One jaunt through the bracing and surprisingly sweet at times Ty Segall is proof enough that he's run out of neither [gas and/or ideas], and it doesn't seem like he will anytime soon.

Strike a Match is a brilliant debut album with a solid emotional core that gives the instantly memorable songs gravity and keeps them from lifting off and floating away, instead anchoring them deep in listeners' hearts and minds.

Oldfield's Ommadawn is an enchanted place and this lush revisitation both honors his initial creation and neatly extends its boundaries.

Allison Crutchfield isn't forgetting anything that went wrong on Tourist in This Town, but even if the wounds seem fresh, the theme is learning from what went wrong, and this album is the work of a woman who knows plenty and has the talent and desire to make something worthwhile out of the drama.

It's anyone's guess if Stitch Of The World will make the world more aware of Tift Merritt, but for those who know, this is another splendid work from an unsung heroine of American roots music.

Here [on the title track] and on the rest of Nothing Feels Natural, the hunger, vitality, and intelligence coursing through these songs feel timeless as well as timely.

Completely dispensing with the conventions of dance music and embracing techniques more in tune with natural human rhythms, Emptyset have created one of their most unique works yet.

It's not a record that wallows in hurt, it's an album that functions as balm for bad times.

[An] inviting album. The sky could be the limit.

Anything Could Happen effectively channels the best of what Tommy Stinson brought to the Replacements, and this unexpected Bash & Pop "reunion" has made an album just about as good--and every bit as much fun--as their minor classic from the '90s.

Joined on several tracks by lush-voiced shapeshifters the Smoke Fairies, Garwood is in his bailiwick throughout the set, drifting through spacious landscapes with his rumbling poeticism and dark-toned riffs.

Perhaps the most engaging thing about the album, even more than dazzling tones and free-spirited showmanship, is that he creates so many singable earworms, each provided by the guitar.

Although the work as a whole is not a film score, it has the flavor of one, and it opens up intriguing possibilities for the expansion of that language to other settings. Certainly recommended for anyone who has noticed and liked the music for Arrival.

Thomas' atmospheric pieces are just as compelling as his songwriting, however, and anyone intrigued by these tracks should check out some of his many extracurricular projects, particularly the dark, jazzy free-form explorations of Billowing and the Krautrock-inspired instrumental pop group Hydropark.

All told, Gods of Violence proves well worth the wait. Kreator proves--yet again--that the kids still have a lot to learn when it comes to keeping thrash viable.

McClinton doesn't try to reinvent the wheel on Prick of the Litter, but he doesn't have to; his voice, despite his age, was made for songs like these, while the charts and band performances are equally inspired. This is a memorable date in a catalog full of them.

Far from ordinary, Pure, Beyond Reproach is a trippy, dreamlike album that finds Egyptrixx further abandoning dance music conventions, resulting in some of his most fascinating work yet.

Sure, they're not breaking the mold, but with After the Party, they manage to toe the line between subtlety and vigor, aging into their next phase with another solid release.

Carthy deftly wields her rogue ambitions, making for an inspired creative partnership.

South Texas Suite is infused with genuine passion: it's a love letter to the Lone Star State.

Over seven tracks, the enduring Gainesville quintet remains reliable, delivering trademark "whoa-oh"s and horn blasts that surge with an undeniably positive vibe.

What began as an extension of post-Phil Lynott-era Thin Lizzy has become something far more nuanced, and with three solid studio albums now in their rear-view mirror, it would seem that Black Star Riders have successfully managed to embrace the past without losing themselves in it.

The unusual states of being in the band's songs are sometimes more admirable than relatable, but this isn't the case on Big Balloon's highlights.

As the album concludes, it's clear that the experiment was a success and that the microtuned instruments fit in perfectly with their oddball aesthetic.

With her eighth proper solo album as Noveller, Lipstate continues to push her otherworldly sound in fascinating new directions.

Tinariwen once again deliver a vital and engaging album.

Punctuated by DJ Khalab (and Baba Sissoko)'s rolling and disorienting "Kumu," this is Dear's funnest and oddest mix yet.

Microclimate may be homespun, but it's Porcelain Raft's most cosmopolitan and lived-in sounding offering to date. It's a record that consistently compels, even when it confounds.