Allan had a hand in co-writing five of the songs on Get Off on the Pain, which will likely go down as one of the best albums of his career.

While nowhere near as accessible or crowd-pleasing as the first A.A.L. album, 2017 - 2019 is a compelling mixture of anger and beauty, and one of Jaar's strongest efforts.

Made Out of Sound is their third studio album together, following 2018's acclaimed Brace Up!, and it's their most refined collaboration to date.

Aptly named, Ultrapop administers a constant barrage of sonic information that shows no delineation between discomfort, reassurance, pain, or pleasure.

For all its sharp turns, 333 has a fluidity and high level of conviction that Tinashe's previous full-lengths lack.

While melodies are largely stagnant on Sling, and lyrics swing between grievance and self-realization (occasional stand-out turns of phrase include the opening lyrics, "I'm stepping inside a universe designed against my own beauties"), the album's ruminative internal atmospheres are its defining -- and likely haunting -- strength.

It's when the band is in full swing that Oldham sounds tuned-in and excited (even giddy) to be crafting the kind of classic country record that he's enjoyed so much himself. The depth of the production helps deliver this feeling, elevating the sound of The Purple Bird to a place where all of its carefully placed details and rusty joy can be clearly heard, and even more markedly felt.

With one quick spin, it's clear that it was a move he needed to make and he did it with all the flair and style of a true sonic wizard. It was always a known factor that Lerche could write songs that could break a heart--and suddenly he can wrap them in sounds that will thrill and amaze.

The Shepherd's Dog goes a long way towards validating all the attention I&W have been getting; it's their best, most diverse and listenable record yet as Beam and co. take another leap away from the lo-fi one dude in a bedroom beginnings of the group.

Akoma represents another impressive step in Jlin's remarkable evolution as an artist.

Nothing is as volcanic as "Bank Head" or as rush-inducing as "Rewind"--two past gems--but these hyperballads and zero-gravity jams always stimulate, covering a broader spectrum of emotional states with deeper resonance.

Though Sour Cherry Bell delves into gloomier, more despairing moods than Precious Systems, it maintains a balance through radiant energy and never descends into overpowering hopelessness.

Her concentration on an especially brutal historical subject makes it one of her most bracing works, and it becomes more compelling and powerful with increased intention and awareness.

With its artful use of nostalgia and fantasy, not to escape reality but to inspire a better one, Purity Ring is an undeniable level-up.

It's the group's maturity as musicians as well as songwriters that make Transatlanticism such a decadently good listen from start to finish.

Even though it's a lengthy journey and some of the songs start to feel similar, nothing here is filler.

He really is pouring everything he has into the whole thing, but there's so much overly earnest, reverential, "let's get back to making real music" energy floating around that you can sense it nibbling away at the desire to make something that sounds like today.

While not an essential album for fans of Big Thief, admirers of Lenker's solo work will find another reliably solid, touching set of songs here, and the instrumentals may offer ambient comfort for late, late nights or the sequestered.

The album continues developing the language that Caribou has been working on for years, branching out from the clubby spirit and melancholic reflection of recent albums for more lighthearted sonic atmospheres.

The Healer is an emotionally draining experience, like all of SUMAC's other releases, but it reaches transcendence in a unique and powerful way.

Dance of Love feels like a chapter, not an extension, and that's what makes it such a fresh and enjoyable listen.

Second Hand Heart is prime Dwight Yoakam: traditional yet modern, flashy yet modest, a record that feels fresh but also like a forgotten classic.

An excellent, unexpected, and infectious triumph.

A U R O R A is dark, dreadful, and dramatic; it is also a masterpiece.

Taken in as a small cache of excellent songs by three of the more talented songwriters of their era, Boygenius is a wonderful starting point, setting the scene for future collaborations that push into places each member couldn't get to on her own.

No filler and a logical running order makes Tronic an instantly satisfying effort, an album to return to, and maybe the best entry point to a discography already filled with vital material.

Ultimately, Modern Vampires of the City is more thoughtful than it is dark, balancing its more serious moments with a lighter touch and more confidence than they've shown before.

Eternal Sunshine is Grande in peak form, a magical maturation that is elevated, resilient, and confidently restrained.