This is essentially a thinking man's album, though, more indicative of the band's breadth than its ability to make hit singles.

Without taking a breath or leaving room to rest, Only Things We Love throbs and pulses its way through the shadows, a hook-heavy romp for dance-loving misfits.

This is a hip-hop-flavored club effort of Elephunk proportions and another high-water mark for the don of pop-rap's glitter dome.

It's not essential Pernice by any stretch, but as a soundtrack to the novel, it works just fine, and its relaxed charm makes it worth hearing even if you don't read the book and are just a fan of the man's music.

Aiming for an even wider international audience, the English-heavy Born Pink matures BlackPink with stronger production, more personal lyrics, and a bold conviction that cannot be contained.

It's a fun album for fanatics, but the willingness to shock feels too comfortable at this point, so those who found it tiresome before will likely find it devastating here.

Touch has a better batch of songs than All I Have.

Mirrorwriting is an encouraging first offering which should neatly fill the spacious, indie R&B gap until the XX's next record comes along, but if it could have sustained the quality of its opening six tracks, it could have been much better.

Whatever the case may be, what's left is a record with some promise but too many flaws to be truly enjoyable.

As immediate as Life and Times isn't nearly as diamond-hard as "Copper Blue," which is a great part of its appeal: it flows naturally, the music never pushes, it settles, comfortable in its own skin.

A relatively disjointed assembly of tracks seemingly drawn from working folders labeled like "athletic anthems," "theatrical intros and interludes," "almost pop," "space ballads," and "misc."

While Wilson's always refreshingly brash as a vocalist, the arrangements are only satisfactory.

When Human Again ditches the feel-good stuff and goes straight into drama-queen territory, though, it feels like we're finally getting to watch Michaelson come to grips with her broken heart, realizing that the only way to make things better is to fix the damn thing herself.

Like strangers arguing in public or a weary couple who went out to dinner just to break up loudly in the restaurant, Acousmatic Sorcery offers a similar, sometimes unbearably honest look into a very personal world.

If there's a flaw here, it's that there's little change from song to song in pace and approach, but then, this is a duo built around simply hitting the pedal and going, clattering and thundering along, impossible to ignore.

Going by the level of potential shown here, it's evident that Cara will eventually need a lot less creative assistance.

After a unifying, spirit-lifting house warm-up that almost sounds live enough to have been recorded at a small loft party, Something Like a War gets down to private business. Vulnerability, patience, action, and uninhibited expression are all upheld as imperatives for intimacy.

From Zero is a decent effort that contains all the band's hallmarks, even if it's not the exact same Linkin Park that is known and loved.

A house party celebrating Snoop's whole career.

If Future had simply focused on these standouts, The Wizrd could be impeccable. However, given its runtime and filler moments, this remains yet another serviceable trap buffet that would benefit from some trimming to maximize impact and allure.

Though the first two volumes of Meet the Woo lacked the bombast of Smoke's iconic singles, they demonstrated candor in their representation of the drill heavyweight; SFTSAFTM, by contrast, tarnishes the rapper's visionary style with predatory glitz as everyone jumps for a piece of the pie.

This ambitious use of resources and influences could very easily end up creating an album that sounded severely disjointed, even incoherent, but k-os is able to make something that, despite the diversity between tracks, works very much as a whole.

Admittedly, his embrace of slick pop aesthetics, Rat Pack swagger, and cheeky turns of phrase can be a bit much on first listen. But that being said, when it's backed with a strong hook and just a modicum of earnest emotion, as on the sanguine club jam "Hey Look Ma, I Made It," it's hard to deny.

It's an impressive and formidable debut, one that begs for analogies to the glaciers, jagged landscapes, and northern lights of her native country.

The musicians find a common ground within the eerie mysteries of old folk tunes and turn those strange sounds into something reassuring, if not quite comforting.

When We Stay Alive captures every nuance of Leaneagh's journey with unflinching honesty.

It crash-lands, abruptly ending an album that, depending on the amount of time spent with it, will seem either fragmentary and hollow or fathoms deep--either a trifle or among the group's most remarkable work.

Only Built for Infinity Links is an energetic, fun, and multifaceted project from Migos members Quavo and Takeoff that stays lively and keeps away from the type of filler that can drag down mainstream rap albums and mixtapes.