With Physicalist, Forma have issued a gorgeous statement that extends beyond being a culmination of their previous work. This LP is an example of a collective approaching its zenith.

While there's room to reflect on things like dynamics and vocal mixing (Perry's ancient cackle sometimes gets blurred, patios aside), and while Perry is one of the best mixologists in history, Must Be Free is not his best.

For those who've held on for the ride and enjoyed the band's descent into the heart of darkness, it'll be a welcome addition to your already massive collection of the band's many gems.

While ψ certainly isn't for everyone, it's nonetheless an important album that strives to get us to think outside the boom box.

At this point, Glasper, along with bassist Derrick Hodge, saxophonist Casey Benjamin, and drummer Mark Colenburg, are a well-oiled musical machine. As the Robert Glasper Experience, the quartet embrace jazz as they steer the genre into exciting directions.

All in all, there's ample material on here for fans, even if Mount Ninji lacks a lot of the bite that made albums like Ten$ion and Donker Mag so fresh and exhilarating.

The album is riddled with feeling, and there is an adamant sense of joy.

His ability to make sonically adventurous, emotionally rich pop has made him a perpetually welcome presence in a crowded field and made Care another triumph.

Often working separately as they balanced various side projects, the recording sessions for Heads Up have resulted in an eclectic, nuanced collection of songs.

A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings might not be an earth-shattering departure from last year's full-length debut The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us, but it's a loud and beautifully fun ode to young outsiders falling in love, getting fucked up and revelling in their weirdness--and that's advice as good as any.

The album has all the material necessary for a great release; it's simply lacking in its arrangement and execution.

If Pale Fire read like a dream, KoKoro reads like a worldly, real-life adventure.

For the most part, the rest of the album is less head-turning, which that can translate to forgettable. Still, it's about time Taking Back Sunday shook things up, so the high points make Tidal Wave an effort that should please dedicated fans and appease the sceptics somewhat, as well.

As a whole, though it's compositionally beautiful, Lights Falls leaves the listener deeply emotional--both distressed and saddened. However, this strong reaction is artistic success for Robinson.

The album is a passionately written and deeply moving meditation on loss, and Touché Amoré have never been better as a band.

Ciani and Smith's exploitation of the Buchla's possibilities is exemplary, and worth looking into for fans of ambient or experimental music.

Keaton Henson's evolution has been exciting to behold, and Kindly Now is another compelling release.

This is a winner, another great release from a band that, really, has no problem delivering great albums. Shape Shift with Me occupies a perfect middle ground between their last two discs, and that's a very special, and unique, place to be.

Much of Fixion, while enjoyable, finds Trentemøller stuck on the same weary note, reaching for what's comfortable and familiar rather than pushing his craft forward.

This final track ["Aura Aura"] manages to rein in all the restless energy found throughout The Wink and transform it into a beautiful, warm sound that sends you on your way, all the better for experiencing it.

This collaborative album, It's Hard for Me to Say I'm Sorry, casually sits somewhere in the middle between tonal ambience and noisy dissonance.

Scott's hedonistic lyrics about sex and drugs remain awfully vapid for what's been billed as a trap masterpiece (the utterly banal "SDP Interlude" takes the cake). ... Scott's strength, of course, continues to lie in his ear for beats, with part of his appeal being his ability to make songs with less than rewarding subject matter still sound cool.

Preoccupations are steadying their footing here, both growing up and grounding themselves sonically.

On Furfour, Grumbling Fur prove once again that they have the chops to inhabit multiple worlds at once: they're natural songwriters, but also aurally astute sonic innovators. This record delivers on both levels.

Femejism is a powerhouse album that exudes defiant independence without succumbing to tropes, but there are moments where it falters--the overly abrasive yelling on "Little Baby Beauty Queen" comes to mind.

Oddly captivating in running just shy of 40 minutes, Splendor & Misery is hardly your overblown concept record that runs far too long. Indeed, it's worth multiple listens for both its out-of-this-world production and Diggs' one-two punch of lyricism and bafflingly effortless delivery.

Beyond its heaps of pop-rock hooks, TUNS debut full-length is a testament to the eternal power of friendship.

Townsend takes his fusion of weighty progressive metal and string, horn and choir sections to lofty heights here, not unlike what he achieved with Epicloud and Sky Blue.

PHOENIXXX is a difficult listen, abrasive and angry, but it's expressive and worthwhile if you can manage to make it through.

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

Unlike many B-side collections, much of E•MO•TION: Side B has single potential to the point where it's crazy that high-energy synth-pop gems like "First Time," "Higher" and "Body Language" were left off of E•MO•TION for mid-tempo bonus cuts like "Black Heart."

