Their music is soothing, rustic, lonesome, and ethereal all at once.

OOIOO and Lightning Bolt both make adventurous, awe-inspiring music, and their split LP feels like a triumph for both acts.

Bitches Blues is the sound of a band experimenting with and developing a language distinctly their own; it is at once physical, fluid, wildly creative, and deftly spacious, revealing a striking 21st century approach to the guitar/keyboard/drum trio.

At the time of American Stories' release, striving for harmony was a rare thing. It's still a noble goal, and on these songs, Rostam achieves it beautifully.

Hope!! may be bursting at the seams, but its communal power is also life-giving.

This glorious weirdness was present in Harding’s earlier work but feels like the main event on Train on the Island. It never intrudes on what can be enjoyed as fantastically crafted songs, but accentuates the beguiling personality that makes them more than that.

James' own lyrics are plainly stated and confessional, as on tracks like "The Book of Self Doubt" and "Seems Like I," though she often embellishes them with pitched-up accompaniments. The tracks with guests are often the most successful, as they offer a bit more tonal and melodic counterpoint.

It's brimming with invention and exploration offered with generosity and creative openness.

Lavender Networks almost feels like a successor to Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy because of the way it juxtaposes surreal aggression with a softer, more sensitive side.

Often riveting and never boring, and with credit to the band's charismatic leader, the album makes for an exciting and noteworthy debut.

It's hard to decide what to make of Musick, a genuinely baffling release that offers some interesting social commentary, but also isn't quite as fun to listen to as it wants to be.

While this experimentation is sometimes seamless, sometimes fun, and sometimes distracting, Hawke's distinctive, vulnerable rasp, wispy melodies, and perceptive lyrics keep the album on track.

Raye affirms that she's a virtuosic vocal dynamo, belting, crooning, and providing spoken exposition, and even her lowest moments of self-abasement are related with clever wordplay showcasing her flexibility. For all the bereft emoting and chemical self-medication that occurs throughout the sequence, Raye's desire to soothe, heal, and instill hope in broken-hearted listeners is apparent.

Altogether, their work is intricately detailed (if never overstuffed), vibrating with unease while somehow welcoming the listener with a sense of comfort.

Much more than just more of the same, Badges is a step forward for the group. Sounding more confident and comfortable, it's clear that they've gotten over the shock of being together again and have settled into being the kind of thoughtful and dramatic indie pop group one always hoped they would be.

They don't try to reinvent the wheel here, largely sticking to the rootsy punk vibe of blown-out speaker vocals, overdriven guitar twang, and thumping drums. Yet, there are still some ear-popping moments.

It’s another album of subtlety and intriguing songwriting choices from Cola, not reinventing their sound by any means, but bringing in new ideas that keep things engaging and confounding in equal measure.

It’s a mellow experience without being a simplistic or obvious one, and this relaxed environment creates easier points of access for ideas that would be too weird for some listeners if they weren’t couched in welcoming chimes of guitar or smiling synths.

Look for Your Mind! is a relatively more romping set of Lemon Twigs songs, but the performances remain airtight and the song construction is as intricate and involved as any of their previous work, keeping them one of the most intelligent and infallible bands making power pop in the 2020s.

Roxanne's music is still spacious and immersive, but Poem 1 feels realistic rather than dreamlike and abstract.

Between the Joe Jackson snarl of "Pay No Mind" and the Beatlesque punk riffing of "Little Strange," there's a satisfying balance of smart pop songcraft and rugged power that suggests he's found the sweet spot.

Decades into Melanie C's storied career, Sweat is one of her best.

Loose yet consistently engaging, i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley is the work of a band in its element.

No doubt there will be those who do want to hear all the gory details and be surrounded by big, billowing sounds and LP4 will be just what they need. Anyone in search of the sparse beauty and icy textures of their early work will no doubt be left reaching back to give their first two records a spin and give this one a pass.

They’ve been honing something so unique for so long that the new material emphasizes how timeless the older material is, and how it’s all been part of the same strange and beautiful continuum.

For all the hype and controversy Kneecap has received, it feels like the group is simply getting back to basics and doing what they do best on Fenian, resulting in their most accomplished effort to date.

Mostly playful in tone despite its timely, often serious topics, Long Wave Home makes for another strong entry in Hoop's catalog.

The vital In Times of Dragons whisks Amos back to hallowed days, penetrating the soul and shaking foundations in a manner that hasn't been heard since Pele, Choirgirl, Scarlet, or Posse.