Not too many bands even in heyday of the initial wave of dance-punk released records as full of energy, intelligence, and ferocious funk as this.

While some fans of his early work may be left behind, most people who enjoy witty songs with tender emotion behind them will be satisfied with Catacombs and happy with the direction he's headed.

Choice of Weapon is the Cult's finest moment in 23 years; it's the true swaggering heir to the period that birthed Electric and Sonic Temple, and proof that contrary to even Astbury's stated belief in 2009 that the album is far from dead.

Sure, the sound of Shriek may scare off people who need guitars to be the focal point of their indie rock, but for anyone with a slightly more experimental nature or anyone who likes synths and subtlety and wonderfully emotive vocals, it's a great and welcome surprise that's a brilliant step forward for Wye Oak.

The inclusion of guest vocalists... keeps Etiquette from engaging on the kind of one-on-one basis that made Pocket Symphonies for Lonely Subway Cars and Twinkle Echo such selfish pleasures.

A headlong dive into the uncomfortable territory where vital art is made, this album takes all of Baths' skills to a new level.

Illusion of Time fittingly sounds rougher and more spontaneous than any of Avery's work or Cortini's preceding recordings, particularly his 2019 Mute release Volume Massimo, but its highlights seem to pull divine inspiration out of practically nothing.

It's a Bit Complicated proves that Art Brut are masters of writing pop songs about loving pop songs passionately.

This stuff can't touch Adrian Younge's Venice Dawn project, which released the dynamite Something About April in 2011, but it has its own charm.

The album is at its best, though, when Butler is cranking up the big rock and Jackson belts out melodies as straight and clear as an empty motorway. British Road Movies has plenty of that, and if it's not quite enough to make anyone forget the Long Blondes, it's a definite reminder to keep in touch with Kate Jackson.

Another exhilarating triumph from one of the most original underground electronic artists.

Other Girls benefits from Cobb adding a sense of spectral melancholy to the proceedings. It's a quality that's thankfully not overplayed; it's there just enough to add dimension and mystery, emotions that still linger when the record turns and eases into something a little simpler.

Rather than a succinct return to form, As It Ever Was is quite dense, occasionally getting in its own way in trying to do a bit of everything. For that reason, it might not be the record that earns them scads of new listeners, but for longtime fans, there is a lot to love.

Despite the talents of the musicians here, on several tracks the music simply lacks the physical strength to handle the lyrical weight of Chesnutt's material.

The album is not only perfectly balanced; it stands out as a bright (black) light amid the dross of postmillennial rock.

Even if Quilt don't always find the answers they're looking for on Plaza, they've found some of their most confident and cohesive music.

Vladislav Delay is a master sound sculptor, and he's able to shape chaotic disarray into something strong and stimulating. Along with both Rakka volumes, Isoviha is some of his most exciting work.

While Jewellery's nimble pastiches and small but palpable emotional undercurrent are missed occasionally, Never is never boring, and fans will have as much fun figuring out what makes these musical wind-up toys tick as Micachu and company had putting them together.

Lots of people are making music like this in 2016, but very few are making it this impressively.

If M:FANS represents a world that is colder and less forgiving than the time and place that spawned Music for a New Society, it also confirms that Cale is still a strong and vital artist, and one capable of offering two very different sets of perspectives on these songs that are both bold and compelling listening.

Stevens constructed an alternate version of Illinois that is almost as good as the original.

A candy-coated, trippy treat, Bubblegum Graveyard has the ingredients to please listeners.

Take the tapes back in time to 1992 or so, and Young Guv would be right in holy firmament of that era's power pop scene right next to Mr. Sweet, Teenage Fanclub, Sloan, and Velvet Crush. Maybe even slightly ahead, or at least a little to the left, of a few of them. It's certainly the best power pop anyone is likely to hear in 2019.

Its brevity means that The Ballad of Dood & Juanita can initially seem a bit slight, yet it's ultimately quite sturdy, an album that gains its strength from Simpson's dogged dedication to the concept -- there's nothing extraneous in his songs here -- and the impeccable execution of the band.

Fans of "Blackberry Way"-era Move, Berlin-era Bowie, late-period Of Montreal, and the Danielson Famile will eat this up like the candy it is.

Even if Kensington Heights is the Constantines' least satisfying album, the band's sound is never less than mighty; it's just disappointing how easy it is to let so many songs here fade into the background

Highly recommended.

There's an element of nostalgia for times that are long gone, but with songs this strong, it almost feels like a necessary self-referencing for anyone who missed the band the first time around.