Weller may often be adventurous, particularly during the third act inaugurated with 2008's 22 Dreams, yet he rarely seems as loose and playful as he does here, and that sense of mischief is an unexpected and welcome gift.

As a songbook, it's excellent, but it's equally effective as an album, as the trio harmonize and pick guitar with an emotional immediacy that gives The Marfa Tapes a warm, resonant immediacy.

Shirushi is as promising and satisfying a debut as any North American group has presented in quite a while.

Famous faces Drake, Future, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Lil Baby, and Skepta also appear, but there's so much quality content to wade through on Slime Language 2 that their turns aren't even the most notable.

With Memoryland, CFCF looks back on a time when the future seemed limitless, reflecting on the promise of youth and how it's panned out so far.

Mist's classical inclinations take full form on "Once a Year," a brief, yet languorous chamber piece that, as with all of Bring Backs, underlines his wide-ranging taste.

Uneasy offers a portrait of an emergent trio discovering a multivalently complex language while simultaneously articulating its myriad possibilities. The end result is centered, action-oriented music that is at once gloriously colorful and brilliantly articulated.

It's dramatic, it's grand, and it proves yet again that Martin Phillipps hasn't lost a step and will hopefully go on for a long time making records as good as Scatterbrain.

While The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania doesn't necessarily break new ground, it's a strong, affecting set from a songwriter who proves himself among the elite at doing more with less.

Dynamic, but well-balanced, this collection is perhaps the most conclusive example of Moctar's multidimensional talents to date.

As grim as the album seems, something constantly pulls it back from sinking into utter despair, and the majestic closer "Stonefruit" feels nothing less than triumphant.

The album is a varied selection with solid performances and production throughout. Much like the title suggests, The Off-Season feels like Cole running through different exercises as he gets in shape for something bigger.

A different kind of enjoyment than in the past, but just as good. Maybe even better.

Finley's singing radiates with hard-won experience and gratitude, and his producer succeeds in reflecting that spiritual power and emotional honesty without self-reference or artifice.

The finished album, mixed by Mario Caldato, has an immediacy that reflects its relatively quick conception and, coming after the nimble electronic experiments of 2019's Pang!, there's something bracing about the directness of Seeking New Gods.

Kingdom of Oblivion organically grafts trademark elements from Motorpsycho's previous work and influences onto literally spontaneous musical discoveries. The album is a pillar of 21st century rock, adding dimension and depth to the band's visionary legacy.

Her combination of sweet melodies and bitter moods, her conversational flow, and her self-awareness are all skills many songwriters twice her age would love to call their own, and they make Sour a well-rounded emotional journey and strong debut album.

Fly Pan Am's Frontera score is some of their most trance-inducing work, harnessing the power of repetition while retaining a crucial element of surprise.

Agreeable yet melancholic and peppered with moments of cinematic Lynch-ian weirdness, it's the purest and most satisfying distillation of Lord Huron's pastoral folk-pop to date, and the perfect soundtrack for a road trip to nowhere.

Gray has always been reflective, but in removing some of his sonic crutches, he's unearthed a bit of Van Morrison's mystic soul-food shine and brought his acumen as a songwriter front and center.

Throughout Take the Cake, PACKS put an intimate, warped spin on what are fundamentally great rocks songs. The result is a debut that's likely to compel return visits.

Lost in the Cedar Wood is not Flynn's most accessible record, but it might be his most immediate, and its communion of two masters in their prime makes for a satisfying listen.

While varied in style and arrangements, the album maintains a certain heartfelt, longing tone and unvarnished immediacy that engage in tandem with its solid songwriting core.

A beautifully nuanced work, Clara is both revealing and mysterious -- and Loscil fans wouldn't expect anything less.

Minus the two guest appearances, this is a one-woman show, from composition and instrumentation to mixing and mastering. The low end on this sucker is immense.

It's a solid and rewarding set of songs that sounds a bit different than his usual work but finds him working with some excellent and sympatico musicians who understand his craft and give him what he needs and more.

All the shifting sounds and emotions lend Blood an uneasy undercurrent that counters the immediacy of her melodies, but this tension isn't merely provocative, it's nourishing. Few pop records have captured the agitation of the early 2020s as well as this homespun project, which feels a bit like a beacon in the darkness.

Wide-ranging without seeming scattered, PostHuman is an effortlessly accomplished work.