This set veers more toward the earnest and inspirational stadium-singalong-anthem part of the band's personality (think "City of Blinding Lights," "Where the Streets Have No Name," "I Still Haven't Found..." and that ilk).

While it may be enough for most people to look for a best-of compilation, there are many delights to be found on this set.

A meditative work reflecting on loss and commemoration, as well as nature and the environment. The slowly unfolding composition, divided into two parts, is intended for deep listening.

While the production still has bite and the danger of unpredictable straight-to-tape recording, the songcraft is completely in focus. It's where the long-germinating seeds of White Fence's psychedelic excellence finally bloom into their full glory, and these songs are among the best the group has ever put to tape.

It might take a few listens or views to wrap one's head around what Angine de Poitrine are doing, but their music is actually a lot more accessible than it may seem at first, and their second effort is an incredibly fun record.

Piss in the Wind is fairly depressing at times, offering just a few short moments to perk up the 21-track runtime, which shouldn't surprise longtime fans of Joji's wounded, narcotic beauty.

The band leans into their music's humanity with a strong folk influence that feels cozy and encouraging, whether on the lonely campfire songs "Projectors" or the lullaby-like cover of Neil Young's "Red Sun" that showcases Markus Acher's yearning vocals.

Although the album lacks the emotional punch of Ware's preceding dancefloor-oriented albums, it's always entertaining, full of stunning vocal performances.

The driving "Alone with You" might seem seductive and romantic, but it's about much more than just physical pleasure, as dal Forno sings about building a future with a partner and "lock[ing] away bad memories together." The dreamy, lo-fi "Gave You Up" is particularly entrancing, with dal Forno's sighing vocals meshing perfectly with the hypnotic guitar strums. Throughout the album, instrumental tunes act as curious segues between moods.

As Miss Grit confronts and conceals their heartache on Under My Umbrella, they continue to unite high-concept ambition and pop immediacy in fascinating ways.

These songs are made all the more touching by tender, intricate performances that revere the small details and internal effects of life-changing loss, heartache, and self-awareness.

Weller at the BBC (Vol. 2) is a dense digest of this particular category of his art form, and he shines throughout all of it.

Maybe it's divine intervention and maybe it's decades of working on their craft, either way on 13 White Denim sounds like a band born again.

Romanticize the Dive is yet another great Metric album, another stunning showcase of Haines' second-to-none vocals, and an example of how if a band plays with emotional and sonic imagination, indie rock doesn't have to sound overcooked and insipid when it is blown up to twice its size.

You'd have to go back to the 1970s to find a Ringo Starr solo album that was as well-crafted with his particular skills in mind as Look Up, and Long Long Road shows Burnett and Starr continue to work together beautifully.

If there's a gripe to be had about the record, it's that it isn't longer than nine tracks, although there's something to be said for mirroring the debut in leaving us wanting more.

If "back-to-basics" sounds like your ideal Foo Fighters mode, then Your Favorite Toy is one of their best to date.

Tomora comes off as a good-natured side quest, freely venturing into unexpected territory and maintaining an adventurous spirit.

Malik's reliable vocals and the top production quality deliver the goods, but here's hoping the restrained ideas on Konnakol yield a more liberated approach next time around.

Everything -- from the vocals to the production -- is top-notch, and the record is a glittering late-career triumph.

The strange textures she finds in the recording process add to the overall intrigue of these beautifully sad songs, creating a thoughtful -- sometimes pensive -- environment that’s heavy but still somehow really nice to inhabit for a while.

While some listeners may prefer one singer or type of song over the other, the tracks are all short and strong, sounding less like a side project and more like an album deep into the discography of a beloved indie pop band. And in a way, that's what it is.

If you share Joe Jackson's irritation with the world (especially the United Kingdom) at the present moment, you're likely to enjoy it, but despite its musical excellence, it's hard not to feel that it wears out its welcome by the time it runs through its 35 minutes.

Cuts like "Possession," "Grudges," and "The Last Two People on Earth" have a cavernous, late-'80s and early-'90s alt-rock majesty, as Martinez frames her cracked porcelain vocals in shimmering, reverb-heavy guitars and synths, broken-glass percussion, and orchestral strings.

Not many musical acts reach their 40th anniversaries and fewer still make music worthy of their legacies, but with The World Is to Dig, They Might Be Giants remain wonderfully different.

Fidelity is of a piece with Do It Afraid and caps a three-album/three-year streak for the ages.

This is not a novelty or a throwaway, and even though there's technically no "new" music, Nine Inch Noize goes beyond the idea of a "remix," carrying over three decades of material into the future with the help of an unlikely creative muse.

Engines of Demolition is an aptly named collection of old-school sonic malevolence that's unapologetic in its commitment to its core sonic temperaments.