While the band has always been a rock-first concern, the core of God Games is in its mature, layered and emotive downtempo pop balladry.

The end result is a pretty extraordinary album, but what makes Goon really special is the future it hints at.

With contributions from over 20 artists, including such musical giants as Tony Allen and Thabang Tabana, Keleketla! is a collaboration of rare magnitude. It is at once a celebration and a call to action.

Cruise Your Illusion sounds like proud, but humble music from a band doing exactly what they want on their terms.

Whether she'll ever return to Dum Dum Girls remains to be seen, but as Kristin Kontrol, she's offering an exciting artistic refresh that Dum Dum fans should get on board with.

One of the most consistent post-rock bands in terms of pacing, song structure and style, the Scottish Guitar Army's ninth studio album doesn't exactly break new ground; instead, it finds them subtly refining their recent, synth-focused sound to great success.

The piece has a propulsive quality, even if it isn't travelling at a danceable BPM, and at 41 minutes, it never lags. It's also very listenable, its infinite aural nuances — blips and bloops, pounds and crackles, hisses and animal sounds — offering a constant source of delight, calm and exploration.

This is an astonishing album, but not an easy listen.

Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell is a moving, beautiful album that offers community as a cure for loneliness. Even if at times he's somewhat overshadowed by his collaborators, Russell manages to have his voice shine through.

An album that leads the listener through a grim landscape punctuated with urgency and violence.

Perhaps it's just the associative properties, but it feels like Jenny from Thebes manages to truly distill the manic energy of the Mountain Goats' formative phase into a maturing yet vital shape, giving it a place in the upper reaches of their pantheon.

The band will probably never make a singularly categorizable record, but their unique balance of accessibility and creativity is a definite strength--and it shines here.

As the album comes to a close, "Rest" and "Hidden" begin to work off of fuzzy, pulsating beats and slow, trancelike synth passages, proving that Rival Consoles certainly holds a blueprint to the dreamworld contained within Persona.

As direct as it is complex, Instant Holograms is an album of pure sonic pleasure.

While it's hard to say whether or not it bests E•MO•TION, Dedicated does something arguably more important: as her first major work since 2015, it confirms both Jepsen's consistency and longevity as a songwriter.

Bonnetta casts a net that is wide as well as deeply personal, which creates a sound that is impressive both technically and in terms of the depth of inner exploration.

With their debut full-length, WEVAL have proven that they're willing to approach their music with their ears wide open and their possibilities endless.

Are We There cuts deep into the skin of its creator and finds Van Etten more exposed than ever.

For a project that centres on tragedy, though, Okovi feels remarkably vital. After five albums, Zola Jesus's balancing act remains compelling.

On R Plus Seven, it just sounds like triumph.

Bossalinis & Fooliyones is a taut, humble and profoundly aware medley of late afternoon joy--the best time to listen to it.

Life Will See You Now tackles life's most drastic ups and downs with good-natured empathy, making it both complex and comforting.

Here and Nowhere Else is another heavy, catchy-as-hell Cloud Nothings record.

[Kelley Deal] sings on two of the new EP's songs, and that all-too-fleeting taste will leave you immediately hankering for more.

Opting to re-record a largely unknown demo is a fitting way to bring closure to Mr. Bungle's catalogue. Further, the inclusion of previously unheard songs makes this feel like a proper new release, as opposed to an excuse to shove a nostalgic name back into the world.

Dollars to donuts, there's not one song or style here that "Weird Al" doesn't enhance with his sly social commentary or absurdity. All hail the weird king.

Perfume Genius has begun to spread his wings, delivering a breakout release that relies on much more than his manic/mopey persona.

The good news is that even without Adrian Younge's luscious music to draw from, Premier has found a clearly ample replacement with the more eclectic, less retro up-and-coming composer Antman Wonder. All that, along with Royce's ambitious spitting, make PRhyme 2 a prime contender for the best hip-hop LP of 2018.

Vince Staples is the rapper's most personal and emotionally resonant project yet, and the choice to opt for a stripped-back approach complements the content greatly. Vince's blunt and bleak observations on life, death, humanity, gang culture, paranoia and trauma fit perfectly with the sparse and skeletal soundscape of this LP. It feels like every instrumental here was crafted to give his words the room they need to have the impact they're meant to.

The Damned Things explore a more alt side of rock'n'roll on High Crimes. One thing you can be certain of, however, is that the music is as intriguing as its unorthodox lineup would suggest.

The album's ability to blend genres results in an unique and alluring archive of sound — a strong coming-out party for the Baltimore native.

On Crooked Doors, the music is given ample space to breath, giving it a progressive edge. All told, it's a huge leap forward for Royal Thunder.

Bay Dream is a great example of a band living up to the potential hinted at by their early work, and while day-one fans might be turned off by the album's cleaned-up production, it would be ungracious to begrudge a young band their newfound opportunities. Culture Abuse make the most of them here, with an album that should find its way into many a summer playlist.

