Happily, he retains the melodic sharpness that characterized 57th & 9th, his last solo album of straight-forward pop tunes. The Bridge isn't quite as crisp and clean as that 2016 effort, yet it moves along at a quick clip.

Gordon and Nace never followed an obvious path with Body/Head's prior releases, but bringing in Dilloway presents entirely new possibilities that they use with fascinating, often haunting results on Body/Dilloway/Head.

It doesn't aim to reproduce the ebb and flow of his usual concert experience, instead aiming for an all-killer, no-filler experience, and it leaves no doubt why the audience got so caught up in this music.

His own hope for Deciphering the Message is to point new listeners toward the originals. As wonderful as that intention is, this album is a phenomenal listening experience in its own right.

Somewhere in the second half of this hour-plus album, the mostly sedate sequence of productions -- some without beats, others with dragging trap-styled percussion -- make for laborious listening. The trade-off is Walker's vivid and biting lyrics and knack for singing them with such grace that they please the ear as much as they raise eyebrows.

Windflowers is a wonder of detailed production and easy elegance, though it also suffers from a sameness in tone that dulls its overall impact. It's certainly comfortable, and maybe that was Efterklang's intent, but they are at their best when throwing in the occasional left-turn or sonic shake-up.

It's too relaxed, too casual to be considered major. Its low-key nature is also the appeal of Willie Nelson Family -- it's the sound of an informal jam session by one of the best musical families in America, so it's easy to enjoy even if it feels decidedly minor.

The highlight of these is a ten-minute version of "All Too Well," a bitter ballad that was already one of the peaks of Red and is now turned into an epic kiss-off. This, along with excavated songs, are reason enough for Swift to revisit Red and they, not the re-recordings, are the reason to return to Red [Taylor's Version].

Meeting titanic expectations, this linear journey of the heart is Adele's most cohesive statement to date, pairing her inimitable voice with a dozen engrossing vignettes, reminding us that all we can do is keep trying.

The result of these tweaks to both production and attitude is something more mature and approachable yet still impassioned, and it's Slothrust's most cohesive record to date.

Mandatory Enjoyment is much more than a dusty museum piece, and while Dummy may be proudly retro, like their heroes Stereolab they make their love of the past sound brand new and exciting.

Though it's just over 20 minutes long, In Virus Times has plenty of the experimental openness and welcoming warmth of Ranaldo's other solo work for Mute, and artfully approximates the feeling of a live improvisation during a time when concerts were difficult at best.

Even when the bagpipes show up on "Welcome Tae Glasgae," Motorheart is all riffs and falsetto screams designed to forget reality and dream of crowds packed with headbanging, beer-soaked hedonists singing along to the same songs.

A mesmerizing 11-song set that pairs bracing hardcore with expansive symphonic and post-metal.

Pilgrimage of the Soul is at once a sonic portrait of everything Mono has ever been, yet looks toward a future rife with possibilities as increased physical and sonic force are tempered by graceful subtlety, tense drama, and haunted lyricism.

Funky bass and Fender Rhodes are among the featured instruments on songs that feel jammier than his first two albums, though the mood remains mellow and languid, at least for the most part.

Consistently entertaining with a few flashes of brilliance, Book kicks off the band's fifth decade of music-making with substance and style.

Thanks to their renewed focus, their willingness to embrace new ideas, Cleveland's songs, and the symbiotic relationship between the group and Younge, this feels like a fresh start for the band and some of the best psychedelic rock around in the early 2020s.

Unhurried and stark without being austere, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows seems suspended from time but not place: as misty and evocative as it is, the music is grounded in a specific location, which gives this elegiac, enveloping album an emotional weight.

While Imposter doesn't get the blood pumping as much as 2015's Angels & Ghosts, fans in need of a soundtrack for brooding will find this to be an ideal outlet.

Garbology isn't nearly as complex or conceptually driven as 2020's Spirit World Field Guide, but it still contains an abundance of memorable lyrics, and demonstrates Aesop's talent for spinning fantastic stories out of nothing.

Both a reflective sound bath and an ecstatic celebration of creative freedom, Space 1.8 is a singular, eye-opening debut.

The changes are subtle and even though the group's sound is a little less thrillingly raw here, they make up for it with stranger melodies and vocals. Overall, a solid effort from a band with the potential to make a great record someday.

The duo's playfulness here verges on hammy at times -- more often than on their solo recordings. The trade-off is that they push each other into new levels of showmanship without pandering to the audience. Besides, there's some genuinely witty stuff here.

The polish and punch of latter-day Dan remain, but things are indeed different. Becker's tart presence is missed, Fagen's voice is wispy, and the smooth professionalism does indeed seem as if it was designed to feel at home at venues like the Mohegan Sun casino.

Time Clocks slowly comes into focus after the short atmospheric instrumental "Pilgrimage" sets the stage for a moody, cinematic record.

While Public Storage doesn't represent the songwriter's hookiest material, its affecting album-length presentation lingers -- emotionally and sonically -- nonetheless.

Heavy Load Blues is raw, heavy, and immediate, the sound of a band unfettered while pursuing a deep blue groove that never quits.