While most of The Trouble with Fever concerns itself with personal issues, it isn't insular; the sound is alluring and open, an invitation for relaxation as much as it is for reflection.

Anchored by Blake Mills' tasteful and creative production, the ten-song set feels like a small step forward for Mumford. It's both rooted in the past and primed for the future, like an exorcism gone right.

In These Times accumulated an arresting abundance of ideas, sounds, textures, and styles. The album is its own jazz labyrinth, and as such is destined for repeated listening and startling discovery.

Maybe it'd be easier to digest if it was broken into a series of EPs, but part of the point of Typical Music is that it offers an immersion into an expansive, eccentric worldview. It needs all of its messiness to paint a full portrait.

At every turn, Diablo puts pleasure front and center, and it's a lot of fun to hear Gurnsey reimagine what gets the dancefloor moving.

It will please fans of the hybrid jazz scene in England and draw in many new listeners internationally who will be deeply attracted to its apocalyptic energy, innovative beats, and rowdy abundance.

Music for Animals might seem daunting due to its length and starkness, but it's actually one of Frahm's most listenable albums, rewarding immersion and half-ignored background placement alike.

Only time will tell, but at this point Courting are delivering some smart, bracing fun that will keep you guessing in plenty of good ways.

Mid-album "Silence," a Homeric ballad in which Smith soars through the cosmos on a delicate rainbow of synth and chimes before crashing to the earth in a meteor shower of over-driven electric guitar squelch and digital distortion. It's a bold, deeply emotive moment, evoking the heartfelt style of Peter Gabriel. That these tracks, as with all of EBM, feel both familiar and unexpectedly fresh speaks to the alchemical spark between Editors and Power.

The album's production is warm, spacious, and full of depth, but not in an overwhelming way. Ali is casual-sounding yet inspired, and a tremendously inviting listen.

If overlong, MOSS is lovely on average and improves over the debut by committing to a design that suits Hawke's vocal qualities.

Most of LongGone feels deeply organic, with Redman and his bandmates feeding off each other and working to build something cohesive and bigger than their individual contributions.

An album that, if challenging, successfully mixes religious motifs with a balance of tactile, earthbound textures and hypnotically dreamy, alien atmospheres.

Things Happen That Way is solid, fun, and a bit sad, but a fitting, heartfelt sign-off from an American treasure. It's quite beautiful. One hopes, however, that the deleted tracks will surface on a later release.

Joe Strummer 002 is worth its weight simply for containing remastered versions of all three Mescaleros albums, but the copious liner notes, ephemera, and bonus disc of demos and rarities make it essential.

The band's confluence of rough-edged workingman's rock and unique melodic character was arguably never stronger than in 1970, and At the Royal Albert Hall offers a snapshot of just how strong that combination could be on-stage.

There is no question that The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: That's What Happened 1982-1985 will cause controversy among jazz fans. But it isn't for them. It's for Miles Davis fans and presents an unvarnished taste of him -- from the cutting room floor no less -- attempting to reinvent himself one last time.

Like Neptune offers a glimpse into one man's heart and soul while reminding us how he got where he is today, and it's an impressive LP from an artist who has some stuff to get off his chest and can still powerfully entertain as he does so.

The trio were always capable of more than mere spaced-out jams, but these four tracks organize all the bliss, curiosity, darkness, and contemplation Bitchin Bajas have shown in the past into something deeply considered and perfectly designed.

Spirituals pushes Santigold's music forward while shoring up its strengths -- and for perhaps the first time since her debut, it feels like art that she had to make for herself.

How Do You Burn? suggests he needs a fiercer and more energetic team of underlings if he's going to remain a force to be reckoned with.

Dense and sometimes overwhelming, Arrangements is a testament to Preoccupations' willingness to stay in their discomfort zone and document everything that happens. This time, however, the results are admirable but not always easy to connect with.

Their shortest salvo to date, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach distills all that's good in late-era Clutch, providing a familiar hit of serotonin and physical release.

Aiming for an even wider international audience, the English-heavy Born Pink matures BlackPink with stronger production, more personal lyrics, and a bold conviction that cannot be contained.

While SPARK's curio-like qualities may win the duo new listeners, and songwriting tendencies could offer a lifeline to certain established fans, it's a change -- signified by its all-caps stylization -- sure to alienate many as well.

Kicking off their third decade post-Barsuk, Death Cab continue their evolution in fascinating and rewarding ways, somehow managing to surprise with fresh directions and sounds yet unheard from this ever-reliable crew.

demon time unfortunately turns out to be underwhelming.

Always a unique band, with these 13 experiments, No Age has created something puzzling, beautiful, and truly one-of-a-kind.