The Sun Is Shining Down sounds hungry and vital. Mayall delivers these rough-and-ready blues like a champ.

Her music has always been thoughtful, personal, and uniquely constructed, but Godmother is especially exciting as it runs so far and so fast in a different direction than she ever has before, committing fully to the risks and swooping changes that come to define the album.

As the uplifting positivity of "For You" closes the album on an optimistic note, Billy Talent takes the storm of emotions churning through the preceding cuts and salvages the light that remains, avoiding the titular inner conflict by focusing on that which gives us hope and peace.

Perhaps it's simply the growing pains that follow a much-hyped introduction, but Storm Queen is more of an interesting record than an excellent one, though it still has enough high points to recommend it.

The way Barnett shares tracks and experiences on Caprisongs makes it a more diffuse listening experience than her past releases, but it also brings a galvanizing openness to her music -- and suggests pain doesn't have to be her only muse.

Wilds stands proudly next to the albums that have come before it. A little bit more song focused, a little rougher around the edges, but still transcendent and heavily psychedelic in all the right ways.

W is not merely a counterpart to No but its polar opposite -- an album made of moments and atmospheres rather than songs. Nearly spectral in its articulation, this set offers a more elegant, restrained side of Boris than we've ever encountered before.

Much of the magic in Change the Show, as with most of Kane's work, is in the way he turns being a kid of the '90s with an obsession for all things mod into something of his own oeuvre.

While Night Call builds nicely upon Years & Years' indie electronic roots, it primarily feels like a new beginning for Alexander as he boldly embraces his pop future.

While The Gods We Can Touch is ultimately a pop record, it only expands upon AURORA's already mystical bearing.

The Imposters have never sounded better on record -- and they've never sounded more like the Attractions, either, which isn't entirely a coincidence -- and that helps give The Boy Named If its infectious kick: it may feel like an old-fashioned Elvis Costello album, but it sounds entirely fresh.

Themes of struggling to overcome depression and drug dependency surface often on Fighting Demons, making it a heavier collection than the sometimes celebratory memoriam of Legends Never Die. It's not an essential piece of the Juice WRLD story, but it's also not without some solid reminders of his greatness.

Live Life Fast is a strong sophomore effort, one that finds Ricch taking a few moderate risks alongside his attempts to repeat the approach that worked so well on his debut.

This is a perfectly adequate Ross LP differentiated by its mix of collaborators more than anything else.

Summery beats and glitched-out soul samples make tracks like "Ugly" and "Hollywood Gangsta," and the huge fun of "Wave Gods" finds A$AP Rocky dropping in for a guest verse while DJ Premier scratches in some familiar hooks from the archives of golden-era rap.

Formula of Love surpasses expectations, infusing the group's love-centric lyricism with newfound confidence and creative flair. This is one of Twice's most assertive and varied releases to date -- and with a more concise track listing, perhaps their best.

Sharp, direct, and fluid in a way that's almost supernatural, Sick! perfectly conveys the duality of frustration and drive to persevere that arises from living through exceptionally difficult times.

The easy melodic hooks that drew fans to the Lumineers in the first place remain, but the combination of stronger material and looser performances make for a strong fourth outing.

Forfolks is as welcoming as it is musically adventurous. Void of production or virtuosic solo excesses, it allows the listener inside the guitarist's soundworld for an instinctively guided, infectiously listenable tour.

Covers is a treat for fans, and reaffirms that Marshall can find the Cat Power -- as well as new meanings -- in the music that moves her.

A thrilling and thoughtful pop experience.

Unsettling and plaintive throughout, the soundtrack ends with its sole song, the also mournful "The World to Come," which calls back earlier musical themes. A striking score debut, it does much to establish the film's tone.

Moments of unfulfilled anticipation and endless, directionless drifting might make Antidawn seem difficult compared to other Burial releases, but there's something quietly powerful in the way he's able to express the sensation of being inexplicably lost.

Tesfaye's almost fathomless vocal facility elevates even the most rudimentary expressions of co-dependency, despair, regret, and obsession, and he helps it all go down easier with station ID jingles and an amusingly hyped-up ad for "a compelling work of science fiction" called (the) "After Life."

His productions are just the right balance of lush and gritty, blending rich string arrangements by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and lovely harp playing by Lara Somogyi with modular synth swells and soulful organs.

The diversity of the songwriting and attentive production make Dodging Dues one of the more ambitious and well-groomed outings in the Garcia Peoples catalog.

Drew's music stresses the importance of the communal rave experience, and reminds us that everything is possible.

It would be nice to hear a more nuanced and stylistically diverse album from Dion (like 2005's Bronx in Blue or 2016's New York Is My Home), but there are more than enough great moments on Stomping Ground to remind us Dion is still a major talent over 60 years after scoring his first hit single.