Sparks still sounds like she's finding a voice of her own.

Consider this a Meth-led posse LP aimed at returning fans, and a very good one at that.

Neither Presley nor Le Bon should give up their main gigs for DRINKS, but if they got together now and then to record an album with as much good-natured charm and tricky bits as this, that'd be just fine.

She hasn't yet released one that's consistently exciting and satisfying from beginning to end, though there's more than enough here to make this worth a listen and to suggest that Deradoorian could have more interesting things up her sleeve for her next solo effort.

Rateliff's world-weary, deeply expressive tenor and lyrics place him on a different level than any of the current crew of revivalists.

His music seems a slight bit more danceable and accessible than before, but not to the point of pandering to a hedonistic club audience.

There's just not much here to keep the group's detractors from bringing out their pitchforks, and over time, staying the course may leave fewer and fewer townsfolk to protect them.

While High Country doesn't always work, it's constantly working toward moving the band forward, which means that were probably only a few albums away from a hair metal makeover.

It makes for a great second album, one that holds tight to all the things that made the first one so satisfying, while adding some new wrinkles that only serve to improve things. Try as you might, you're not likely to find too many albums in 2015 that rock as hard or bleed as much as High.

It's the songs rather than the production that will keep repeat listeners coming back, even if they don't notice at first, or 20th, or 50th, and the marriage of the two works so well that folks are likely not to care why.

An even more consistent album than Kiss, E-MO-TION further defines Jepsen as an equally stylish and earnest pop artist.

All Around Us stands as a puckish, blustery, peculiar creation recommended for a good pair of headphones.

London producer Slime creates sumptuous, swaying music that flows so freely that few rappers could ride it.

With durable songs, classic melodies, an idiosyncratic manner, wit, and a transportive quality to the arrangements, it'd be greedy to ask much more of a singing songsmith.

Both Potter and Valentine delight in celebrating and inverting the clichés of overblown '80s AOR and that's what makes Midnight such a fun trip.

There are a couple moments where the album gets overly somber, and the saxophone solo on "Kelly" should have been left on the cutting-room floor, but for the most part Sky City is a promising, quietly satisfying debut.

Dave Cloud was a unique talent whose work was not for all tastes, but there's a mad joy and untethered emotional freedom in Today Is the Day That They Take Me Away that would be the envy of nearly any artist, and on that score, this album puts much of Nashville's better-known product to shame.

These are recordings that have never seen release on vinyl and, collected together, they do amount to a vibrant, exciting snapshot of Pavement at their wildest. For that specific audience, this is certainly worthwhile.

It's an invigorating, infectious set that reaffirms Turner's faith in music's power to motivate and heal.

The highlights, unsurprisingly, occur when Allen is allowed to exert more of his power, heard in the darting/jabbing third and twisting sixth tracks. Those two tracks are worth the wait.

The band's detractors will probably complain that the template remains firmly in place, and the band is aimlessly trekking through well-trodden terrain, but by returning to their roots, Bullet for My Valentine seem to have reignited the spark that made their early work so vital.

Although nothing achieves the same height as "Try Me," the EP is promising at the least.

Imaginary Man presents Baxter and his material in a manner that's vividly passionate and a little swampy while avoiding cliches as he offers these sketches on life and love in the American South; it's a big step forward for Baxter, and will hopefully help him gain the audience he deserves.

The Spirit Moves sounds like a sure-footed step in the right direction.

Everybody's Coming Down is ultimately engaging if meandering, and at its heart--whatever the style--is memorable, energized songwriting.

Winning results on From Far Enough Away Everything Sounds Like the Ocean.

Slick guest artists Tyga and Kid Ink help the listener bridge the gap between the album's maverick moments and the sweet songs aimed at teens, and with smooth-voiced Royce showing equal grace with love and lust, Double Vision becomes the great and infectious model for a 2015 pan-global pop album.

Jessie Jones is clearly not for everybody, but if you love classic pop and rock created by a gifted eccentric with a vision (and the talent to make it real), this debut is well worth your time and attention.