Sunlit Youth may not be the massive leap forward some fans may have wanted, but it's far from a step back. Instead, it's yet another steady offering from Local Natives, who continue to build on a solid catalogue.

The Sun's Tirade is pleasant, but it's not timeless.

Calico Review may leave the listener feeling a little parched, too, as it doesn't paint as bright and stirring a picture as either of its predecessors.

While the group may have dialled back the volume in recent years, they've imbued their new material with a subtle emotional resonance.

A.I.M. may not be concise, but it's focused and purposeful, a loose collection characterized by sticky-hot swagger, political awareness and, most importantly, urgency.

The result is a moving, disquieting experience, sweetness and fear mingling together as the summer fades into autumn.

Sheff's lyrics, while typically verbose but economic, are more rambling here, but it's refreshing to hearing him cut loose.

Thug really makes the most out of the seven notes he has. It's impossible to hear him get all guttural on "Harambe" and not feel it in your stomach.

Skiptracing takes the listener on a beautifully produced and paced adventure that plays out like a soundtrack.

Having had their murky fun, Sarah Pendleton and Kim Pack emerge with the confidence and breadth to wring every ounce of emotion out of their instruments.

Zomby changes style a frustrating amount, and all of it crawls along at a painstaking speed. He's gone for something different here, which is commendable, but the end product, sadly, comes off more pretentious than deep.

Cooper seems to have found just the right balance of electronic elements and traditional instrumentation for this album, as well.

A fascinating, affecting statement from a musician firmly in control of her artistry.

Staples approaches the latest chapters of his story on Prima Donna in bleak fashion, his pen and delivery both as sharp as ever.

When Anything But Words ups the pace, it proves to be one of the finest records of the year.

While they exceed expectations on these non-assisted tracks, De La Soul also more than hold their own against their superstar guests.

It would be unwise to view Amnesty (I) as the rebirth of Crystal Castles; it's simply the next step in the band's evolution, a welcome return.

There are few surprises in Roosevelt's brand of dance music, but that seems decidedly the point; the synapses it triggers feel like the most welcomingly comfortable sort of sparks, firing on familiar-but-welcome cylinders.

At times, the simplicity of the melodies (the synths at times sound like readymade ones you'd find on a Yamaha keyboard) and decidedly uncomplicated drum machine beats may leave the listener wanting more, but they play into the notion of these characters being pathetic, exhausted and disappointed so well that there really isn't a need for much more.

One of the best things about the Album Leaf is the mental imagery that comes naturally with the music, and Between Waves provides a fresh canvas.

Mangy Love sounds like a collaborative affair from an artist who has the keen ability to keep his musical identity sounding completely idiosyncratic.

Vibrant, it colours outside the lines. Poignant, it's transparent with altering modes of bravado, vulnerability and desperation. It is, thoroughly, a Frank Ocean album, yearning for perfection, sating the audience's hunger for dynamism, yet with the persistent feeling that the artist feels it's all a failure.

While PND's production is typically on point, his songwriting and vocal skills are still evolving.

Pure & Simple is at best a middle shelf release in Parton's discography.

Animal Races is an homage to a bygone era, and a terrific one at that, so while it's far more influenced than it could ever be influential, it does have the potential to inspire sentimentality among those who lived through the era to which it devotes itself.

Golden Sings That Have Been Sung is a personal best for Walker, innovation for the genre and in general, just a damn good listen.

With 12 tracks and a run time of just 30 minutes, much of Tobacco's fourth solo LP almost sounds incomplete at times, but Fec somehow makes it work to his advantage.

Real, Loveless's confident and poppy fourth album, builds on what Loveless and her band were doing on 2014's grittier Somewhere Else.

At times, At Swim feels like it drifts aimlessly. ... Nevertheless, At Swim is like a dream you won't want to wake up from.

Callus is a harrowing experience, not for the faint of heart. It's more of a preach than a rap, at times more post-rock than hip-hop, the overall experience something akin to hearing slam poetry at knifepoint.

If you want to just chill at home in the afternoon, give this beauty a spin. Those wanting a reinvented wheel, look elsewhere.

A rarely relenting party with more substance than the last.

Between Ant's eclectic, subtle production and Slug's equally nuanced lyricism, Fishing Blues stands out as one of the best hip-hop LPs of the year thus far.

Time has been kind to Thee Oh Sees, who remain proper royalty in the garage rock universe and manage to shape-shift without losing their boisterous and impactful delivery.

This is feel-good music. On Home Wrecking Years, Canning has developed a sound that is genuine, heartfelt and liberating.

Fans of surrealist, lo-fi beats and the 1980s will finds Edwards' beach worth visiting.