For this seventh album in just under a decade, the duo continue their upward trajectory, finding new and casually complex ways of expressing their musical minds.

Album number five, Sugaring Season, is her purest work yet, stripped right down to the bare essentials and, as a result, it fits perfectly on an English folk timeline.

It's headphone music for sure, optimally experienced on a slow train with a glass roof so the record's atmospheric elements can aptly complement the passing stars.

Field Music have created a truly immersive record with Open Here, one that is welcoming, conversational and oh-so-necessary for a world experiencing daily fear and paranoia.

The simple production, with Lalonde's untamed vocals clear as a bell and Hamelin's homecoming, lets the joy that played a part in the process of making the short and sweet Uncle, Duke and the Chief shine evidently through.

While being one of the most serious Hauschka albums yet, Bertelmann still managed to produce an album of experimental music that you could dance to, if you weren't too busy having your mind blown.

Barry and Nealis recorded Holiday in 20-minute stretches while their newborn daughter slept, but despite this time restriction, the record doesn't feel urgent. ... And with her incomparable honeyed vocals at the helm, Barry crafts one of the finest folk albums of the year so far.

While the songs of Something in the Room She Moves seem to exist in two modes — one buoyant, playful and adventurous, and the other weighty, contemplative and measured — a deeply somatic sense of sound design binds those halves together beautifully.

Somehow, the players have managed to escape our universe, and what they've brought back with them is both captivating and indescribably beautiful.

It's said to be his rawest grapple yet with anxiety, but it's full of lush, buoyant pop songs.

For Ever is Jungle's Hollywood album, both in scope and substance. With it, the group affirm their place among the indie auteurs of the zeitgeist, and--perhaps more importantly--skilfully avoid the sophomore slump.

Altogether, Ö feels like candy: addictive, sweet, glossy; the ultimate sugar rush. While it remains to be seen if there's a crash coming, Fcukers are undeniably the life of the party.

If BLACK METAL 2 is less Blunt-as-provocateur and more Blunt-as-storyteller, then both longtime fans and brand-new listeners owe him the opportunity to paint that morose picture in equal measure. Regardless of your familiarity with Blunt's music, you're bound to be rewarded.

It appears that Williamson is always fleeing from somewhere and yearns to live a life with no regrets with the time we have left. Sorceress is her personal but inspiring, magical journey to get to that point.

Lady deliver a definitive bright spot for those who remember when female R&B was great, and believe it can be again.

The Shakes is nonetheless brimming with alien sounds and left-field rhythms (culled from objects purchased on eBay), proving that even the most subdued Herbert release is still pretty damn fascinating.

Vince has managed to not only be acerbic but entertaining on his newest release. Its only drawback is its extremely short runtime.

While some may miss the soul and jazz chops of last year's collaborative Piñata, it's safe to say his solo risks have largely paid off.

Nine pieces that come off even more inventive than the present company suggests.

If you dig deep enough, it's an album filled with surprises from a band that continue to impress.

At the end of the day Tony Molina is just a guy who loves making music, and this is clear in every second of the layered, hard-hitting Songs from San Mateo County.

Despite his claims of musical malaise, Pink continues to display excellence in his eccentricities on Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, one of his most dynamic records to date.

Their best album to date, Advaitic Songs shows OM moving into modernity and relying less on tribalistic rhythms, but the sense of calmness will always be their signature.

Labyrinth is a site for self discovery: a place to get lost in and emerge with a new understanding of yourself.

On All or Nothing, Shopping talk big and play loud, showing their sharp sense of what makes people move. It's an album that just can't wait to be released, to spread its way through a gathered crowd — and, at last, to watch the motion begin.

Music about climate disaster usually feels somewhat dogmatic and thematically grandiose. But on Tomorrow's Fire, Ella Williams of Squirrel Flower takes the wide scale of the apocalypse and taps into its most intimate and personal corners.

Although the album may carry a serious and meaningful message, Rostron has enough hard-won maturity as an artist to know that vinegar only attracts flies, and All Love's Legal is a perfect marriage of thought-provoking and hip-shaking.

O'Brien manages to inhale stuffy themes of love and heartache and exhale fresh retellings.

The fascinating thing about this compilation is the range of influences the producers incorporate into their work.

Ufabulum shows Squarepusher pushing forward some of his leanest, most unfurled compositions to date.

These songs evoke an assortment of characters — a washed comedian, a wayward traveller, a group of disengaged partygoers, a doomed mobster — who tend to be down on their luck and feeling like they're wasting their lives away. But there's also a sense of movement — in time and space — that suggests that while things are strange and messy and definitely not ideal, there's more on the horizon.

There's no doubt Good Time OST absolutely sounds like a movie score, but every single track here stands on its own, providing an intensely emotional punch to the gut.

