Brightest Blue's main disc is Goulding's deepest emotional journey yet, a triumph of empowerment and self-discovery.

Even in these more saccharine moments, however, it's hard to dismiss the album's optimistic spirit. With Rain Before Seven..., Penguin Cafe acknowledge grief and loss but prefer to express joy and positivity.

It's always fun to see where Smith's muse will take him next, but this kind of simple and true album is where he is at his best.

Even when the Johns' sentiments are morbid, I Like Fun's music seizes the joy of the moment.

While it's unlikely to define its own era, it calls forth some classic elements from a prior era to great effect, and with some top-notch songcraft to boot.

A debut that sounds a lot like New York urbanites the Rachel's and the Clogs, but a little more dangerous.

While Radio Music Society may play better to younger pop audiences than more die-hard jazzheads, this program is so diverse and well executed--despite a little overreaching--it's anybody's guess.

After decades of giving us good and even fine work, he's finally treated the faithful to a masterpiece.

The softly spooked-out acid folk of The Pirate's Gospel is a captivating debut from Alela Diane, whose enthusiasm and ability for a then-extremely-fresh learner on guitar is quite something.

Asking for Flowers leaves no doubt that Kathleen Edwards has arrived and made an album that's funny, startling, poignant, and (once again) worthy of repeated play.

The Soft Pack allows this band an almost completely clean break with their past while showing they’re dynamic no matter what they’re called.

Though there are a few missteps ... the document's strengths supersede them in a powerful and inviting way.

A compelling and rich move toward adulthood from one of the underground's most prolonged and complicated adolescents.

Even though they don't quite have the fire that they used to, this more fully realized sound shouldn't have much trouble keeping their fans happy.

Ultimately, though, it is just this diverse stylistic quality, both in the source material and Elling's arrangements, that make The Brill Building Project one of his most interesting albums.

II is the kind of crafted album you just don’t expect from a supergroup or side project as it matches, and maybe even tops, the work of its individual parties.

While it's nice to see Rowe explore more, all the stylistic gymnastics leave Madman feeling, at times, a bit disjointed. Despite this, the album is easily the singer's most accessible and eclectic record to date.

The album sounds like it was spontaneously recorded and bashed out on cheap instruments onto a malfunctioning tape deck, and there are several tracks that cut off or feel like the tape has been smudged. Even as the music barely holds together, it still sounds like something Moothart obsessed over and poured all his conflicting emotions into.

Jay Arner may be something of a misanthrope, but he cares enough to make great pop records for the world at large, and Jay II's juxtaposition of form and content only makes its pleasures more intriguing.

Most bands really want everyone to know how extremely hard they are struggling to create their art, but with these guys it feels like they just showed up at the studio and started playing, and the album magically was done. It's an approach that might not work for everyone, but so far the guys in Hooten TC have pulled it off for the second time in a row.

Wild Cat is a wild ride from one of the best hard rock bands treading the boards today, and it's a fine introduction to their high-octane style and certain to please loyal fans.

Stace still has the lyrical facility and way with a melody that made Harding a potential Next Big Thing in the '90s, while also gaining some seasoning that shows he's not simply chasing past glories.

Be Here Now never loses sight of the bigger picture. It's a fist and an open palm, but it certainly knows which side it's on.

Many of these tracks have been released before, and there are few revelations for loyal fans, but Under Cöver is an enjoyable reminder of Motörhead's ability to bend any song to their will, even as they let some of the personality of the originals shine through.

The energy level is high and restless, in a near-permanent state of agitation, heightened with machine beats that judder and bounce, synthesizers that plink and probe, and Williams' animated protestations. The rollicking temperament gives all the material, and that includes "Don't Don't Do It!," regarding the fatal police shooting of Keith Scott, a replayable quality.

Equal part greasy, Sabbathy hymns ("Shipwreck," "Orca") that connect with the subtlety of a windpipe massage, and epic, semi-orchestral blasts of Spaghetti Western art-rock ("Curse of the Red Tide," "Ballad of the Deep Sea Diver"), Legend of the Seagullmen delivers all the thrills of a big-budget B-movie with the sonic might of a broadside cannon.

Through a Wall is as smart, powerful, and articulate--or simply as good--as punk rock gets in the 2010s.

At 13 tracks, and the more forgettable ones clustered in the second half, the album could have benefitted from some trimming, but it ends elegantly, with a reassuring title track that seems to promise further growth.