Wild Beasts have always been strong performers, but only when seemingly unaware; by tackling the trope of hubris-laden bro rockers, Boy King finds them becoming the butt of their own jokes, with little more than mindless dance tracks to show for it.

Man Machine Poem is the Tragically Hip's most cohesive release since at least Music @ Work.

What makes Interior Architecture such a success, though, is how effortless his attention to detail feels, as each movement flows into another to help create an experimental noise concept album.

Throughout the album's 12 tracks, of Montreal manage to come off inspired, inventive, re-energized and wide-eyed on Innocence Reaches, utilizing new sounds rather than rehashing old ideas.

Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is another fine entry into Dinosaur Jr.'s ever-expanding catalogue. Whether or not the group are attracting new listeners with these releases is unclear, but they're certainly doing nothing to dissuade old ones.

Opting to work with four different producers led the band to a wide variety of sounds on Morning Report, and while that will be a sticking point for some listeners, the record shows they're far from content in solely making plays towards accessibility.

On Night Melody, West has created a touchingly personal piece of art that feels more like an addendum to Howl than a jarringly new chapter in his musical journey.

No Hard Feelings isn't quite ground-breaking, but it's an exciting step forward from Dreezy's previous project, Schizo.

It starts off deceptively strong, with standouts like "I Got the Keys," "Nas Album Done" and "For Free" all loaded near the beginning. But once the album advances past this bit of clever sequencing, it barely strikes a chord.

There are certainly lulls among the 18 tracks, moments of randomness, and even an occasional lack of direction. But if Cline is indeed trying to conjure a feeling of romance through instrumental jazz, he's done just that on this record.

Compared to Memorial, the band's previous release, Guidance plays it straight and heavy, granting the listener fewer moments of mercy from the onslaught of Russian Circles' music.

Though at times a little too cacophonous, the nine-track LP is an impressive collection that remains true to its Afrofuturistic roots.

While the band clearly have a penchant for aggressive guitar, shouted choruses and thunderous drums, there are also plenty of subtler moments on S+@dium Rock.

Pleiades' Dust is a stunning release, a cohesive, exceptionally crafted piece that captures the heavy aggression and incredible musicianship of Gorguts while incorporating more avant-garde elements and a fascinating storyline to boot.

It admittedly spends a lot of time in a downer mode--a more light-amidst-the-dark feel would feel nice--but this sophomore effort remains affecting and affirming in its own quiet way

The experiences feel lived and the emotional crescendos genuine, but the inferred vagueness of the title belies the certainty at its core: For All We Know is a masterwork.

The King of Whys is wrought with restless artistry, simultaneously looking for and finding emotional release through musical exploration, lyrical introspection and bits of dry humour.

Hypercaffium could have been just another instalment in Descendents' long and fruitful career, and that would have been just fine; its biggest surprise is that it offers fans something new if nevertheless familiar, thereby cementing the band's continued relevance after all these years.

Though some may find the metal might tiresome over Periphery III's hour-plus runtime, the drive to keep exploring outside of their stylistic box continues to be crucial to their success.

Like many slackers with a heart of gold, Fulvimar is full of interesting ideas on this record, but can't seem to put in the work to flesh them all out.

The record is comfortably balanced between different periods of Shepherd's work, derailing expectation surrounding followups, all while still obfuscating the line between analog and digital. For Floating Points, it's business as usual.

Despite her great pipes however, the band's arrangements make much of Born of the Sun feel like amateur hour at Medieval Times. A talented producer would be able to focus on McCarthy's strong voice and balance some of the band's more freewheeling tendencies.

Look Park's weakest points are the frills that seem to dominate more than half of the album.

The Swizz Beatz-assisted "Let Me See Em Up," "Light it Up" and "Let the Beat Drop (Celebrate)" rarely do much to stand apart from filler. These occasional misses aren't enough to water down the entirety of Coolaid, though, with Snoop's return to G-funk proving refreshing enough to keep listeners' thirst quenched.

Angeleno, the triumphant debut from Los Angeles-based Sam Outlaw, is perhaps the best example of this old sound we've had in 40 years.

The MSTRKRFT formula of tight, catchy loops remains unchanged after all--they've just gotten a lot darker.

For an album comprised entirely of outtakes, Oddments of the Gamble sounds surprisingly realized and complete.

The result is an adventurous but inconsistent affair that suggests Clams Casino has plenty of ideas — and perhaps his masterpiece--still in him.

All doom fans should check out this album; those who aren't yet Inter Arma converts will more than likely be swayed by the cohesive chaos and neurotic introspection that define this album.

Despite the changes, many things remain the same, and fans can look forward to a solid third instalment.

It all taps deeply into different veins of pop, yet it's gloriously synergetic in the incredible world created by Prince Rama.