To the Sunset is relatively brief, but it marks a substantial--and very successful--shift for Shires towards a progressive, literate and ambitious blend of rock, folk and pop music. It may also just be her finest album yet.

On Gamel, OOIOO praise the traditional while eschewing the benign to create a truly original rhythmic screed.

Jay-Z co-opts and redefines current trends to reassert his ongoing cultural potency.

The result is an LP that manages to look forward while honouring the past simultaneously, which is no mean feat these days.

Elements of Jawbreaker, Pavement and even some riot grrrl gender politics rear their heads on their debut proper. The sound is beefier, but no less raw.

Manic is her most personal album to date.

While Fault Lines sees the transitory Deliluh maintain their hankering for neurotic storytelling and bleak narration, they've tapped into an arcane musical world of enveloping darkness predestined for a band that was bound to take their scene by storm before global pandemonium ensued.

It's a tighter and more motorik album than 2018's Modern Meta Physic, and the band sound as though they've locked more fully into the shape they're meant to take — hooky, harmonic rock that seems to glow softly from within all the noise. It's an enveloping, oddly comforting soundtrack to troubled times.

A band that could forever rely on their fascinating back-story and critical adoration alone, Tinariwen strives for much more on Emmaar.

Strangely familiar, yet still a major leap forward, there's a nice pop sheen that sells the record without losing the idiosyncratic production that drew listeners to the duo in the first place.

There are more questions here than resolutions, making Eat, Pray, Thug a thinking person's record, but that's a good thing, especially now that he's speaking to his largest audience yet.

He might have the Midas touch when it comes to genre, but when it comes to his last word, Terje is wise enough to say it in his first language.

Lover hears Swift back on stable ground. Her songwriting is as careful, detailed and impressive as ever, she's nestled into a perfect pop niche, and it seems like being totally in love has let her head drift off into the clouds a bit. The best part: Lover lets fans wander off into the daydream with her.

[Producer John Congleton's] keen ear helps make POWER Tudzin's most sonically complex album, with electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, strings, crescendos of feedback and other sounds subtly layered just beneath her bright vocals.

Provider moans with the stuff of life--fatherhood, working full-time, joy, death--and it's one of the most mesmerizing things any songwriter can lay claim to in recent memory.

Fine Line is proof that Harry Styles has grown as an artist since his solo debut. He hasn't reached his full potential, but he's certainly well on his way.

Her sophomore LP embraces the more straightforward impulses of her pristine pop songcraft — to results that feel more jubilant and whimsical than anything else she's ever done.

It may take a while before 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! is accepted amongst the ranks of their earlier work, if that ever happens, but ultimately, this is the same epic, mystifying GY!BE as always.

It's a late night listening record set in the candlelit environment of the human psyche and a worthy followup to Nathaniel's Falling Faster Than You Can Run.

He has his own sound and stands out as an artist, with this album possibly being the one to distance himself from being overshadowed by other Chicago rappers. He does hold it down for showing his upbringing through his music as a Chicago artist in a more authentic way this time around.

The final product is dynamic, with a warm, analog sound that brings out the best in Auerbach's writing.

Overall, Lantern's a beguiling collection of songs from an artist whose road to success is made better by the number of detours he takes along the way.

It might not be groundbreaking, but it's the kind of album that easily stays in the car's CD player all summer long.

Pieces like "Salamander," "Myzel" and the live tracks "Moos" and "Fichte" don't sound like classic Pole as much as they feel like classic Pole.

On Hubris, Oren Ambarchi displays the confidence to allow a jumble of musicians and sounds to come off like a beautifully orchestrated, high-concept piece.

The production on Somewhere Else is crisp and clean (though they could have pushed Loveless' distinctive voice slightly more out front).

Beginners seems like an introduction to Hutson and his past: fears, anxieties and faults and memories. It's all packaged in a brilliant album that satisfies any cravings for well-written, subtle and resonant folk rock.

The album is a joyous, well-executed mish-mash rooted in crisp sounds, thanks to James' rock-centric production.

Listening to Conway's latest is hearing the sound of an underground king ascend to the status of the esteemed guest artists he attracts.

Animated Violence Mild is a powerful collection of music made in response to a phenomenon that is too pervasive to ignore in the world today, and one well worth the listen.

Love's Last Chance is lazy summer listening. It reveals a mindful DJ/keyboardist/producer and now vocalist who has progressed from someone who, in his words, "made beats every day," to someone who's on to something good.

The record is in constant danger of toppling under its own weight. Thankfully, Rosalía largely manages to keep her head above the swell of her own ambition. Built on enormous waves of strings, brass, choir, thunderous kettledrums, bells and flamenco rhythms, it's a miracle just how nimble LUX sounds.

Melbourne is just the type of promising debut destined for a either cult following or a prosperous career.