Where the slightly showier Pushin' Against a Stone covered a wider variety of styles, The Order of Time tends to flow more smoothly and gives the feeling that you've stumbled on a 45-minute section of ongoing music that has no beginning and no end.

Previously, her cleverness was her strong suit, but on Golden Hour, she benefits from being direct, especially since this frankness anchors an album that sounds sweetly blissful, turning this record the best kind of comfort: it soothes but is also a source of sustenance.

A triumph, Chris reaffirms just how masterfully she engages minds, hearts, and bodies.

Tigers Blood is the rarest of things: an album that feels familiar upon its surface and idiosyncratic in its details.

The set is essential to any fan, and these records are near-perfect documents of the roots of indie rock and D.I.Y. culture that started growing in the unheard music and handmade expressions of the early '90s.

A cathartic yet poised album, one that weighs a ton and levitates.

If you like your pop a little left of center and found the Postal Service to be too cute and syrupy, your fix is here.

It's a wounded if proud and defiant response that draws from vintage high-tech R&B and art pop -- the 1982-1987 era with greatest frequency -- with all sharp edges melted off.

All Aftab's earlier recordings are captivating. That said, Night Reign is a powerful, sensuous, and commanding illustration of the artist's mature vision. It reveals just how receptive, and even vulnerable she is to the spirits of creative inquiry, possibility, and revelation.

Some portions sound raw enough to have been generated on the spot, prioritizing feeling over "proper" songs. Certain tracks offer little more than riffing and moodscapes, yet all 19 are shaped into a concise flowing whole with subtle twists and turns.

More than anything else, We Are Not Your Kind feels locked-in on a personal level -- that aforementioned sense of melancholy resides uncomfortably close to the surface throughout -- and that human touch resonates, even as the band unleashes volley after volley of tribal rhythms, scorching riffage, and fathomless decibels.

Stripped of all her carnivalesque accouterments, Fiona Apple remains as rich and compelling as she ever was, perhaps even more so.

Merriweather Post Pavilion is a perfectly organized record, not a note out of place, not a second wasted.

A difficult, but defining statement, made at the height of their powers.

An album that, for all of its flaws, is still easily one of the best rock records of 2002.

Perhaps she's too subtle to be a stadium-filling superstar, but the superb 12 Stories showcases a unique artist who stands firmly, proudly on her own merits.

Truly a band for the times, Squid feels like a wild jumble of thoughts come to life, effusing anger, confusion, humor, detachment, and even joyfulness in their pursuit of true creative freedom.

Many of their B-sides are just as good as their album tracks, so it's terrific to see them collected onto a single disc. But a number of factors make it somewhat disappointing, not the least of which is that Complete B-Sides is available only as a U.K. import, due to U.S. licensing problems.

This self-titled album is a fitting tribute to Toure’s and Diabate’s genius and friendship, and is a beautiful farewell.

The pair find comfort within each other, yet they cannot shake the yearning for other people and places, a complex set of emotions that were quite universal during 2020 and 2021 and are richly conveyed on this soulful, searching album.

Though not as hardcore as D-2 or youthfully raucous as Agust D, D-Day is the most emotionally mature offering from Suga's alter ego to date, carrying him another step forward in his evolution.

All Hell stands as one of their most consistent albums while simultaneously being bolder and more unrestrained than usual.

Sale el Sol never once sounds disparate or overworked -- it's sunny and easy, its natural buoyancy disguising Shakira's range and skill -- but listen closely and it becomes apparent that nobody makes better pop records in the new millennium than she does.

The opening trilogy of "Disintegrate," "Dancing with the Europeans," and the title track alone are some of the most thrilling moments in Suede's discography, especially since their 2013 reunion on Bloodsports.

Clark has more than earned the freedom she gives herself to express so many different sides to her music, and it's a thrill to hear her stretch out on these ferocious, heartbroken, and ultimately life-affirming songs.

It's a lavish, well-considered and executed set that makes for quite the splurge for a Beatles fan with a nice phonograph set.

A lean, furious, cold-blooded album that is vividly to-the-point.

Even if you already have all the EPs, you'll want to get this disc. It is reasonable priced, housed in the usual attractive package, and hearing all the songs back to back reinforces what an amazing group Belle & Sebastian were and are.