Taken together, the record's simple ballroom dance rhythms, memorable melodies, and nuanced performances are a recipe for pop confection, however unhappy.

Blood Red Roses is indeed a personal record, capturing the snazzy life of an aging old sap who to this day has never seen a dull moment.

At first this can feel less immediate than previous work, but much like Phosphorescent's winding journey, C'est La Vie burns slowly and leaves impressions both spiritual and sonic that merit repeat listens.

For all the excess and buildup, this exhibits Wayne on an upswing, lucid and invigorated.

While it does contain a few songs that could be split off and saved, it mainly goes to show that she makes for a better melancholy dream pop artist than a singer/songwriter with her toes dipped in Americana and soft soul.

Across the record, Lenker covers big emotions and small moments, noticing horse tails, eyelashes, and silences. The immediacy of the performances has the effect of eavesdropping on a late-night living room lament.

Instead of going big, the way he did on 2014's burly Outsiders, he's keeping things small, a decision that highlights the many savvy ways he expands American musical traditions even as he adheres to them. Perhaps these variations on themes are subtle but this confident sense of sonic adventure when combined with Church's expert craft results in a satisfying album.

Without losing any of the energetic fizz of their youth, Swearin' look honestly at their lives moving forward, arriving somewhere vulnerable yet impressively more confident than before.

Electric Messiah proves that High on Fire can still blow the unholy horn of plenty, and while fans will know just what to expect when dropping the stylus, that knowledge takes nothing away from the Epicurean pleasure of sidling up to a favorite feast.

The Window remains an intensely intimate listen, as if Salvant and Fortner are playing just for you.

This return to the Amory Wars concept is welcome. Even the few seemingly out of place moments are deliberate diversions to reward longtime fans. That said, in an era of renewed appreciation for prog metal in general, this offering should draw legions of new listeners.

As with any of Ashworth's albums, this is an excellent set of poignant narratives that speak directly to human emotions without romanticizing anything.

A confounder rather than a crowd-pleaser, Fabriclive 100 is nevertheless a highly thought-provoking glimpse into the minds of two brave individuals who think very differently than anyone else.

For what it's worth, buried beneath the posturing and obnoxiousness lies a glimmer of promise. However, Bhad Bhabie requires some polishing and maturity if she's ever going to grow beyond a mere novelty.

Continuing in the direction of Fred Thomas' previous two albums, the equally outstanding All Are Saved and Changer, Aftering is filled with vivid descriptions of particular moments from throughout the prolific songwriter's life, as well as more general encapsulations of the bleak, uncertain feelings clouding the landscape of late-2010s America.

This box winds up as a fitting tribute to a rocker whose touch was so casual, he could be easy to take for granted, but when his work is looked at as a whole, he seems like a giant.

Although there's nothing groundbreaking on this album, Young Romance is warm and pleasant from start to finish, ideal for sun-kissed afternoons and carefree nights.

Undeniably dark and haunting, Burn Slow succeeds in taking the listener far from the beaten path while living up to Liebing's artistic standards.

The songs are strong but the reason to listen to Bad Mouthin' is the performance, how White maintains his thick, heavy mood from beginning to end, always sounding compelling through the familiar changes.

That AAARTH feels cathartic comes as no surprise, as the trio have long been purveyors of both aural and emotional heft, but this time around they've managed to crystallize both aesthetics into something truly sublime, fulfilling the promise set forth on 2011's The Big Roar.

At once more deliberate and more liberated than their debut, with Obey Exploded View challenge their listeners to be as free as as their music sounds.

This is hardly the last word on Joe Strummer's music outside the Clash, but Joe Strummer 001 should convince any doubters that the man never stopped being a talent to be reckoned with, regardless of the size of his audience.

Come for the rage on Digital Garbage and stay for the rock. Both feel intense and purifying.

While For My Crimes contains her unmistakable signature in both songwriting and sound, as a whole it point to an open door for new possibilities to emerge in the future. It's sophisticated and emotionally arresting, it's among the finest offerings in her catalog.

It's just enough of an update to feel fresh, yet familiar enough to be nothing but a dose of glitzy, cheerful nostalgia.

Ultimately, superfans might be polarized by the experimental musings of Elephants on Acid, but those with some distance will find this curiously assembled collection pleasantly puzzling in its layers of trippy appeal. Something this unexpected from such an established act can't help but feel refreshing.

Konoyo takes several listens to fully appreciate, as do most Hecker releases, but it's another excellent example of the distinct mixture of bleakness and majesty which he excels at creating.

The trio is often content to hover, swirl, and dissolve without resolution, saving only the last quarter of the 12-minute title cut for a truly needling rhythm and Wyllie's primal squeal.