Vulnerable but full of punk-rock spirit and lessons hard-won, No Need to Be Lonely is also consistently hooky, with singalong choruses that often double as calls to action.

Even if it is an acquired taste, Kammerkonzert is still a fascinating release and a remarkable achievement.

Even with a few bangers, Evaporator is far from a club-centric album, however, as the tracks seem to be much more focused on capturing the moments when feelings and sensations emerge.

They may be leaving their early twenties behind, but with Maybe Not Tonight, they arrive as a musical force to be reckoned with.

Dandelion functions as both a sequel and an appealing fresh start.

Not many musical acts reach their 40th anniversaries and fewer still make music worthy of their legacies, but with The World Is to Dig, They Might Be Giants remain wonderfully different.

This is not a novelty or a throwaway, and even though there's technically no "new" music, Nine Inch Noize goes beyond the idea of a "remix," carrying over three decades of material into the future with the help of an unlikely creative muse.

Cuts like "Possession," "Grudges," and "The Last Two People on Earth" have a cavernous, late-'80s and early-'90s alt-rock majesty, as Martinez frames her cracked porcelain vocals in shimmering, reverb-heavy guitars and synths, broken-glass percussion, and orchestral strings.

If "back-to-basics" sounds like your ideal Foo Fighters mode, then Your Favorite Toy is one of their best to date.

If there's a gripe to be had about the record, it's that it isn't longer than nine tracks, although there's something to be said for mirroring the debut in leaving us wanting more.

Maybe it's divine intervention and maybe it's decades of working on their craft, either way on 13 White Denim sounds like a band born again.

Romanticize the Dive is yet another great Metric album, another stunning showcase of Haines' second-to-none vocals, and an example of how if a band plays with emotional and sonic imagination, indie rock doesn't have to sound overcooked and insipid when it is blown up to twice its size.

For all the hype and controversy Kneecap has received, it feels like the group is simply getting back to basics and doing what they do best on Fenian, resulting in their most accomplished effort to date.

Weller at the BBC (Vol. 2) is a dense digest of this particular category of his art form, and he shines throughout all of it.

As Miss Grit confronts and conceals their heartache on Under My Umbrella, they continue to unite high-concept ambition and pop immediacy in fascinating ways.

The driving "Alone with You" might seem seductive and romantic, but it's about much more than just physical pleasure, as dal Forno sings about building a future with a partner and "lock[ing] away bad memories together." The dreamy, lo-fi "Gave You Up" is particularly entrancing, with dal Forno's sighing vocals meshing perfectly with the hypnotic guitar strums. Throughout the album, instrumental tunes act as curious segues between moods.

Lyrically and vocally, Kehlani exudes more warmth here than ever, and the album's additional echoes of '90s/2000s contemporary R&B is enhanced with the featured artists.

While it may be enough for most people to look for a best-of compilation, there are many delights to be found on this set.

Produced by the aforementioned Johnny Wilson, Live Forever is full of warm and gritty textures and includes just enough crowd noise to transport listeners without competing with the music.

Mostly playful in tone despite its timely, often serious topics, Long Wave Home makes for another strong entry in Hoop's catalog.

Loose yet consistently engaging, i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley is the work of a band in its element.

Decades into Melanie C's storied career, Sweat is one of her best.

Look for Your Mind! is a relatively more romping set of Lemon Twigs songs, but the performances remain airtight and the song construction is as intricate and involved as any of their previous work, keeping them one of the most intelligent and infallible bands making power pop in the 2020s.

It’s another album of subtlety and intriguing songwriting choices from Cola, not reinventing their sound by any means, but bringing in new ideas that keep things engaging and confounding in equal measure.

Much more than just more of the same, Badges is a step forward for the group. Sounding more confident and comfortable, it's clear that they've gotten over the shock of being together again and have settled into being the kind of thoughtful and dramatic indie pop group one always hoped they would be.

Often riveting and never boring, and with credit to the band's charismatic leader, the album makes for an exciting and noteworthy debut.

Hope!! may be bursting at the seams, but its communal power is also life-giving.

Lavender Networks almost feels like a successor to Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy because of the way it juxtaposes surreal aggression with a softer, more sensitive side.