Despite its varying sonic proclivities, Modern Ruin is a punk album at heart, but that Carter ends this latest salvo with hope for a better, more empathy-driven future for his child shows that he's capable of more than just mosh pit-inducing invective.

If they remain a little constrained by their formalism--they're so determined to be part of a tradition they can often be swallowed by it--it's nevertheless hard not to admire their ambition.

All of it adds up to an album that feels quietly hopeful, making it a tonic for troubled times.

This is a celebration, both of the group's past and its inspired present, and that is more than enough to make this a worthwhile live album.

Terrifying and violent, Wake in Fright is a perfectly logical response to the state of the world.

Slightly disjointed and lopsided, Myths 002 is nevertheless a fun, worthwhile venture.

The 2017 installment of Kompakt's ever-reliable Pop Ambient series serves up a typical assortment of wintry, occasionally somber, always reflective ambient pieces.

Undoubtedly, these re-workings are a deliberate gesture to signal the 20-year gap that now finds our heroes in middle-age. ... Being the filmmaker that he is, Danny Boyle was never going to allow the music to be entirely nostalgic, and one of his most inspired contemporary picks is Fat White Family.

A lot of the album feels inspired by the Ghostwriting project, and while he's definitely injected himself into the songs, it feels oddly detached and writerly, as if he's taking pains to create a buffer zone of distance between his real feelings and the listener.

It's easily the meatiest the band has sounded to date, but it doesn't deviate from the punishing, aural miasma that Pissed Jeans have been stewing in since their 2006 debut.

New Spirit's shifts from experimental to pop and back again aren't always smooth, but they prove once again that PVT's unpredictability is reliably fascinating.

Iron Reagan may be kidding some of the time, but when it comes to the music, they're not joking even a tiny bit, and Crossover Ministry will give your ears the swift kick they've been dreaming of.

Following the stripped-down, melancholy electro-R&B of his 2015 album Midnight Snack, Homeshake's Peter Sagar expands on this sound with the less weird, more refined Fresh Air.

With its environmental sound and complementary lyrics, Mowing seems to encourage daydreaming, even verbally acknowledging a return to reality when airport noise invades the closing track. Regrettably, hammock not included.

While I Decided. may not light up the club like his past efforts, it shines a different, more nurturing light onto deeper parts of his soul.

The stylistic switch-ups are clever and effective without coming across as forcefully out of character.

The slowly paced synth waves and soft bass pulsations of "Breath" close out this enjoyable album.

This is as enjoyable as the duo's debut, another set that rewards deep listening for those with an affinity for Eno/Moebius/Roedelius, Global Communication, the Detroit Escalator Co., and the tranquil aspects of Kompakt's Pop Ambient series.

Fans who have been following Black Joe Lewis' career since his 2007 debut album will find a lot of what they like on Backlash. But there's also enough that's fresh, tough, and challenging to remind listeners that Lewis is still moving forward, putting a modern-day perspective on the tropes of classic soul and R&B.

Showalter and producer Nicolas Vernhes find a nice balance between the rawness of the production and the meatiness of its execution, and allow the classic rock underpinnings that were so prevalent on Heal to continue to rise to the forefront.

She's created a cool, sensual sound for Close Your Eyes, spinning off of her signature subdued adult alternative pop but adding in significant elements of electronica, particularly an echo of trip-hop past.

The mild growth and light sophistication they show in spots doesn't make the record any less of a rollicking good time. Just like they have since their early days, the Orwells bring the songs, the suds, and the knuckleheaded energy to the party.

In Between is usually quiet, but it's never cautious; this is very much the work of one of America's best and most venerable independent bands, and it confirms the Feelies are still a genuine creative force as they approach their 40th anniversary.

On the whole a solid set of songs, the album's influences play out consistently across a wistfully romantic atmosphere that should appeal to both lovers and the lonelyhearted.

It's not Crass, the Clash, or the Pistols, but it's certainly of its generation.

Produced by Manfred Eicher, Elegy fits ECM's aesthetic to a T. More than that, however, it reveals Bleckmann's creative authority as he searches the limits of both sound and silence for an expression that utters its own name. The album is a gentle wonder; it bodes well for an enduring relationship between artist and label.

Here, production is the star, adding excitement and variety to Future's reliable, trap-star flow. 808 Mafia's Southside is at the top of the pack, with a hand in at least half of the album's tracks.

The grim truths and fantastical tales are almost equally vivid.