Some artists stumble when they move on from a strongly minimal aesthetic, but Sneaks sounds justifiably confident on Highway Hypnosis, and this suggests any number of new directions where her talent could travel.

Maybe the group loses some of the kinetic kick that made Feel Your Feelings Fool! such a gas, but How Do You Love? proves that Night and the Regrettes have figured out how to turn ebullient punk-pop into a sustainable source of energy.

Strictly speaking, there aren't many unheard tracks here. Everything from the Spying Through a Keyhole, Clareville Grove Demos, and The "Mercury" Demos sets are here, along with a brand-new mix of the Space Oddity album by Tony Visconti, one that restores "Conversation Piece" as part of its sequence. Setting aside the new mix of Space Oddity, that leaves 11 tracks out of 75 that are making their debut here, including several that have never been bootlegged and a couple that weren't even known to exist.

The album's diverse arrangements but consistent, sighing mood give Floatr a low-key cinematic quality on top of its meditative one. Though it may not be Happyness' most playlist-friendly set, it still lingers.

As strange as the album's combination of whimsy and wistfulness might seem, it makes for one of Fevre's most varied, oddly introspective works, ending his career on a good note.

Empty Horses is an unexpected shift from a firmly established songwriter. Sprout retains the best parts of his musical personality while evolving into unfamiliar places, learning some new tricks, and spinning an excellent set of new songs in the process.

It's a vulnerable set steeped in longing and memory, with recurring audio from home-video recordings contributing to its memoir-like feel.

While it might be impossible for them to be as shockingly distinctive as they were back in the day, they've kept up with the times, and Fires in Heaven is a return that's as strong as it is unexpected.

Leading up to the album's release, the band issued a statement that cited "post-punk, new wave, mariachi, new-wave mariachi, dub, hip-hop, and goth rock" as influences, and while there is some evidence that those disparate genres have infiltrated the sonic ecosystem, the unwaveringly idiosyncratic Five Dreams never feels like anything but a Carey Mercer project.

Palberta5000 is more mature than anything they've done before but just as playful, and more accessible while impossible to mistake for the work of any other band.

The set list offers few surprises -- if you don't recognize a song, that's because it's a new tune added to GRRR! -- but the Stones are in fine form, never seeming tired of playing the hits in a fashion that guarantees a splendid time for one and all.

PUP have made albums a lot more fun than this, but for sheer impact and focus, this feels like their best work to date, even if the recently dumped might find it a bit too relatable for comfort.

Choppy alternation between spoken and sung parts continues through much of the program's second half, as Taylor and her guests wrangle with the power dynamics of prospective new love and (with an especially apt Jill Scott appearance) delight in magnetic physical attraction. The erotic slow jams, led by the finely wrought "Bed of Roses," tend to fade out sooner than necessary as well.

Better Broken is an ideal late-era set that warrants the term "comeback" and adds an unexpectedly beautiful installment in her catalog when fans thought there might not be another.

You'd have to look hard to find another band making dark and noisy pop as sonically engaging and emotionally satisfying as Weekend do on Jinx.

Screaming Females have gone out of their way to show they have other tricks at their disposal, and Rose Mountain is one of their most accomplished and satisfying efforts to date.

Dream Wife have seized a certain energy that is undeniable and--despite the myriad inspirations and easy comparisons--feels so fresh and alive, enough to make their trailblazing influences proud.

The word "empty" aptly describes how this album feels, and that could potentially alienate listeners, but it captures the (absence of) feeling dead-on, and it contains some of his most compelling productions yet.

New Blue Sun is probably not the André 3000 solo debut most OutKast fans had expected or hoped for, but it does continue the integrity and spirit of his creative journey, in a way that's fittingly bizarre and beautiful.

Ultimately, What Went Down should please fans of Holy Fire, and they may not be the only ones drawn to its gloomy and persistent energy.

Here he successfully creates a convergence of harmonious and dissonant sounds, tensions and spaces, which reflect the subtleties in the complex emotions that construct such a powerful force.

While Astro Coast's nostalgia is missed, Tarot Classics finds Surfer Blood showing more potential to create something unique than their debut suggested.

It is one of those odd Primal Scream albums where they pull it all together--roping in the hard rock, free jazz, club beats, flowery psychedelia, the worship of the Stooges, and a devotion to avant-garde cinema--building upon the past in an attempt to get closer to the future.

The measured, modest, and melancholy "Airs" applies the finishing touches, wrapping up another flight of fancy from of one rock & roll's most illustrious, real-time dreamers.

A really strong album that shows Mazes growing in just the right way, adding some maturity and substance without sacrificing the things (great songs, youthful energy) that made them worth hearing in the first place.

Bodied is a few tracks longer than necessary, but its best moments are bewildering, and display Ital Tek's continued evolution as a sound designer.

Upon deeper listening, however, it becomes clear that some of the album's most overpowering moments are those that first come on as slight and retiring but reveal their anger, disappointment, and frustration by way of a slow, steady boil.

Some listeners might suggest that an album this varied has an identity crisis, but with standout tracks as glorious as the Dylan covers and the Eno closer, Frantic is a fascinating addition to Bryan Ferry's accomplished discography.