The result of this envelope-pushing is one of their most nuanced and emotionally engaging albums in years, arriving at a different kind of immediacy than can be achieved with loud guitars and angsty hooks.

If Sarah Shook has evolved a bit as a person on Nightroamer, as an artist they're as articulate, as fearless, and as smart as ever.

Strictly speaking, there are no surprises or detours within these 16 tracks, yet it's unexpected to hear Marr maintain his drive through a full double album without lagging. He sounds in full command of his craft, and that's a pleasure to hear.

The focus on deeply intuitive, sophisticated improvisation integrated with Luthert's instinctive, tasteful electronics is welcoming, adventurous, and abundantly creative.

After a decade of artistic exploration and soul-searching, the self-proclaimed "motherf*ckin princess" has reclaimed her pop-punk crown.

Timewave Zero might be a far cry from Blood Incantation's best-known work, but it truly rewards the open-minded listener, and is simply a fantastic ambient album in its own right.

For listeners who miss the simpler early days, All the Truth That I Can Tell is a treasure trove of comfort and familiarity, an utterly relatable collection of growth and hope tempered by the starkness of reality.

The unexpected touches, such as Glasper's own drunk-funk drums on "Shine" and the Theo Parrish-like beatdown house gait of "Everybody Love" (featuring Musiq Soulchild and Posdnous), are as welcome as the familiar ones.

A worthy follow-up to Ignorance and an accomplished work in its own right, How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars makes the most of Lindeman's softly insightful powers.

For all of its incendiary music, furious soundscapes, and rhythmic madness, Pray for Me is beautifully produced, mischievously strategized, and expertly performed.

She's added new ideas that make this music feel like a metamorphosis; transforming herself into an artist who has thrown off any generic frameworks that confined her in the past.

As with every Guided by Voices album, fans will find some songs excellent and some unmemorable, but Crystal Nuns Cathedral's steady approach and considered construction make for more keepers than duds, and one of the band's stronger entries.

Track for track, Crown is flawless, the most consistent, musically ambitious, and satisfying album Gales has delivered in a long time, if not ever.

The home-brewed spectacle of this album makes it easy to visualize CMAT tackling bigger stages in the future. It's a witty and thoroughly delightful debut.

On songs as different as the poignant protest song "Freedom" and the title track's winding musings on existence and creativity, it's both comforting and thrilling to hear Hval breathe life into the everyday so fully.

The words offer a lot of food for thought, but the music and arrangements are every bit as remarkable.

Thankfully, all of Who Cares? sounds exactly like Rex Orange County coming into his own.

Allhallowtide is another fine example of how Bid and his band are experts at the form. They have been doing this for a long time, and for the past decade there are few bands who have been doing it as well.

All of Widowspeak's experience feels channeled into The Jacket's poetic, poignant songs, and after more than a decade together, they're continuing to build one of the quietly great discographies of the 2010s and 2020s.

It's easy to wish all four members had been able to work together again, but having the band back in any form and operating at such a high level is a dream come true for all Boo fanatics and should be a nice discovery for younger fans looking for some classic OG dream pop.

Re-emerging after a nine-year gap, their fifth album, For the Sake of Bethel Woods, retains some of the progressive experimentation of its predecessor without losing sight of its sturdy core of songs. In producer John Congleton, Midlake has found a worthy foil and he helps imbue highlights like the gorgeous "Feast of Carrion" and "Meanwhile…" with a sense of elegance and mystique.

At a sleek 33-minutes long, Crash lets songs like "Lightning" -- an unlikely but winning collision of freestyle beats, giddy orchestral synth stabs, and processed vocals -- claim the spotlight they deserve. It may not be quite as striking as how i'm feeling now, but on Crash, Charli XCX once again finds endless freedom in pop's constraints.

Benny's storytelling lyrics are hardened and aggressive as ever, but he balances out his tales of street dominance and underworld dealings with moments of honest self-reflection.

Despite its generous track list, Hits to the Head never drags -- like Franz Ferdinand's music as a whole, it's very listenable and a lot of fun.

The next best thing to sitting in on a Sonic Youth jam session, In/Out/In distills the band's essence so brilliantly that fans will fall in love all over again.

The Alchemist's instrumentals are fluid and bubbling over with unexpected sound combinations, and the inspired nature of Curren$y's performances comes through even when he's at his most laid-back.

Not unlike the late Emitt Rhodes, there's some of the cult classic singer/songwriter in Ivey's overall vibe, which seems built for a smaller but deeply devoted arena.

It'll take at least a full listen or two to adjust to the album's structure and arrangement. Once it clicks, it's a truly unique, engrossing experience that plays with one's perception of memory in relation to music, somewhat reminiscent of the Caretaker's work, but far from its sense of romanticized nostalgia.