It’s a spellbinding portal into a horrific cultural experience that continues to burn and radiate spiritual sustenance to the world.

Like just about most of their catalogue it’s refreshingly original, incorporating sax, accordion and organ into what would, on its own, still be a great collection of country and rock numbers.

There are a couple of stumbles here, like on the somber “Easy Love,” but for the most part, Late Riser is crammed with stunning songs strong enough to make you forget what else is going on in the world--at least for 30 minutes or so.

Maandig remains the primary vocalist; yet she is MIA on many of the vast orchestrations that feel like Tattoo leftovers.

They’ve created a complex and detailed world, and English Oceans adds more memorable characters to it.

Under Branch & Thorn & Tree is a hypnotic sojourn to be sure, one that rewards repeated listens with a sense of lofty liberation.

Strong Feelings sums up the sentiments, but it’s the eloquent execution that makes this so sublime.

Like many a good party, you wish it would have last longer (the other minor qualm is that there isn’t a mention of when the specific songs were recorded).

What you get here, in 2017, is an accurate representation of their setlist at the time, seven lengthy numbers that include a pair of originals from the trio alongside extended, improv-tilting covers of Jimmy Webb, Bacharach & David, Herbie Hancock, and more.

The music will put a smile on your face and make you want to dance - which is what good, timeless pop is supposed to do, in the final estimation.

Sometimes older and wiser just makes you harder and meaner. I Used to Be Pretty is the grungy, gangly, glorious result of hard-won maturity.

The record, produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Swans), was pulled together after a year spent on the road, and it shows.

Every tune serves the moment, like a series of self-contained filmic miniatures whose character sketches, though brief, are utterly memorable, with those sketches’ accompanying sonics just as resonant.

Practically vibrating with the will to realize its ambition, Crime & the City Solution finally produces its masterpiece.

[The] excellent Faithful Man is a product of the dream team of producers, arrangers, songwriters and players (the house band called the Expressions) at Brooklyn's Truth & Soul Records, whose history parallels Brooklyn's better-known Daptone.

Fossils remains uniformly subdued throughout. Yet, it’s hardly as dry as the album title might imply.

Phillips’ very considerable skill is in getting to the core of an idea, stripping it down to essentials and then shading it subtly with cross-currents of meaning and musical counterpoint.

Stuart cut a slew of tracks at their studio, handed the results to J.D. Foster for mixing duties, and wound up with one helluva platter that’s even better than The Deliverance of… and, as fans will realize upon the first spin, slots perfectly into his Green On Red oeuvre.

It’s always comforting to know that certain stylistic bents of rock never go out of style. That’s usually because someone puts a new spin on an old formula. That’s arguably the case with E.

Man, is this ever drenched in heart and soul. The first time I heard it, several months ago, I muttered to myself, “Think this gonna be in my top 10 of 2019.” ‘deed it is, folks.

Written while staying in the New Jersey house in which he grew up, the record isn’t so much nostalgic as wistful, as if Jones was surveying the streets he used to walk with good memories but no desire to relive the past.

There's a warmth and life in these songs that goes beyond tribute or reenactment.

This scorching set of amplified electro-acoustic spiritualism between the pair and the mighty Mats is an effective snapshot of the potential for what could have been.

Weird, raw and beautiful all at once.

Weirdo Shrine is everything that the debut was and more.

Ultimately, Old Mad Joy may not signal the breakthrough that this outfit deserves, but by rekindling the savvy sound techniques that have taken them this far, hopefully the rest of the world will catch up soon enough.

Non-Believers slips masterfully between vantage points and emotions.

Their latest, Signed and Sealed in Blood, will likely not change many opinions as it is still their same hallmark of rowdy, drink in the air, boot stomping sing-alongs.