There's a confidence in her vocal performances that reflects the album's spirit: She's comfortable following her obsessions and idiosyncrasies to their logical end, resulting in a record that comforts and challenges in equal measure.

Wainwright's growth as a composer/arranger and his experiences in the classical realm are apparent here. Though, to his credit as a tunesmith, his words and melodies remain center stage.

The Waterfall II offers no clues as to where My Morning Jacket might be headed, but as a document of what they were capable of in the studio, it's consistent, well-structured, and satisfying in a way the original was not.

A potent 11-song set that injects the genre's key trope of overcoming adversity with some considerable gravitas.

In attempting to strike a balance between the raw, emo-punk approach of their debut with the more streamlined indie rock of Natural, Everyday Degradation, they've revealed that their biggest problem isn't settling on an identifiable sound, it's their inability to write a truly memorable song.

As dark and tonally blistering as anything they did in their early years, Inlet essentially finds Hum picking up where they left off in 1998.

Bigger Love sounds cobbled together compared to Love in the Future and Darkness and Light, two of his most recent and inspired albums, with opportunistic and unconvincing stylistic curveballs, no two tracks sharing the same production credits, and few clear standouts.

Sprawling and intimate, breezy and affecting, Women in Music Pt. III is a low-key triumph.

Filled with bouncy riffs, sweet harmonies, anxiety, and kindness, Jump Rope Gazers confirms that the Beths are good at slower, more reflective songs, too, though there's plenty of spark to carry listeners through.

Like the figurative road of its title, Transfiguration Highway follows a winding path with an emphasis on the journey rather than a destination.

Years is a bit more ornate than most Anderson records, yet the layers of guitars and keyboards give the vocalist a rich, sympathetic bed to sing with nuance and grace. His performance, combined with the elegant sweep of Auerbach's production and the emotive songs, turn Years into a minor latter-day masterpiece from the country singer.

What's different about On Sunset is that expansive hybrid of electronic and R&B, a fusion colored by just enough experimentation and craft to make the album feel fresh and distinctly belonging to Weller.

A.A. Williams' ambitious blend of post-rock, folk, goth, metal, and classical ingredients deserves as wide a hearing as it gets, and Forever Blue is a uniquely effective debut album.

Though it's very different from Dream Wife, So When You Gonna… is just as genuine, and the duality in Dream Wife's music only makes them a more interesting, and more relevant, band.

First Rose of Spring is sweet and elegiac, a record that sways gently in the breeze, only picking up its pace when it's time to swing through a cover of Jimmy Dean's "Just Bummin' Around." Original songs are few and far between here.

A gift for those who loved Chester, Amends is a lovingly crafted tribute, adding a bittersweet chapter to his musical legacy that brings his past and present full-circle.

Keleketla! is a powerful combination of activism and musical exploration, bonding the sounds of several locations and eras in order to express messages of joy, optimism, and revolution.

Tracing the emotional arc of the album, a couple of calmer interludes lead into the crashing splendor of "If...." and the brooding shoegaze turbulence of "Is That What You Wanted to Hear?" The glacial drift of "Forget the Credits" feels like all of the previous songs' stress has been released as a balloon, and it feels fine to just lay back and free one's self of all burdens, now that it's all over.

Domesticated is a low-key album by Tellier's standards, but it captures the feeling that settling down is something to be savored, and it's got to be the most glamorous-sounding album about home sweet home.

Naeem's debut album, Startisha, is beautiful and reaching.

It's hard to believe that after two decades together as a band Peter Bjorn and John are still making records as intense, energetic, inventive, and vital as Endless Dream.

The barebones numbers are solid and Townes carries them, but The Lemonade Stand truly kicks when it's at its poppiest, as on the exuberant "Come as You Are" and "White Horse."

All of these cuts are loose, clever, and inspired, and they make for one of Lund's liveliest records.

It's not an ambitious album, nor one of Hayman's best, but it's as cozy and welcoming as its title suggests.

Warbled, atmospheric electronics eventually expand the sound design, as do subsequent tracks, like the bright, harmonic full-band pop of second track "Unready" and the lush, shimmery "Limits," whose arrangement includes scuttling electronic drums. The sparer tracks are where Gordi really excels, though.

None eclipse "Request" off VII, but the Kehlani collaboration "Morning" is a seductive delight, while the snaking (and accurately titled) "Boomin" is a treat for lovers of late-'90s R&B with explicit references to Blaque and much of the Swing Mob (plus an appearance from the latter's Missy Elliott). Confident diversions into breezy Afro-pop and underwater dancehall lead to a half-hour stretch covering various romantic woes.

The individual tunes hold their own, but Monovision is a record where the whole means more than the individual numbers, since LaMontagne strikes a very specific mood -- one that's reassuring, even soothing -- and then manages to sustain it until the end.

Even when they slow down, there's a lot of excitement in Pottery's music. Though they frequently threaten to steamroll over anyone within earshot of Welcome to Bobby's Motel, the band have so much fun that their listeners probably won't mind.