If there's any bone to pick, it's that some of the slower, more atmospheric numbers don't quite gel as well as the rest of the tracks. Still, the high points make Cutouts every bit as worthy of devoted listening as the first two Smile albums.

Revelator is a roots record that sets a modern standard even as it draws its inspiration from the past. It's got everything a listener could want: grit, groove, raw, spiritual emotion, and expert-level musical truth.

Punctuated by DJ Khalab (and Baba Sissoko)'s rolling and disorienting "Kumu," this is Dear's funnest and oddest mix yet.

If Forever Blue was a great debut, As the Moon Rests is a very good follow-up, and leaves no doubt that A.A. Williams is a remarkable talent who is still honoring her singular vision.

The appeal in this refurbished soft rock lies in the atmosphere and supple interplay, how the musicians twist melodic clichés without refuting their power, an execution that mirrors how Webster writes songs that feel slightly off-center: she delivers subtle surprises without neglecting basic pop pleasures.

While it may not be the proper sequel to the ambitious Charli, how i'm feeling now's rawness and immediacy give it an appeal all its own. More than just an interesting social media experiment or a way to fend off quarantine boredom, it's an artistic challenge that's true to the very best parts of XCX's music.

Between the steady maturation displayed by those ensuing color-coded works and the quantity of songs here, both undeniably infectious and innovative, many more fans are bound to embark on the Georgians' strange, strange ride.

Homme has marshaled all of his strengths on ...Like Clockwork and has found a way forward, a way to deepen his music without compromising his identity.

It's a record where Lady Gaga can join in for a six-minute slow-burner styled after prime Faces ("Find Yourself") and feel at home because this is a place where anybody is invited just as long as they share the same vibe. And, as a listener, if you happen to share that vibe, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real is a pure pleasure.

Poised and spacious, warm and inclusive, and highly provoked, Stonechild is another memorable addition to Hoop's discography.

It's another extremely strong effort for McKenna, whose growing catalog is already known for its quality.

Even at its most wounded and immediate, the cavernous "Riverbed" and the spooky yet oddly comforting "Passions," there is a rich vein of humanity that remains tapped into.

The record is so personal that the only one able to understand every layer is Hynes himself. As a result, Freetown Sound can come across as weighty, indecipherable chaos to some. But for anyone who can relate to him on some level, it's hard not to be in awe of a man as complicated as Devonté Hynes being able to compose such an insightful, personal experience.

While not the project's most mind-bending or boundary-pushing album, it’s their most stunningly gorgeous, and a successful, timely countermeasure to the symbolic cover art depicting a rainbow in flames.

The vocals, the songs, the music, and the production work together to make Singles a one-of-a-kind experience that's nearly perfect.

The art never gets too over-indulgent and it never gets in the way of the songs.

Ultimately, the disc is a mix of Afrocentrifugal explosiveness -- not only from the music, but also from her powerful lyrics that make the political personal and the personal political.

Read & Burn 02 shares its predecessor's hit-and-run aesthetic: it's a post-industrial punk rock barrage of buzzing, stinging guitars; chunky bass lines; and clockwork beats littered with terse, strangled vocals that fall somewhere between bolshy, pre-brawl aggression and football-terrace chants.

Red Devil Dawn is a welcome masterpiece of emotional subtleties -- the great record that Crooked Fingers missed the mark on with 2001's drunken, bluesy and somewhat disappointing Bring On the Snakes.

Neko Case has crafted an album whose quiet drift only adds to its power; it's hard to say if hanging out with Nick Cave on tour had much of an influence on her, but this disc sounds a bit like Case's version of The Boatman's Call, a personal exploration of the heart and soul that proves sad and beautiful can often walk hand in hand.

Go-Betweens fans should be very happy with Bright Yellow Bright Orange and glad the band has decided to stay together and continue to make smart, exciting adult pop music.

Though some of the thrashier songs like "C.Q." and "T.K." and a bottom-heavy song sequence detract from the album's flow, Internal Wrangler is still a strong debut from one of England's most promising and distinctive indie bands.

Rhys' words may be filled with dread but his music offers solace in its deftly executed songcraft and reassuring soft focus, which means Babelsberg can soothe the very emotions it stirs up.

Qualm generally shifts away from the Drexciyan melodies of Discreet Desires, but it's just as precisely focused as that album, and anyone who has enjoyed her prior recordings or Hauff's unrelenting DJ sets should enjoy this one as well.

The album offers a lighter and mellower reading of Bonnie "Prince" Billy as he walks further down a perpetually twisting path with each new set of songs.

McDonald's songwriting is melodic and bittersweet, more often than not tumbling into catharsis and wounded outrage midway through. There's an intense magnetism to her vocals as she wields her emotional sword, channeling vulnerability and danger into something unpredictable and uncomfortably human.

Arthur is in a class of his own and Our Shadows Will Remain is a monstrous, memorable outing, his finest moment in a career that is thus far full of them.

A fine, emotional and heartfelt effort from Marsalis, one of his best since "Requiem," it faithfully pays tribute to those late heroes like Alvin Batiste, Michael Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Redman, Max Roach, Willie Turbinton, et. al., while also staying true to himself.