A career highlight filled with well-earned warmth, Night Network is exactly the kind of album the Cribs should be making as they near their 20th anniversary.

While the collaborative nature and scant length of The Makarrata Project might have some fans wishing for more of a straightforward rock album after so many years away, the band nonetheless stay true to their long-held mission with a focused, purposeful, and culturally relevant return to form.

While their sophomore set was great in its own right, Impossible Weight feels leagues ahead, an introspective maturation that allows for both reflection and catharsis.

Jewel Box does have a bit of a scattershot feeling to it, but the title itself implies that it's a place where rarities and gems are collected. That's exactly what this set provides: some cuts are diamonds and some are zirconium, but they all have a bit of sparkle.

Roxanne's music is balming and refreshing, yet also reflective of an intense spiritual and physical journey, and Because of a Flower is a quietly powerful encapsulation of the progress she's made.

It's an impressive, filler-free debut that manages to be both uplifting and poignant, almost from beginning to end.

In terms of both recording fidelity and songwriting, Monument sounds much brighter and more polished, and contains some of their most hook-filled songs to date. It's also more overtly danceable than their earlier records.

This is a compelling, satisfying, richly musical statement from a gifted player developing a uniquely individual style.

The quality control isn't quite as tight. Some songs meander long after making their point. A greater position of the sequence, however, is filled with indestructible art that consoles, challenges, and invigorates with gospel, doo wop, highlife, psychedelicized garage rock, dub, and post-punk funk all filtered with uncommon aptitude through vintage outsider soul. Highlights are abundant.

Trip doesn't overlap much with Lambchop's original musical vision, but it finds the group picking up on the philosophy behind their early work, and it makes for a satisfying and affecting listening.

Some listeners may prefer to only focus on one or two chapters in this series, but 5EPS confirms that all of them make the grade, individually and collectively.

PLUS seems to meander as much as its predecessor, but its greater focus on rhythm helps it appear to hold together more strongly, and rapt concentration reveals that these pieces are as intricate and thoughtfully crafted as the duo's best work.

Something to Lose is more like a thoughtful early-morning walk through empty city streets. The glistening production and yearning performances don't change too much from song to song, but converge into an album-length mood of reflective bittersweetness.

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.

Portugal. The Man and the Last Artful, Dodgr crowd the space somewhat with tandem featured appearances on three tracks, but only "Nature of the Beast" sounds like it belongs on another project.

Even though Kirk used a restrained setup of vintage equipment to make Shadow of Fear, his vibrant energy and "don't look back" attitude keep the album sounding fresh and forward-thinking.

While Megan Thee Stallion presented herself as a force to be reckoned with from her earliest material, Good News finds her triple-X-rated sex rhymes, imposing charm, and ability to make it all appear effortless reaching new levels.

Despite its brief runtime, Be is an expert snapshot of time and place, a document of a worldwide event that manages to strengthen their connection to their listeners and push their songcraft forward with focus, heart, and humanity.

It's another epic statement rife with troubled beauty, presented from a slightly different angle but true to the spirit of longing and restless wonder that has defined the Smashing Pumpkins for over 30 years.

On 2020 Magik Markers don't just reflect the chaos of a year that felt more dystopian with each passing month; they make the most of the opportunity that difficult times provide to start fresh while honoring time-tested strengths.

The Symbol Remains is diverse, wildly creative, and expertly sequenced, making not only a consistent return for Blue Öyster Cult but a thoroughly inspired one as well.

Individually, these moments may not seem particularly eccentric yet when they're collected as an album, they add up to a charmingly off-kilter record, an album that benefits from its modest origins and McCartney's willingness to not polish too many of his rough edges.

While Bramblett manifests a degree of poignancy on all his records amid rowdy roadhouse rock and R&B, it is a guiding spirit on Pine Needle Fire, shot through with an aching yet grateful heart, abiding empathy, and self-effacing humor. It is exactly the kind of record the 2020s call for.

The Kennington MC puts forward some of his finest work to date, with a bold three-act that dips through the various strands of his career. While the sustainability of such a wide-ranging approach remains in question, Music, Trial and Trauma provides too strong of a tape to dispute, staking claims for the rapper across the U.K. spectrum.

Passionate and self-aware, Plastic Hearts is easily the finest incarnation of Cyrus' music yet.

The Maui recordings don't find him exploring much in the way of anything new, but he's in excellent form, playfully relaxed and fully engaged at the same time, and Mitch Mitchell's drumming is, as always, an excellent foil for Jimi's melodies and instrumental attack, while Billy Cox's subtle but solid bass anchors this music better than his predecessor, Noel Redding.

While the slower songs are fine, sometimes sincere, the growth on Wonder is all evident on the livelier tunes, all of which point toward a more adventurous twenties for Shawn Mendes.

Many songs are led by synth lines, and the curious instrumental track "Land Surveyor" has more in common with the moon-walking electro of early-2000s Mouse on Mars than the organic electronics-tinged rock of the band's last few albums. Final track "Upside Down Bottomless Pit" has a similar blend of enhanced digital dabbling and Kinsella's patented songwriting, offering the kind of cerebral expression of beauty and despair he's dealt in since the group began.