A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole stands in a direct line behind the rest of DePlume's catalog and brings his spiritual and creative worlds together. It's a brave record that confronts pain while embraces it with humility, acceptance, and yes, vulnerability.

Parasomnia is solid. It channels the band's storied past as well as their current more complex, forward-thinking compositional style with only a few rough edges.

A little refinement in the writing room might be appreciated in the long term, but it's clear that JENNIE has the vision to deliver something spectacular.

If Moonlight Concessions doesn't quite hit the heights of Clear Pond Road, Sun Racket, and Black Pearl, it's still a worthwhile listen -- and reaffirms just how high the bar is when it comes to Hersh's music.

Music is a cyclone of weird turns, big ideas, and choices that don't really make sense together, but are still somehow enjoyable under the banner of blissful confusion that Playboi Carti has made his brand from the start.

"Protest with Love" sounds like his attempt at a radio-ready R&B song, as he sings a simple message of love and perseverance over a sensuous groove. He sings of making the world a better place and turning nothing into something on "The Burden," and he praises the uplifting powers of music on "Strength of a Song." Still, there are moments of harshness.

Assured 11-song set.

Some tracks are easier to digest than others, and the frenzied energy of much of the album might make Dan's Boogie a less-than-ideal starting point for new fans. Paradoxically, some moments here (in particular "Cataract Time") rank among the best work in his catalog.

Moneyball sounds both auspicious and like the 11th album from an unearthed Stephen Malkmus project at the same time, and it's hard to imagine they won't have more music on the way.

There are still some hilarious bon mots to be found throughout, but now there's a sense of maturity and creative evolution that's starting to creep over Justin Hawkins and the gang, adding depth to their catalog whether they intended it or not.

There's not much to latch onto here by way of hooks, but the atmosphere is thick and immaculate.

Akpro sounds like he's still finding himself, but his first album is an evocative mixture of nocturnal city scenes and youthful expression, and there's no telling where he'll go from here.

These two songs ["The Rose of Laura Nyro" and "Never Too Late"] don't ruin the album, though, and no doubt fans of both artists will embrace this project as a great idea that, for the most part, works really well. A little more restraint and a little more Elton taking the lead vocals, and the "most part" could have been stricken from that sentence.

Like Hopper's grand film maudit The Last Movie, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper doesn't quite manage a satisfying ending, but what it delivers along the way is impassioned, literate, and daring, and it's more than worthy of repeated listening.

Bateh's voice sounds a bit more worn and weary, not unlike latter-day Nick Cave, and it feels like there's an increase in electronic textures, but otherwise the band is sticking to their stock-in-trade, down to writing melodies which sound familiar to their body of work. That said, there is more of a conceptual storyline to this album, involving a character named Elena and the man who murdered her boyfriend.

The Velveteers are getting better at what they do, and A Million Knives captures that well, but they still sound best when they let their swaggering rock attitude do the talking.

They tweak their sound in ways that seem to reflect emotional complexity while strengthening hooks and riffs, at least on the more memorable tunes.

The result exists in a middle ground between the band's artful indie rock and a contemporary classical suite. If you like Dirty Projectors, chances are you'll enjoy Song of the Earth, but this music lacks the immediacy and insistent pulse of the band's best work.

After over four decades, the Melvins still sound utterly uncompromised and full of swampy vigor, and Thunderball confirms they haven't finished challenging themselves or their audience, not by a long shot.

Selected Recordings from Grapefruit is heady and highly conceptual, but the Great Learning Orchestra does a good job of understanding the spirit of Ono's texts and honoring all of the loving kindness, curiosity, sprightliness, and righteous resistance of the book.

Everything Must Go pushes the group's creative boundaries while maintaining the relatable songcraft and inclusive vibes that have helped build Goose a loyal fan base.

Suzanne Vega is an artist who was built for the long haul, and Flying With Angels is impressive and satisfying in its craft and distinctive outlook – her songs made her stand out from her peers in 1985, and they still do in 2025.

Often earnest, anguished, and euphoric, Ten Crowns delivers the catharsis while keeping it real, so the occasional clunky lyric or corny dance trope can be -- in line with the album's themes -- forgiven, especially when it's intentional.

It may not be as consistent as some of their other albums, but there's still quite a bit of Sparks' witty tale-spinning for fans to enjoy.

Even as Low’s sound twisted into new forms over the years, they never quite got into bluegrass territory, and it takes a few songs to acclimate to the combination of high-spirited acoustic music and Sparhawk’s emotionally powerful but usually subtle style.

2 has come off as just a bit too haphazard and like editing practice to be fully immersive; but its bittersweetness and unusual, playful spontaneity are, like Shauf, not with their charms.

The piece is essentially a longform space lullaby, and it's as soothing and tranquil as one could imagine.

Talkin To The Trees is another album of Neil Young doing what he felt like doing in the moment, and if it's flawed, after sixty years of record making, no one with any sense would want him any other way.