At times the songwriting just doesn't hold up to the inventive production, but there's plenty of ear candy to fill the gaps on this extremely fun LP.

Here and throughout A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip, Ron and Russel Mael riff on their history deftly, and the results are both timely and quintessentially Sparks.

Much of Reunions mirrors a troubled present, but "Letting You Go" finds room for hope and humanity, and it reinforces the themes of what may be Jason Isbell's strongest solo effort to date.

Like 2018's Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, All Visible Objects is a highlight in Moby's late-era catalog, a revitalization that serves both his passionately held beliefs and his core sound.

All the nuances of desire that Hadreas explores on Set My Heart on Fire, Immediately enhance the individuality of each song, as well as his own individuality -- and as he honors every part of his music and himself, he gives listeners another rich, densely packed album to savor.

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.

With Paradise Gardens, Dorval finds the strength to acknowledge darkness instead of feeling trapped by it, resulting in some of her most healing, self-empowering music.

While some fans may prefer the more escapist dancefloor jams that introduced them, Regresa showcases Buscabulla as a band who can work in virtually any situation and deliver a truly original sound that inspires the listener. We need more records like this.

PITH is a thrilling leap forward for the band that sees them hitting all the marks they hit so well on their debut and then leaping past them into new dimensions of sound and energy.

I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep has a despairing seductive power.

Even with the more tuneful tracks, the album has enough bizarre lyrical imagery, unexpected outbursts, and general freakiness to keep Man Man from losing the weirdness they built their sound on.

Too close to the original to be a worthy reinvention, and too flawed in execution to feel like a successful homage, although this will almost certainly remain the only Elvis tribute album to include a sample from Aleister Crowley, at least until Jimmy Page gets around to making one.

From the outset, Weight of the Sun feels less immediately accessible than Modern Studies' two previous albums and suffers a bit from its mid-tempo lull and more contemporary palette. Given some time to decant, however, it reveals hidden depths and more interesting layers than are at first apparent.

While the first two I Break Horses albums were heartfelt and promising, at times it felt like Lindén was looking for her true musical voice. On Warnings she finds it and has made a modern synth pop-meets-dream pop classic that is sure to melt the frozen heart of anyone lucky enough to discover it.

While there's certainly an audible sense of collaboration on Petals for Armor, it's Williams' ability to turn her dark, personal moments into anthems of survival that stick with you.

This collection is a nice gift for fans who wanted all these stray tracks gathered up in one easily accessible place and shows that Drake's cast-offs aren't far from his keepers and his minor moves are still worth following just in case he comes up with something genius. Nothing here quite rises to that level, but overall, it's a solid entry in his ever-growing catalog.

Songs for Pierre Chuvin is a rough-hewn gem that's a splendid throwback to the wild early days of the Mountain Goats, and it only took a pandemic to make it happen. It may not be that much of an upside, but that makes it no less welcome.

Outland is a bit more rhythmic and bass-heavy than his previous two albums. There's a much sharper bite to the way he uses distortion here, and the tracks with beats sound monstrous.

It isn't a major departure than his previous few records, but it is a bit punchier, delivering more of a jolt of electricity and replicating the energy of his live shows a bit more. The rhythms here are a bit tighter and more complex.

Ignatius isn't strictly about reflection, though. There's some lethal, laser-focused ferocity in the Pusha T collaboration "Huntin Season," grade-A boasts and signature cackles over looped Peabo Bryson in "Me," and streetwise sermonizing in "Gov't Cheese."

Fake's music has always been highly inventive and emotion-rich, but this is the most urgent and vital it's ever felt.

Whether compared to the progressions of Kirby's cross-continental inspirations (Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Andrew Hill, Yoshio Suzuki) or those of his nearest contemporaries (such as Garrett and Bremer/McCoy), My Garden is its own gratifying thing.

While it's not as brilliantly cohesive as Future Politics, Hirudin's exploration of losing someone and finding yourself sounds like the music Stelmanis had to make.

The Mother Stone falls into a busy and confusing tangle of parts that becomes exhausting after a while.

What's New, Tomboy? is another moving collection of American snapshots from the troubadour, if likely less memorable than his higher-contrast outings.

Pokey LaFarge is still working out the math on how to exist in more than one decade at a time, but Rock Bottom Rhapsody has more than enough good things in it that he's probably going to be just fine wherever he finally settles down.

City Burials is not a reinvention, but it does contain periodic re-engagement with the steely dynamics of heavy metal. Renkse's excellent songwriting, coupled with his best overall viocal performance, serve to energize Katatonia, who remain vitally creative in their third decade.

Toledo isn't the first artist to discover getting what you want isn't the same thing as getting what you were hoping for, and the cooler, more precise, and less cozy surfaces of Making a Door Less Open suit these songs well, the inorganic tone meshing with the alienation that permeates the album. Despite all that, the simple yet effective melodies that buoyed Car Seat Headrest's earlier work are still recognizable, and the sincere, foggy tone of Toledo's voice adds a humanity that makes his uncertainty cut even deeper.