Much like Lotic's astonishing Power, Death Becomes Her is an urgent, forward-thinking work which fearlessly celebrates nonconformity while pushing the artist's innovative craft to a new level.

It's all really quite astounding. Neo-soul. Yep. That's what this is. And it's damn good. Soul, neo or not, is soul, and this guy has it.

Though there are hooks galore to be found on Flat-Pack Philosophy, the tempos have eased up a bit so that Diggle's and Shelley's guitar parts have more room to interact with one another.

There's almost a charm in the way Blondie push so hard: it's hard to think of another legacy act so determined to play a part of the modern musical dialogue without losing their identity. If they're not always successful, there's nevertheless something ingratiating about the ambition.

If Romance is an album about Cabello feeling loved and seen by someone else, it's just as much about her seeing and understanding herself as an artist.

On Wrong Creatures, it's refreshing to hear a band so wrought with spiritual and emotional demons find their rock & roll grace and let it rip.

A couple ballads are sonically lukewarm and lyrically platitudinal, but even so, this is easily the singer’s best work since The Heat.

Romano has always been a tough artist to pigeonhole, but there's a feeling here of having shed a few more layers and dug a little deeper into his psyche, and the results are frequently exhilarating.

The collection concludes with its title track, a dreamy blend of starry arpeggios and reflective yet buoyant pianos. A magnificent release from an act who have remained DFA's most reliable signing without ever sticking to a tried-and-true formula.

Where Stevens and Peel Dream go wrong is by not adding anything distinctive or interesting to the mix. All that's left is a nostalgia trip that comes across like the Rutles minus the jokes or Beatlemania minus the mania. Somehow Agitprop Alterna is even more pleasantly derivative than their first album, and that's saying a lot!

Cudi wrestles with the same struggles that have plagued him since he began sharing the complexities of his internal world, but at its best, Man on the Moon, Vol 3: The Chosen shows that years of struggle have yielded substantial growth.

The album's 17 tracks address subject matter including breakups, grief, and struggles with mental health with a mix of pop, R&B, and alternative stylings and song titles like "Good in Goodbye," "Sour Times," and "Stay Numb and Carry On.

Blade of the Ronin comes shockingly close to the sound and the excitement of their 2001 effort The Cold Vein, and offers the same kind of combination of street knowledge and sweet punch lines, all delivered over rickety yet compelling beats.

Walker plays it exceedingly straight, even when he's delivering good-time numbers like "Kit Kat Jam." This po-faced sincerity winds up underscoring Walker's debt to Dave Matthews Band--they now seem like a clear influence on his adventurous folk-jazz--while also highlighting the imagination behind the original set of songs.

It's almost one high point after another.

As an album, Gumption meanders quite a bit, occasionally to the point of feeling detached, but its glimmers of gold make for an ultimately compelling listen.

Naturally, what is first alluring about Avonmore is its feel--it's meant to be seductive--but the songs are what makes this record something more than a fling.

It's good that he decided to stretch his creative muscles a little on You're Welcome. It's even better that he came up with a smart and compulsively listenable update on the Wavves sound that kept all their rambunctious energy, but also added some fun tricks and treats.

More polished and refined than the EPs, Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion (named in honor of an obscure Mr. T movie) skillfully walks the grey area between mainstream and underground, spit-shining frontwoman May Kay's effortless pop smarts without losing sight of their zany outsider appeal.

I Can Wonder What You Did with Your Day is a solid addition to the catalog of one of the best underrated singer/songwriters around.

Inclusions is not an album for any typical audience, though those with more esoteric and adventurous tastes may embrace it.

He sounds at peace with his past and comfortable with his present, and that casual assurance makes Songbook his best solo offering to date.

Brain Pulse Music is the most traditional album Batoh has recorded, as well as the most radical and fascinating.

A (largely instrumental) record that's considerably more sophisticated, atmospheric, and arty than some of his professed inspirations.

A nifty encapsulation of the group's style and attributes--the Killers cannily use the singles-centric conceit to showcase the band at their overblown best, emphasizing their arena-sized neo-new wave just slightly over their Springsteenisms

They've made a good career out of mixing the tongue-in-cheek with the truth, and Stoke Extinguisher is another in a long line of solid releases from a band that's made drifting between not caring at all and caring too much into an art form.

The EP that preceded this album set the marker high for the Norwegian quintet, but they more than deliver here with a brave and diverse collection of songs.

The EP leads with a pair of sludgy pysch jams, decelerates for the slightly abrasive "drumless space" of "Coma," and closes with the side-long "Radial," which begins and ends with shifting drones that flank seven minutes of searing menace that recall early, "the Can"-era Can.