Despite the talent on board and the high-concept thinking that went into it, there's a dry, brittle quality to Savoy Motel that saps this material of its strength, and this band has only so many tricks in its pocket to begin with.

Like an Arrow doesn't simply feel like it's built to last, it feels like it's been kicked around the block a few times and has emerged all the stronger for it.

An icy-cold affair. Proving that incarceration couldn't slow him down, the 13 tracks are packed with typical boasts, all come-at-me defiance and bravado.

Attitude counts for a lot with Chrissie Hynde, but the true appeal of Alone is how it marries solid songwriting with a sympathetic, surprising production, all of which amounts to a very satisfying Pretenders album.

It's his friendliness that makes his musings on the human condition work, and with Winter Wheat, he's once again crafted another thoughtful and meaningful set.

Integrity Blues is Jimmy Eat World's most immediately accessible and focused album in years, a peak in the decades-old catalog of these reinvigorated and endearing stalwarts.

From start to finish, Let It Be You is a collection of appealingly loose, lush songs full of creativity.

Most bands really want everyone to know how extremely hard they are struggling to create their art, but with these guys it feels like they just showed up at the studio and started playing, and the album magically was done. It's an approach that might not work for everyone, but so far the guys in Hooten TC have pulled it off for the second time in a row.

After a pair of lovingly crafted though similar-sounding albums, Apricity is a welcome venture into uncharted territory for Syd Arthur, and displays their willingness to grow and expand.

The Serenity of Suffering is a welcome return to a time when Korn were at the top of their game. It's one of their best albums, almost heart-warming in its cathartic familiarity.

Lighthouse is lovely, but the lack of attention to detail blunts some of the writing and playing craft on offer.

Some might miss the more abstract appeal of the original AF album, but the way the band updates and slightly expands that approach makes this new album a resounding success that works on the sonic level, and maybe more importantly, a deep emotional level.

It may even be their most consistently impressive and overall most cohesive record to date.

Despite his long list of gripes, sins, and losses, Cohen's instinctive opening to whatever light remains prevails on You Want It Darker.

Where previous Gaga albums were high-wire acts, Joanne is decidedly earth-bound, a record made by an artist determined to execute only the stunts she knows how to pull off.

If not quite as substantive as Malibu, this is one of those albums that can be played continuously without risk of depreciation.

This is solid restart. JoJo displays more than a decade's worth of growth here as a writer and singer.

Overall--despite the serious premise of addiction and recovery--The Wave is urgent and joyous, so achingly hopeful that it's hard not to root for Chaplin and his family.

As with any compilation, it plays a bit unevenly at times, but overall, Say Yes! is a solid listen born out of great respect for Smith's legacy.

Obel's penchant for pairing elements of Elizabethan choral polyphony with millennial angst, not to mention her liberal use of spinet and celeste, would seem pedantic in less skilled hands, but there isn't a single moment on the quietly stunning Citizen of Glass that doesn't feel authentic.

The songs all keep to a calm, unhurried pace, but stand-out "Do You Need My Love" has a slightly busier rhythm, driven into a hypnotic midsection by impressive drumming and Lennon-esque pianos. Mering's singing has never sounded lovelier or more pristine than it does here, and her yearning lyrics are at the forefront of these elegant compositions.

The result is a beautifully arranged but fleeting collection that could work a little harder to draw listeners in.

It's intimate and powerful and, at 48 minutes, it's also a perfect length. Requiem for Hell is simultaneously a perfect introduction to and summation of Mono as a band.

With Gameshow, Two Door Cinema Club ultimately balance a growing pop maturity with a stylish strut worthy of Saturday Night Fever's Tony Manero.

With the exception of the seriously catchy "Get Your Way," the rest of this set is dominated by the group's rock moves, but at the same time, Polizze writes actual songs, not just frameworks for his guitar work, and it's the melodic strength of High Bias that makes it so powerful.

Everyone involved should make a concerted effort to do it again, because the album works on so many levels. It's an absolute joy that both hip-hop lovers and Brazilian music fans will be able to appreciate.

Fully energized and tightly concentrated, the producer's first studio album in three years is a concise and infrequently relenting set of nine songs that rail against those who have caused emotional and planetary harm.

The rest of the surprisingly accessible Smash the System follows suit, weaving in some solid singer/songwriter-y bits ("Bomber Jacket"), some Sleaford Mods-style post-punk ("Power of the Witch"), and even a dollop of neo-pagan Wicker Man-worship ("Cosmic Man"), all with a wink and a nod, of course.