Cumbia Siglo XXI is easily Meridian Brothers' most satisfying outing to date. While no less insane than its predecessors, its musicality is as abundant as it is adventuresome. Further, it pays tribute to cumbia even as it exaggerates and satirizes it with almost familial warmth and affection.

Neither rap nor pop, punk, or rock in any traditional sense, Sneaks continues to keep it fresh and original on another strong outing.

The Making of You is a marvel of skillful songwriting, savvy use of the studio, and talent that can find new magic in old voices, and it's recommended for folk-rock enthusiasts past and present.

Respectfully done, Project Regeneration, Vol. 1 is a fun and technically proficient reminder that Static-X were ahead of their time and perhaps a little underrated. Through this cathartic process, the album serves as a love letter to Static and their loyal fan base, a respectful tribute that both honors his legacy and adds an unexpected new chapter to their discography.

White-Gluz controls her songs with a steady hand and a crystalline vision on Motherhood, and takes No Joy's always-restless creative spark to unimaginable new places.

Singing, however, is always what Toots has done best, and Got to Be Tough confirms that he takes a back seat to no one when he steps up to the mike, and its arrival is a joyous occasion.

Blackbirds is proof that she's not resting on her reputation, and hearing her explore the architecture of a great song is a rare treat to be valued.

The music on Flowers of Evil traverses with jarring effectiveness both past and future. Its songs explore grief, hysteria, madness, vulnerability, and romance as inseparable and indelible aspects of the human spirt, resulting in a masterwork of the familiar and the disorienting.

As crucial as any of Muldrow's better-known creations, this proves that Jyoti is more than a side project.

he album is very much substance over style, showcasing East's deft wordplay and storytelling talents without too many flashy distractions. On that end, Karma 3's production is robust and straightforward, evoking another time and place with old-school samples and head-nodding beats.

All this adds up to an album well-suited for moments of introspection, moments when a listener is searching for sustenance and reassurance somewhere outside of themselves.

Equally rich and effortless, Gold Record is especially satisfying for longtime fans as part of a bounty of great work from Callahan since his return, but there's plenty here to delight anyone who loves brilliant songwriting and down-to-earth performances.

[Some songs] are new, some of which were handed out to other musicians over the years. When collected on Living on Mercy -- and delivered by a crew of empathetic old pros -- they feel of a piece, a sweet, soulful, and reflective effort from a masterful singer/songwriter that benefits from its mellowness and slow, assured gait.

High-energy and high-strung, Mirrored Aztec is a cut above the usual set of fresh Pollard tunes. The memorable, high-octane, and outright strange moments all sit nicely together in a way that GBV's best albums perfected, but the band don't always achieve.

The Ritual Begins at Sundown pays affectionate tribute to Zappa's influence and spirit, but this music is also filtered through an idiosyncratic vision that balances complexity and technique with fun, the will to creativity, and an incessant urge to dance.

Throwing Muses' power to mesmerize is as potent as ever. The sheer density of Sun Racket makes it something of a grower, but fans will be more than willing to take the time to let these songs sink into them.

They seem to become more themselves with each album, and Plum finds them at their most immediate and compelling.

These are the strongest and most immediate of Prekop's electronic songs, feeling more meaningful and intentional than the interesting experiments of earlier albums. It took him a few records to get here, but with Comma, Prekop finally affixes his distinctive melodic sensibilities and songwriting voice onto his electronic compositions.

Despite a personnel list that borders on audacious, Big Sean is at his best on Detroit 2 when he sounds like he's standing alone in his room giving himself a pep talk.

Far from a rehash of the band's previous glories, American Head feels transformational; at once magical and down-to-earth, it's the album the Flaming Lips needed to make and fans needed to hear at this point in their career.

As the years of shock tactics and theatrics fade into memory, Manson's left with just the music, aging as gracefully as he can with another expertly crafted offering for the altar.

Throughout, RE-ANIMATOR's crisp, melancholy anthems, if less colorful than prior albums, remain captivating, bringing with them an existential poignancy that lingers beyond the closer, up-tempo rocker "Violent Sun," and its apocalyptic chorus ("I wanna be there!/When the wild wave comes/And we’re swept away").

A consistently striking and highly collaborative full-length that, despite its hospitable quality, is the Griselda member's most exemplary solo release yet -- his most considered display of grim street bulletins and snarling admonitions.

Thoughtfully conceived and crafted, Baudelaire & Piano is another bewitching example of what a sensitive and creative interpreter Susanna is -- she lets all the nuances of the poet's words shine through while remaining true to her own muse.

It's just as weird, fiery, hooky, strange, and avant-punk as anything they've released; the unbroken hot streak they're on continues to throw off sparks like an overheating amp that's about to catch fire.

Musically dense and emotionally candid, the risks Cults take on Host make it a grower that embellishes on their strengths with flair.

How Ill Thy World Is Ordered would feel like a grift in lesser hands, but there's no chicanery to be found here, only solid, smart songwriting with a little bit of rock & roll peacocking tossed in for good measure.

Though Cook creates both of Apple's sides ably, juxtaposing them keeps the album engaging and makes it a successful entry point to his music. Happily bridging the gap between synthetic and organic, Apple is one of Cook's most satisfying obliterations of the borders between genres, authenticity, and artifice.