PUP have made albums a lot more fun than this, but for sheer impact and focus, this feels like their best work to date, even if the recently dumped might find it a bit too relatable for comfort.

His brand of wistfulness is appealing, never cloying, with just the right amount of windswept drama and to tickle the heartstrings.

Confrontational in ways quiet and loud, Abyss is a testament to Anika's fierce artistic independence and gift for haunting moods.

Two of the more transfixing songs feature Yorke using his lower register. On the torpid ballad "The White Cliffs," he duets with himself, switching from nightmarish visions recounted in falsetto to stern if soft baritone responses like "This is your punishment" and "Everything is out of our hands." Yorke's lead voice thrums throughout "The Men Who Dance in Stag's Heads," a highlight.

Even more so than woods' other albums, GOLLIWOG is a challenging work dealing with grim yet truthful subject matter, but it's fascinating and enjoyable due to the rapper's brilliant writing and focused delivery, as well as innovative production from his collaborators.

Finely nuanced shades of gray are all he needs on Lake Fire, a formidable, beautiful return to Loscil's fundamentals.

Fancy That is some of Pink's most carefree work, but it's still highly emotional, and its songs are as well-crafted, catchy, and creative as anything else she's done.

Sincerely is best experienced from front to back. After the first seven songs lightly splash and bob while Uchis sings of gratitude, devotion, and self-doubt, song eight, "Fall Apart," delivers a knockout blow of heavy psychedelic soul.

It's a major work composed of gritty beauty, intention, realization, and hope; it belongs on the shelf next to albums by Virginia Astley, Marianne Faithfull, and Patti Smith.

As on Sketchy.'s finest tracks, Brenner and Garbus deliver emotionally direct, musically cohesive songs that don't sacrifice any of their time-tested creativity or intellect.

["The Moon Explodes" is] a perfect example of the witty resilience that makes Metalhorse inspiring and often brilliant.

Full of memorably wistful melodies as well as potentially relatable struggles, Hers feels like an instant classic, if one that's also outside of time.

It's not always an easy listen, but These New Puritans have made a career out of challenging themselves and listeners, a worthy pursuit that they continue here.

Room on the Porch is a beautifully produced, modern, deep blues and roots album drenched in an all-inclusive Americana, generosity, and good vibes.

Let All That We Imagine Be the Light is another fantastic 2020s offering from this masterful quartet, further solidifying their place as alt-rock royalty.

Cyrus' restless creativity and expert craft is a formidable combination, and at its best, Something Beautiful has a fearlessness and sensuality that could be the beginning of something exciting for her music.

Berninger's incisive turns of phrase and refusal to isolate the bitter and sweet are the governing forces throughout the record, even on songs like the jaunty "Junk," a defeated love song that imagines flowers sprouting through his own grave in Indiana.

A deceptively artful examination of, and expression of, depression.

In some ways, Evangelic Girl Is a Gun doesn't feel quite as personal as yeule's previous albums -- the lyrics don't always delve into specific subjects such as dissatisfaction with their own body -- and its sound feels a bit more comfortably retro compared to the dystopian future shock of the previous two albums. That said, it's easily some of their most accessible work, and one of the most potent distillations of their chaotic yet introspective songwriting style.

Black Hole Superette is yet another successful Aesop Rock record which artfully details and comments on the remarkable aspects of everyday life.

On Lotus, the exceptionally gifted rapper is more vulnerable than ever, yet this only pushes her to be at her most self-empowering.

Essentially, it's not that far off from The Glowing Man, which means that it's familiar territory for anyone who has spent time with the band's albums or experienced their concerts, but it's still an incredibly powerful record.

Ready for Heaven is easily her best record to date; it brings all her talents together in one shimmering, emotionally charged, and musically impressive package.

"While My Machines Gently Weep" brings to mind the trippy, shoegaze-influenced techno of Daniel Avery, while others are closer to the stark, dub-informed tracks by Surgeon and the Sandwell District collective. "Roseville" is percolating electro-techno with snapping beats, and "Hazel" is akin to a bullet-train head rush.

Albums by crossover stars like Rae are often dubious affairs, less than inspired productions that can feel like an attempt to package someone to fit a preconceived image, rather than showcase actual talent. Thankfully, she impressively side-steps any such pitfalls.

The only thing holding Happy Birthday back from being classic is its brevity and maybe lack of ambition; other than that, the quality of the songs, the impact of the vocals, the excellent production, and his ability to reference the past without aping it combine to make it a superb start for a promising solo career.

While relentlessly hooky and cathartic in addition to noisy, the album is submerged in a lo-fi murk deemed imperative by the songs themselves. In other words, after hearing it, it’s hard to imagine or want this album any other way -- and that’s a sign of something special.

It's another quiet gem from an artist in the full bloom of his talents.