The singer and songwriter's second album similarly displays different approaches that skillfully build off and depart from the previous release.

As striking as Immunity was, Singularity feels more developed, and it's ultimately a tough call as to which album is more exciting.

They're a band who refuse to stop moving and exploring their sound, emerging every time with a more refined approach to the music. That they can achieve this with integrity should be celebrated, except maybe this time with a bottle of red wine instead of cheap beer.

An absurdly emotional, innovative album.

The set's detailed liner notes are fascinating and well written, and the music is as lovely and evocative as one would expect from Eno's ambient works.

Anxiety-stricken yet somehow finding ways to enjoy life, BMSR sound creatively re-energized on the excellent Panic Blooms.

While Megaplex has its moments, the pleasures are fleeting and listeners aren't left with much meat to stick to their bones.

It's easily the band's most direct album, but rather than dumbing things down, they've removed anything that might get in the way of their messages. The more defiant they are, the more accessible they get, and they kick off the album with some of their hookiest songs.

While this is easily the most loaded Monáe album in terms of guests, with Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, and Grimes among the contributors, there's no doubt that it's a Wondaland product. It demonstrates that artful resistance and pop music are not mutually exclusive.

Rather than breaking the mold, Dr. Dog instead double down on their strengths to make Critical Equation a surprisingly vital outing.

Throughout, very human lyrics, wistful intervals, a mechanical palette, and components that are sometimes altered to confuse organic and inorganic make for an elegant synth art-pop. Like the world her lyrics inhabit, it is icy and intimate at once.

Conquistador marks another fine chapter in this intrepid frontiersman's musical journey.

Altogether, it's a rock-solid set, notable for good songs as well as a distinctive if simultaneously throwback sound.

Working with producer Shawn Everett (the War on Drugs, Alabama Shakes), Sheff has crafted his least-Okkervil River-sounding Okkervil River outing to date, employing a colorful palette of sonic hues that flirt with everything from soft rock and soul to left-field '80s synth pop and Beatlesque classic rock.

As was the case with Hills End, the sonic and architectural puppetry is meticulous and heartfelt, but the absence of any sort of innovation induces a sort of pleasant fatigue that grows decidedly less agreeable with repeated spins.

You're Driving Me Crazy is as energetic as any live show. Of the three successive recordings done in this way, this one stands head and shoulders above for its inspired performances and choices of material.

Right from the outset, the album is filled with dense, complex vocal arrangements, with both MCs (as well as their guests) delivering dozens of vicious caricatures of fake rappers and "woke" folks. ... They complement each other well, and both drive the album's concept.

It has a similarly big-screen and disparate, primarily beat-less approach to ambient music [as 2016's Under The Sun]. Each track evokes a distinct scene.

It's a tight, sometimes bombastic, sometimes sweet mix of old-school hard, prog, and psych rock with a shot of indie-era slacker keeping it all grounded--at least for the most part.

On-stage, these same songs straighten themselves out and, in the process, get a touch lighter. On Tonight's the Night, it often appeared as if Young and his crew learned the songs as they recorded them, but on Roxy, the Santa Monica Flyers have the changes under their belts and are really in the mood to have a good time.

He constructs ten sturdy songs that give Mr. Jukebox the foundation to be something more than nostalgia. By exceeding so well in his craft, Hedley makes the old sounds feel new again.

The Tree of Forgiveness is autumnal John Prine, but it's also a potent reminder that his remarkable skills as a songwriter and his rough-hewn excellence as a singer haven't failed him yet.

Nostalgic Butthole Surfers fans will find plenty to like on Pinkus Abortion Technician, but they're hardly the only ones.

Hardly a late-career masterpiece, Evil Spirits at least shows that the Damned are still smart and witty while paying attention to the global chaos of the era of Brexit and Trump, and they haven't lost their touch in the recording studio.

Among Ras G's more contemplative releases, Stargate Music is a woozy, enticing interpretation of the human life cycle.

As odd Neil Young albums go, Paradox doesn't hold a candle to Americana or A Letter Home, but this could have been trimmed down to an EP and it would have worked better. Fans will want to give it a listen, but they might not pull it off the shelf again for a while.

Personne d'Autre finds Hardy in full command of her authority as a songwriter and, despite her voice's wear and tear, the full weight and charm of her signature as a singer. If this is indeed her final recording, it's one she can be proud of and one for fans to celebrate.

No longer able to croon as he once did, Nelson opts for playing around with the rhythms of his delivery, a move that makes him seem limber, adding a sense of vitality to Last Man Standing. Willie realizes he's not going to be here forever but he's made up his mind to make the most of his time here, and that's why Last Man Standing feels richer than so many self-conscious meditations on mortality.