Coombes remains a rocker in repose, avoiding the temptation to make a racket, yet Turn the Car Around carries a sense of adventure that World's Strongest Man lacked, which ultimately makes it a richer listen.

Though it's often a slower burn than Who the Power, Internal Working Model reaffirms Moss is an artist with something to say and a distinctive way of saying it.

With Ladytron, the band proved they could more than hold their own with the like minded acts who sprang up in their wake. The thought and skill they put into Time's Arrow, however, could only come from years of perspective and experience.

This carefully constructed introspection does fulfill Rowntree's intention of Radio Songs mimicking the shape-shifting nature of late-night listening, acting as an aural journey to an astral plane.

La La Land captures the incredibly rare state of a band still sounding fresh and curious on their 37th LP, and shows no indication of Pollard and co. stopping anytime soon.

This release is probably more for Mac DeMarco super fans than casual listeners, as there's nothing resembling the happy-go-lucky hooks of his best-loved songs, just the incidental sounds collected on a slow, aimless wander.

There's a heady joy in his bile that's infectious, and Every Loser is a weirdly joyous celebration of life from someone who knows why you shouldn't toss it aside.

Often moving. ... It's that distinctly human sense of discovery and the yearning for a better tomorrow, even as the world crumbles around you, that Circa Waves capture on Never Going Under.

Despite all the changes she introduces on Cacti, the honesty of Maries' music remains paramount, and the savvy and polish she brings to the album confirm she's an excitingly hard-to-pin-down artist.

Yorkston has couched his thoughtful, insightful songs in many musical forms, all of them quite successful. His teamwork with the Second Hand Orchestra, and especially with Persson, results in some of the most beautiful and moving music he's made, which is high praise indeed.

Even the inclusion of an older tune somehow doesn't feel like they're content to stay cycling through past ideas. If anything it serves as a stark example of just how far they've come since those timid, mawkish early days, and the rest of the songs give a glimpse of how far they might yet go.

All told, Prize acts as a companion album to What a Boost, further distinguishing Plain's idiosyncratic sound.

Sharp, incisive songwriting remains at the heart of her music, allowing Price to weave different sounds and rhythms into her probing, emotionally open songs.

Snoop Cube 40 $hort is largely a funky good time.

A must-listen for anyone following Harvey's archival series, B-Sides, Demos & Rarities serves as a fascinating parallel primer to her music and the multitudes within it.

Heroes & Villains is the worthy and meticulously assembled sequel to Not All Heroes Wear Capes.

Indigo is an eye-opening taste of what RM is truly capable of outside the bounds of the K-pop powerhouse.

The album runs more than an hour, with 23 tracks ruminating on similar musical and topical themes, but somehow Me vs. Myself stays fresh throughout.

That nobody saw fit to release anything from the tapes at the time wasn't too shocking -- it probably wouldn't have had the impact of Budokan. That it has finally come out is cause for rejoicing for Cheap Trick fanatics and lovers of real, rugged, and insanely catchy rock & roll.

It plays to her strengths with an ideal balance of solid craft and relatable humanity, and it's a more than welcome return from a singer and songwriter whose every release feels like a gift.

Despite Four's gentility and lyricism, it is a striking, intimate, and abundantly creative exercise in modern jazz interaction and improvisation.

Comradely Objects seems like some of the most complex, demanding music Horse Lords have made, yet, amazingly, it's also their most danceable album.

That Little Simz was able to deliver such a crafty set so soon after the career-making Introvert is impressive enough, but No Thank You stands out for its own merits.

Yet another effortless display of ear-bending production, wild energy, and creative synergy from a team of preternaturally blessed artists.

The results are naturally a bit scattered sonically, as any record featuring Steve Vai and the Roots would inevitably be, yet it's tied together by Rundgren's aural aesthetic and sense of mischief.

Hour-plus length and stylistic variety likewise signal that SOS could be the overreaching kind of highly anticipated follow-up. Still, it's an advancement from Ctrl in every respect apart from cohesion

Densely packed with historical references and acute lyrical imagery, Aethiopes requires numerous listens and extensive research to fully comprehend, yet even on cursory listens, the album's scope, detail, and creativity are highly impressive.

On DMIZ the rapper finds a third gem in the post-T&Y crown, building his incisive pen into smaller frameworks -- with stunning consequences.