Perhaps Musique de Film Imaginé is intended as a résumé item for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but if it is, it's a fine sample of Anton Newcombe's work, and anyone who thinks Take It from the Man! or Strung Out in Heaven represented the limits of his abilities will encounter a pleasant surprise with this album.

Polaris is the record that Tesseract have been working toward. The evolved maturity of their writing, playing, and arranging is matched by the experience and confidence Tomkins gained while away.

Even at its strangest, Echtzeit still feels thoroughly calm and relaxed, as the trio is more than comfortable with venturing into uncharted territory.

Anything Could Happen effectively channels the best of what Tommy Stinson brought to the Replacements, and this unexpected Bash & Pop "reunion" has made an album just about as good--and every bit as much fun--as their minor classic from the '90s.

The ex-(International) Noise Conspiracy and Refused frontman, who is joined by Sara Almgren (also a Noise Conspiracy expatriate), Kristina Karlsson (Tiger Forest Cat), Anders Stenberg (Lykke Li, Deportees), and Andre Sandstrom (DS-13), delivers a consistently engaging seven-track set that's light on humor and heavy on apocalyptic grandeur.

The album's pace slows down a bit in the second half, making it seem a bit front-loaded, but the swagger and tuneful songwriting that hooked fans in the first place remain in full effect here.

Brighter Days is a bit tidier and less adventurous than 2017's Got Soul, but it captures the heart and soul of Robert Randolph & the Family Band as well as their big, bold sound, and the results are strong, satisfying stuff.

It all adds up to a solid record, one that will surely appeal to Crowes fans who have no patience for Deadhead flourishes, but one that could use a little bit of flair on the edges.

While the majority of all-cover releases feel like a holding action while the band comes up with new ideas, Play the Hits sounds like their music through and through, even if someone else wrote the material.

Sorceress doesn't feel like a slam dunk triumph for Williamson, in part because it seems like she's still working out the balance between the various sides of her creative personality. But she sounds solid and assured even when she's swimming through the darkness, and her consistent strength as a writer and vocalist makes Sorceress well worth investigating.

Confetti is an album of brightly colored feel-good songs, meant to light your way to the dancefloor.

Although Jacob's Ladder is one of the more idiosyncratic albums in Mehldau's discography, there's enough sophisticated and delicately rendered piano work here to appeal to his longtime fans.

Stylistically, Kravitz may not be trying anything new, but his decision to prioritize good vibes above all else generates an unusually satisfying record from the rocker.

It's still hard to listen to his more ambient material without comparing it to the sweeping rush of his dance music, which arrives at some truly staggering highs. Still, Ritual is an engaging experience that succeeds at transporting the listener and replenishing the soul.

Oberst's storytelling songwriting remains despairing and maudlin, but he seems more self-aware of this than ever before, injecting some triumph and levity into these songs that suggest he's not just smiling through the pain, but laughing at how ridiculous life can be, and maybe even secretly a little bit grateful for being able to experience it all.

Throughout their career, Ed Schrader has retained energy and spirit, even as their direction has shifted from noisy, primal blues-punk shouting to dramatic, new romantic-style crooning. Orchestra Hits reflects the sophistication of aging, and relating to the past while continuing to artistically evolve.

With Planet Nowhere, Razorlight have made an album of catchy, no-nonsense anthems that capture the fizzy, garage-rock swagger of their best work.

Pearl Jam hasn't sounded as alive or engaging as they do here since at least Vitalogy, if not longer.

All the good stuff is still here, one might just have to do a little digging, hang in through a couple listens, and then the songs on Life of Pause will begin to connect with the head and the heart.

Listeners will have to wait and see on that score, whether she grows up and calms down or if age only sharpens her rage, but for all her all-too-human flaws, with a set of songs this strong, it's safe to say her time has already arrived.

As he leaps from one thrill to the next, he evokes his past without rehashing it, delivering a complete and immensely satisfying portrait of his music along the way.

Big Business may be broadcasting from metal's outer limits, but these knotty post-rock anthems dressed up in stoner metal might are as engaging as they are sonically demanding.

Miller's duet with Rosanne Cash on "As Close as I Came to Being Right" is a gem, one of the best realized moments of his solo career; it's the best thing on The Dreamer, but there's plenty of other music here that should earn the approval of fans of both Rhett Millers.

The result is an electronic album that sounds nothing like electronic music, and manages to relate complex, well-crafted moods with a deceptively spare sonic palette.

Far from reclusive, Weird is a gregarious, idiosyncratic pop album that invites the listener to meet it on its own terms, but Hatfield is absolutely fine if it's rejected. She's cool being on her own.

While much of the emotion at the center of Everything Else Has Gone Wrong feels borne out of a period of dark introspection, there's a low-key ebullience and overall strength to the music that speaks to Bombay Bicycle Club's renewed sense of purpose. With each song, you can hear them coming further back to life.

Shygirl's hard-edged yet sensual delivery on "Watch" is another fine example of KiCk i's forward-looking femininity, while "La Chíqui" is as brilliantly unhinged as a team-up between Arca and SOPHIE should be, with self-destructing beats and vocals that reach for the skies. These kinds of unapologetic contradictions and fragments coexist on KiCk i in startling, beautiful, and genuine ways, making it a complete, and triumphant, portrait of Arca's artistry.

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