It's a record that gets by on feel, not songs, which may mean that it doesn't provide many distinguishing hooks, but it does sound awfully good as it plays.

Neither as radically charged or emotionally turbulent as her debut, At the Party is still an engaging listen whose charms come by way of connection and compassion rather than discord.

The benevolent spirit in ["HER Love"] and almost all of the other tracks makes the strong-arming "Hercules" and the retribution tale "Fifth Story" seem like misplaced throw-ins.

The band rounds out the album with more familiar-sounding songs like "Stranger in a New Town" and "Good Night Out," but it's Powers' riskier, more revealing moments that prove the Futureheads have more to say than ever before.

Running a leisurely 75 minutes, Threads doesn't seem sequenced so much as unedited; it's as if instead of finishing the album, she decided to dump every track out into the marketplace. This makes for a somewhat somnolent record, but it's better to think of it as not a complete meal but rather a buffet that contains something to please every palette.

Delivers a punitive amalgam of classic West Coast thrash and bruising groove metal.

It's a roller coaster of conflicting moods and feelings.

Brighter Days is a bit tidier and less adventurous than 2017's Got Soul, but it captures the heart and soul of Robert Randolph & the Family Band as well as their big, bold sound, and the results are strong, satisfying stuff.

The album maintains the smouldering quality that Lower Dens have always had, but replaces all the washed-out splendor with exacting pop hooks borrowed straight from the Reagan era. It ends up being both the headiest and most commercial material the band has created. It’s a different beast from their earlier iterations, but a compelling remodelling with interlocking layers of both sound and cultural critique.

Familiar in style and approach, Engine of Paradise offers a sturdy distillation of Green's worldview, albeit a slightly darker one.

While Ma isn't the most eclectic chapter of Banhart's work, it's an inspired and wide-reaching collection that goes all over the place without ever losing track of his restless creative vision.

Gallagher isn't as potent a personality as he was a quarter-century earlier, but his middle-aged control has its charms, too. He sounds relaxed on Why Me? Why Not., maybe for the first time ever.

Even if it occasionally borders on being too indulgent, Metronomy Forever still gets at the contradictions and surprises that have always made their music special.

With Charli, she attempts to capture the spontaneity of those releases [Number 1 Angel and Pop 2] in a more polished format; more often than not, she succeeds.

Beneath the Eyrie isn't just the best Pixies 2.0 album to date -- it suggests they just might be stepping out of the shadow of their legendary past.

Another State of Grace isn't as immediately satisfying as its predecessor, but like all things built with care, it attains a golden patina over time.

It can be difficult to digest the combination of super-catchy pop hooks and shocking or gross lyrics on Miami Memory, but both are essential for the complex, cynical fiction Cameron has been building on all his albums. This one is the best produced, most catchy, and most vulgar of his catalog up until this point.

Strong hooks abound on a true collaborative effort that officially passes the mantle to trad rock.

Rappers Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot break up their unhinged, nasal flows with moments of jubilant soul harmonies ("Top Down"), bounding upbeat acid jazz instrumentation ("Blue Moon"), darkly experimental beats ("Avenue"), and different approaches and coloring on almost every track.

While Nine is by no means a dour emo record, it carries enough emotional heft to elevate it as one of blink-182's strongest late-era efforts, one that matures the typical blink sound with its commitment to vulnerability and honesty.

The amount of detail and craft that goes into Efterklang's music is deeply appealing and, slow moving as it may be, listening to Altid Sammen in its entirety is time well spent.

Not a game-changing comeback by any means, Cause and Effect is instead a satisfying return to form that manages to gracefully age Keane by invigorating a familiar formula with wisdom and honesty learned over a dramatic, life-changing decade.

It's a soothing and inspiring listen, especially for fans who love vintage sounds and period details as much as Gonzalez does.

Roberts' body of work is consistent enough that The Fiery Margin doesn't necessarily stand out, at least in comparison to his traditionally oriented work as opposed to more experimental efforts such as 2018's What News. But as an acoustic artist exploring the lineage of Scottish folk, he's a major talent, and this album captures him in splendid form.

As Lo puts her stamp on all of Sunshine Kitty's different sounds and emotions, there's a breeziness that hasn't been present in her music since Queen of the Clouds.

Turn to Clear View isn’t as ear-opening as other dates Armon-Jones had a big role in this year -- namely, Ezra Collective's You Can't Steal My Joy and Binker Golding's completely unhinged Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers. That said, it's a fitting addendum to the sound explored on Starting Today and well worth repeated listening.

III moves at a deliberate, nearly dreary pace that forces a listener to pay attention, and while it can take some effort to meet the Lumineers on their own terms, it's nevertheless easy to admire the ambition behind the project.

Neither as endearingly fragile nor as transcendently healing as his previous two volumes, Abundance is nonetheless a fulfilling and soulful work, worthy of the Red River Dialect canon.