Despite the anxiety and global tumult that inspired his more introspective tone, it's a style that suits him well. If this is indeed the end of Coin Collection, it will be interesting to hear Cullum's next evolution.

Hold On! provides the best evidence yet that he and his band can find more rhythmic, harmonic, and dynamic paths to explore inside the well of musical history.

Childqueen is a substantial accomplishment for Bonet, a cut above her debut, exceptional for 2018 or whatever year in which it takes place.

It's another huge step forward for the uncontainable U.S. Girls organism, one that skillfully combines the immediacy of personal memories with Remy's uncanny ability to inject her singular creative voice into every sound she touches.

This is the best solo record by an indie rock guitarist since Carl Broemel's All Birds Say, proof that Ramsey's career has more than enough horsepower on its own.

PLUS seems to meander as much as its predecessor, but its greater focus on rhythm helps it appear to hold together more strongly, and rapt concentration reveals that these pieces are as intricate and thoughtfully crafted as the duo's best work.

Sit Down for Dinner finds Blonde Redhead revitalized. Arriving nearly a decade after Barragán and 30 years after they formed, it's a return to be savored.

Another triumph, Birth of Violence is a potent -- if hushed -- reminder that Wolfe's intensity never wavers, no matter how she expresses it.

That’s the great thing about the Black Keys in general and Brothers in particular: the past and present intermingle so thoroughly that they blur, yet there’s no affect, just three hundred pounds of joy.

For all their self-deprecation and ramshackle bombast, there's no hiding the band's innate musicality, which reveals itself in the myriad of clever changes and occasional bursts of slick vocal harmony, especially on the epic closer "Pine Point." If the dream really is over for PUP, they sound awfully confident.

Even if it isn't as immediate as the prime of Pulp, it's a richly nuanced, complicated album that finds Jarvis near the top of his craft as a writer and record maker.

They're innocent, they're simple, and they're filled with blindingly good hooks. It's all thrown together with a superb sense of knowing what works.

Pain Is Beauty isn't quite as cohesive as Wolfe's earlier albums. Regardless, it's exciting to hear her try so many new things and do them so well.

It's a loud, celebratory album that perfectly boils down Birch's 40-plus-year journey as a tireless, boundless, and most of all fearless, creator.

Bold, inventive, and exhilarating, the eight songs on Zoy Zoy are in a genre of their own.

Stitches' ten quietly lustrous tracks dutifully reflect the arid Southwest vistas from which they were sprung.

Even though you wouldn't call the sound upbeat, it is indeed mesmerizing, tranquil, and head-bobbing.

Though it's not quite as immediate as their excellent debut album, You've Seen Us...You Must've Seen Us, KaitO U.K.'s band red delivers more tightly coiled post-punk-pop with shouty vocals and elastic guitars, and also delves deeper into the group's experimental side.

Haha Sound may not be Broadcast's most superficially perfect album, but it's a more challenging and exciting one because of its deliberate imperfections.

Their most cohesive collection of songs to date...

The attention to detail in the production, the punchy melodies, and the sympathetic performances by the group -- along with Kasher's writing that is nothing less than gripping and often head-shakingly brilliant -- make this record an indispensable artifact for anyone who likes indie rock with a real emotional punch.

As bold and listenable as it is, Primary Colours is occasionally scattered, giving the impression that the band is trying on different sounds for size--although the fact that most of it works so well is actually more surprising than how different it is than their earlier work.

Seemingly out of nowhere (but actually taking three years to materialize), Bratten has crafted a spectacular, surprisingly confessional album of bone-chilling electronic music suggesting that his previous releases barely hinted at his prodigious talents as a composer and arranger.

For the second time, Leon Vynehall has crafted an exquisite album of cheerful, jubilant tracks to get blissfully lost in.

It quickly announces that they're as capable and creative as ever, and the finished product is as strong as anything they've released to date.

Dense and nearly overwhelming at times but always following a linear progression, ATAXIA is an exciting, challenging release which charts an advanced evolution of dance culture.

Taken on an individual basis, each track is clever and playful, yet the cumulative effect of Wildcard is ever so slightly slight, a possible side effect of an album meant to be nothing but a party. Perhaps that may mean that Wildcard isn't as emotionally resonant as some of Lambert's other records, but there's no denying she's delivered exactly what she intended with this album: It's one hell of a good time.

It shows that the sky [i]s the limit for the band and as long as they make records as carefree and positively joyful as this they will always be worth checking out.