, Of Desire finds the KVB in transition, moving toward a more inventive approach that delivers some of their finest work along the way.

It's a great record filled with emotion, imagination, and passion that's on par with any album labeled "emo," past or present.

The band sounded just fine before, quite properly psychedelic and dream state-y; on Freaks of Nurture they have made all the right moves to jump themselves out of the pack and up near the front of the line of their fellow time-traveling freaks.

They embrace their essence, how they want to be broader and burlier than the rest, how they want reflection to seem like celebration and parties to be a dark night of the soul. This contradiction means the band remains an uneasy good time, but at least on Us and the Night the reconstituted 3 Doors Down have decided to look on the sunny side of life.

As a whole, Incarnate improves on the creativity and restlessness offered by Disarm the Descent. There is a lot more ambition, confidence and above all, passion here.

For Star Wars freaks, identifying the sources can be amusing, though not many of the cuts are comparable to the artists' best work.

Dedicated fans will want to note that two of the tracks--"Swimming Pool" and "Social Halo"--were taken from her 2015 EP S, though the ten additional tracks more than make up for any duplication.

Fallon has found a way to distill his band's fiery nostalgia into something a little more refined, but no less affecting.

No Manchester is a delight from start to finish, while being the absolute best kind of tribute album. It brings out what's special in the songs while giving them new life in a brand new context.

Busy and engrossing, Arcology marks an exhilarating development in Thug Entrancer's sound.

The biggest constant here is the technical proficiency and complementary blending of the band's lead singers. The pair--who are notably also the album's sole songwriters--make a visual show of this, wearing matching clothes and hairstyles in performance. That quality ultimately overcomes any shifts in style, and also makes them hard to ignore.

Significantly more experimental than Colleran's previous work, Luneworks also feels much more personal, and it continues to establish MMOTHS as a unique voice in the indie electronic scene.

In My Feelings (Goin' Thru It) would be among the MC's best work, but Boosie continues to stun even with these instant, and somewhat sloppy, releases, so leave this for the fans, and then consider becoming a fan.

On his second studio album co-credited to the Solar Motel Band, former Peeesseye guitarist Chris Forsyth sprawls out while penning some of his most melodic, accessible songs.

Like its predecessor, God Don't Never Change reflects the enduring, mercurial influence of the artist, but also the weight the Christian gospel imposes on questions of the human condition as it encounters suffering, joy, mercy, loneliness, death, and resurrection.

Replete with consummate musicianship, Ouroboros is a deliberate work of album rock.

On this record, Yorn seems to master mood more than tune, but that winds up being to his benefit. This tonal elasticity gives ArrangingTime an enveloping warmth, one that is alluring even if it tends to shift concentration away from the songwriting that allegedly was his greatest strength.

Occasionally, there's a slight surprise--Buckley attempts Bukka White's Delta stomp on a slippery, slurred version of "Poor Boy Long Way from Home" -- but usually, You & I feels of piece with the rest of his early work.

Check the excellent singles "Kno One," "Really Really," and "La Familia" for some easy persuasion, and then know that the album is devoid of superstar appearances because the captivating Gates doesn't need them.

Xtreme Now is eclectic to the point of feeling scattered, and its songs don't entirely live up to the outrageous concept.

A smart young band in an increasingly dumbed-down world, Big Ups may have found their voice in the past, but they're clearly swinging for a brighter future.

Altogether an effective cross between the less gloomy range of '70s singer/songwriters and acerbic British tunesmiths like Paul Heaton and Robyn Hitchcock, the Cambridge, England native's style feels at once sentimental and pointed, a combination that charms.

Calling Forever Sounds a masterpiece would probably be wildly premature, but this is a deeply satisfying work that reveals new pleasures with repeated listens, and reminds listeners this band is still expanding on what they do best.

While Mitchell has his stamp on both this album and the Ricked Wicky material, Of Course You Are is also one of the most musically ambitious albums Pollard has released under his various monikers in quite some time.

This mix of genres at work makes for an exciting listen, another addictive affair of dark melody and bold beats from a trio that excels in intelligent, deftly produced art pop.

Even at its strangest, Echtzeit still feels thoroughly calm and relaxed, as the trio is more than comfortable with venturing into uncharted territory.

What might be considered a sellout by some can sometimes be a positive move when handled with finesse, and Tonight Alive make a convincing go of it on soaring anthems of empowerment like "To Be Free," "Drive," and "Power of One."

For those willing to take this on its own terms, the payoff for listening is enormous.

While Spalding never sounds anything less than original on the album, part of the beauty here is in recognizing her inspirations and reveling in how she has made them her own.

United Crushers is driven by the seemingly contradictory desires to bring things together and break them apart, but Poliça bring them into harmony with a gloves-off fearlessness, resulting in their most impassioned and immediate music yet.

Creative songcraft and catching melodies are also in full force here, as expected by this point from Nguyen, though the strongest impact of the A Man Alive may be the temerity of its sound--thankfully, there's no need to separate the two. Even at 12 tracks, the album will leave many wanting more (and more Nguyen-Garbus collabs).

Unlike a lot of bands that seem to reunite just to cash in or repeat the past, the Coral came back with a renewed focus and a new sound. That's impressive in itself, and resulted in one of the band's best albums to date.

On Music for Listening to Music To, there's a vision, but it's not Goodman's and it's not well conceived or well executed.

he album seems to come closer to the lineage of synthesizer innovators like Raymond Scott rather than most techno or ambient artists, even if there's a relaxed, meditative feel to a lot of these pieces, and it showcase's Bourne's skill for exploring the vast capabilities of his instrument.

Two decades into their careers, as a mature Nada Surf continue to channel their youthful spirit, they've recorded a wise, plaintive album that touches upon the sounds of their past while confidently looking toward the future.

If not a break-up album, a dreading-breaking-up album whose pace, palette, minor chords, and Låpsley's disquieted vocal performances all collaborate for a debut that's impressively locked into a distinct head space.

Within Ward's canon, More Rain may not work overtime to distinguish itself, but like nearly all of his releases, it's a companionable listen with a lot of craft hidden under its layers.

Add remixes and instrumentals and this short set gets knocked down a peg, but it's a classic EP in its own way, jumbling brilliance with clearing-house stuff, and ending up a desirable package, instrumental and all.

Sioux Falls' battles between disenchantment, sadness, joy, and rage are easily strong enough to support an album half this size, but at 16 tracks--with six of them over six minutes long--it's just too hard to stay invested.

Even when things get silly on We Can Do Anything, the silliness blows on by, headed toward a bit of revved-up folk or unexpected introspection, and those twists are what makes the album worth hearing.

On their debut album, they strike a balance between delicate, pastoral folk and heavy, loud space rock, with Meg Baird's fragile, wispy vocals sharing the stage with Noel von Harmonson and Charlie Saufley's crushing guitar solos.