An accomplished, moving debut, Heba's bittersweet sensuality is distinctive and unforgettable.

Just like the Aurora Borealis on the front cover, Northern Passages is something mysterious, dark, and beautiful, and it's a further reminder that the Sadies are one of the truly great, original bands of their day.

With this album, English has created something awe-inspiring: strange, elemental, and profound. Very little music so masterfully evokes the towering, savage beauty of the natural world, and the insignificance of man in the face of its enormity and power.

Trigger Complex is a late-career gem that's both resonant and a shit-ton of fun, and its lack of any sort of agenda is its greatest strength.

Ultimately, it's Towner's immense gift for portraying that kind of romantic drama that makes My Foolish Heart such an evocative listening experience.

Its gleaming surface feels shinier than previous McMahon productions, but rather than seeming like an attempt to chase trends, these inflections and accents feel like a culmination of craft. McMahon has long understood how to craft a song, and Zombies on Broadway proves he has the studio skills to match.

This is tough, smart, impassioned rock & roll with a sense of purpose and lots of swagger, performed with the confidence of a veteran and the scrap of a newcomer. It's heady stuff well worth your attention.

It's impressive stuff, and that it feels like the work of a much more seasoned crew of bandmates suggests that they had as much fun making it as the listener will have devouring it.

This is a burner from start to finish, enjoyable for anyone with a pulse.

The overall tone of Burning the Threshold is moody and reflective, and Chasny's embrace of more easily digestible song forms makes for one of the most engaging Six Organs releases in years.

Turbulent yet strangely comforting, No Future is one of Moiré's best works yet.

Undying Color seems like a strange experiment at first, but it ends up being one of the most enjoyable releases in the Mind Over Mirrors catalog.

As impressionistic as the smeary sounds can be, it's an album that rests on its sturdy songs and Lane's powerful performance, two elements that keep Highway Queen as engaging on repeated listens as it is on its first.

Like love, The Incessant is not for the faint of heart, but it's a gripping and deeply personal piece of art and another solid release from this gritty, all-or-nothing trio.

Melancholy but not overbearingly so, No Home of the Mind is thoroughly entrancing, and another triumph for Bing & Ruth.

Alice is a major step forward for Meatbodies and one of the better garage punk/heavy metal/psychedelic rock albums anyone is likely to hear in 2017.

The broken-hearted Longstreth sounds like a changed man in many respects, but he's no less talented and visionary than he was before, and Dirty Projectors demonstrates that musically and lyrically, love and its absence have taught him a thing or two.

Savage Times is indeed raw, desperate, and chock-full of new ideas and sounds, making this a creative breakout for El Khatib.

It's clear Matthew Milia has the talent to do any number of things, but thankfully he's happy to continue making music, and Enter the Kingdom is yet another reminder that Frontier Ruckus are one of the best things to come out of Michigan since Faygo Redpop.

While the holistic craftsmanship of Ounsworth's musicality is impressive, ultimately it's his anguished, romantic vocal croon that sticks with you on The Tourist, ever dichotomously imbued with both a deep sense of loneliness and a pop-centric sense of self-determination.

Dark and luminous at the same time, Forget allows Xiu Xiu to redefine pop in a way that's true to their volatile--but always gripping--nature.

They may not have broken the mold, but delivering a rock-solid album that plays well from front to back is no easy feat, and this second volume is a winner.

It all makes for a perfectly imperfect debut from an artist who already knows how to immerse listeners into his world, completely and immediately.

The Old 97's still sound engaged, energetic, and as committed as ever 23 years after they released their debut, and Graveyard Whistling is evidence they're not short on fresh ideas either.

Windy City leaves no doubt that she has the talent and the intelligence to make it work, and this album is a richly satisfying experience.

It might not be as much fun as some of Sleaford Mods' earlier albums, but that's the point.

Not only is Chalice Hymnal well worth the wait, it makes it even harder to choose which album is the pinnacle of Grails' ever-fascinating discography.

The Nashville-based quartet's fourth studio long-player, and second for New West Records, Sleeping Through the War is All Them Witches' most fully realized set to date, a sprawling yet remarkably focused effort that takes their exploratory, often spliced-together work ethic in a more stridently song-oriented direction.