Though Never Enough certainly succeeds in providing classic infectious rock that sidesteps the often formulaic glaze of contemporary pop, above all else, it's just great fun.

Become Zero is a stunning album that takes Helen Money's already otherworldly, highly accomplished sound to fascinating new levels.

What began as an extension of post-Phil Lynott-era Thin Lizzy has become something far more nuanced, and with three solid studio albums now in their rear-view mirror, it would seem that Black Star Riders have successfully managed to embrace the past without losing themselves in it.

Uyai is a fine, boundary-pushing follow-up to an arresting debut.

While it's stylistically no great departure from his earlier output, it feels like the logical next destination on his journey.

The Silver Globe was Weaver's coming-out party; Modern Kosmology serves notice that she's here to stay.

Hawkline's work up until now was strong, but this album is strong-plus. He's upped his already impressive game across the board, which makes I Romanticize his best album yet and some of the best guitar pop anyone is likely to hear in 2017.

Their call to arms isn't preachy; instead, righteous anger is refracted through the lens of empathy. It is also a fresh reboot of the band's sound, offering excellent songwriting and arrangements; it sounds more like a group effort than anything they've released.

Supported by the Hi Rhythm Section he sounds livelier and grittier than he has in years, and that passion serves as a nice counterpoint to the smooth grooves on Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm.

There is a wealth of brilliant pop on C88 ripe for the picking, enough to keep anyone smart enough to check it out satisfied for a long time, or at least until C89 arrives.

Ultimately, this is a soundtrack for an era of discovery that reflects the powerful desire of a generation striving to claim an identity of its own.

Dark Eyed Messenger is easily the songwriter's most intimate and sparsely decorated album thanks to assistance from Doveman. Their pairing amounts to a nearly alchemical wonder that gives us one of the songwriter's best offerings.

These are complex songs worthy of a band as rich as the Turnpike Troubadours, and both Felker and his group are at a peak on A Long Way from Your Heart.

While that's brief by 21st century standards, it's plenty and proper on a collection of songs framed in kinetic, inspired performances by one of the greatest soul bands to emerge in decades.

Trinity Lane is honest, well-crafted, and hits an emotional bulls-eye: it's Lilly Hiatt's strongest and most moving work to date.

Chris and Oliver Wood, along with jack-of-all-trades Jano Rix, have settled into the kind of easy groove that can only stem from spending the last decade or so enduring the myriad inside jokes and stale air of life on the road.

Daphne & Celeste may not save the world, but a listen to this album is sure to make the world a better place for about 45 minutes or so, and sometimes that's enough.

The artists take risks, and they--and the songbook--come out sounding the better for it.

The Siren's Song is perhaps a bit too gentle in its attack to make Kacy & Clayton stars, but anyone with an interest in modern-day folk music will be happily mesmerized by it.

If the decision to make Tunnel of Love, Human Touch, and In Concert into double LPs means they're slightly cumbersome listens, they nevertheless sound wonderful, and that's the ultimate reason for acquiring this box: these records have never sounded--or have been presented--better than they are here.

With What Heaven Is Like, Wussy have made it clear they're not giving up their status as one of America's greatest indie bands just yet, and this is another dark but compelling album that deserves your attention.

Powell tends to overwhelm on the suite of Ziggy Stardust numbers, painting everything with swathes of synths--but the performance is invigorating even with its flaws.

It may not have the classic status of Live at Leeds, but the group never sounded as explosive as it does here.

Maintaining a healthy balance of sunshine and rain, Don't Look Away is the best example yet of Tucker's singular approach to music.

KEN mode are masters of their craft, and this is easily the equal of anything from the heyday of the genre on labels like AmRep and Hydra Head. While the more casual listener will find this heavy going, fans of the band, and of noise rock in general, are going to be stoked.

Carefully considered and uniquely transportive, The Giant Who Ate Himself is yet another sterling example of Jones' guitar mastery.

Deaths is a seriously fiery album that pushes the temperature right to the point of flammability and further cements the band's place as one of the best noise bands of their era.

America's Child doesn't simply address the tumult in 2018 America, it stands as a vital statement of purpose from a modern blues singer who is beginning to hit her stride.