Good To Be Home lives up to its title and is easily his best and most consistent release since Below The Heavens.

The band have once again found their sweet spot.

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.

Striking a balance between sinister and comforting, it's a compelling sign that Cold Specks remains an artist to watch.

Although many songs lack the fire and passion that defined his earlier work, with the exception of the race-relation lyrical content of "What's My Name?" and the growling "Snake Behind Glass," Four Lost Souls is simply unlike anything else in Jon Langford's sprawling discography.

Metric have created from a point of questioning who they are as a band and what they have to give. Their new album is an exercise in dispelling that doubt.

There's nothing especially innovative or unique about Handfuls of Night, but what it does, it does very well and should find great resonance with fans and filmmakers seeking some palpable sonic gravitas to help sell an emotional scene.

For better or worse (mostly better), None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive captures the feeling of the Streets past, while laying out a path for its present and future.

At Best Cuckold is a strong cohesive whole, a sum of all its theoretically disparate parts, and one that wears its idiosyncrasies proudly on its sleeve.

Simply refusing to be pigeonholed, the Danish producer has managed to stray even further from the lively electronic style that was his making.

Surprisingly, Jidenna makes it work, commanding the listener's attention from start to finish.

A powerful return to form.

Uptown Special is unapologetic in revelling in its musical influences and ultimately represents a light and mainstream-friendly primer to funk and soul.

Sundowner's glow begins to fade in the album's latter half. The final two tracks, the instrumental "Velvet Highway" and "Provisions," are pleasant enough, but taper the album off on a muted note. It's a minimalist ending showing that less isn't always more.

All in all, The Now Now feels fresh and present. Gorillaz have performed a type of sonic reset by stripping back their cast of collaborators, yet it exemplifies the strength of the songwriting at the group's core.

This is the closest thing you'll get to an aural Scandinavian spa.

While Higher Power isn't a perfect debut, it's a strong statement of purpose from a band that clearly have a rock'n'roll heart.

The added bonus is the way this release is inclusive of the familiar textures of more poplar electronics. It's wide open and intelligent, and comes highly recommended.

He's as strong a songwriter as always, but it feels like there's a deeper sense of purpose this time around, and it makes for a beautifully gratifying experience.

If previous King Krule efforts could be accused of sad-boy narcissism, Man Alive! shows that Marshall's gaze has never been entirely directed at his own navel. Despair is still there in his songwriting, but so is the capacity for change.

Though they won't repeat the trick, Diana plunder '80s-aping blog-pop and find surprising riches in a long washed-out gold mine.

The lyrics are murky--there are none of the plainspoken tales of domesticity that Lennox used to specialize in--but the burbling soundscapes and soaring pop melodies are gorgeous.

Paracosm floats by like a wonderful dream, from which only the most jaded music fan would wish to awaken.

While it's easy to go overboard making an album like this and lose a track by burying it in too many samples and obscure references, Projections keeps its focus, and balance, by never using more than necessary.

While his source material is firmly rooted in the past, Petestrumentals 2 makes a couple of more contemporary statements

There's Always More at the Store is a solid addition to Holland's discography, and hopefully there is indeed more where this came from.

The Districts leave their comfort zone on You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere but yield results that are almost always fun and engaging. As a project with transition and discovery at its core, You Know I'm Not Going Anywhere nonetheless feels rooted in authenticity.

Tricky has injected so much raw emotion into Fall to Pieces that it can't help but stand out as one of his most notable, memorable and authentic releases.

With the release of Melophobia in 2013, listeners saw Cage create a new identity; Tell Me I'm Pretty takes that change further by exploring new avenues and soundscapes, and it's better for it.

Producer Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) brings the same balance to the soundscapes Bulat maintains with her lyrics, positioning the space-age synths and backup harmonies in ways that invoke both gospel and girl group traditions without overshadowing the album's strongest suit: Bulat's vibrant vocals.

Although the core songwriting is never quite as captivating and merciful as it was on previous albums, Heartworms nonetheless has an adventurous outer shell, and the Shins seem to revel in the newfound space inside of it.

Despite the band's downsizing, TFCF demonstrates that Andrew has always been the beating heart of Liars. This time, the unexpected was hearing him bare his without any uncertainty.

Merchant has offered us a challenging, often starkly beautiful, collection.

Love Me is a gorgeous album, through and through.

So far, Cults have relied on that brand of fresh, unbridled energy that fuels new groups like them, making Static a fine example of an album running perfectly off of kinetics.

Grace/Confusion could have been a great 20-minute EP. Instead, it's a listless 40 minutes that works best as background music.

12 is arguably the most well-rounded album they've made since 1999's underrated Between the Bridges.

Perhaps its biggest fault is being a good album that's just not as strong as the other two in .Paak's "Golden State" series.

Take It Like A Man is a disjointed affair with a slippery identity.

Providence finds Fake reinvigorated, having worked through writer's block to find inspiration in a virtual analog synth from the mid '90s, the Korg Prophecy. He mined all the gold he could from that Korg to make Providence.

There's enough flat-out enjoyable tunes on Lightning Bolt to set aside the past, at least temporarily.

Orcas provides much to engage fans of both Irisarri and Pioulard, as well as lovers of languid, abstracted pop song craft.

This is a violent force of targeted creativity.

The ace in the hole should be Maandig, so foreign is a female voice in the macho world of NIN's industrial muscle. But her vocals are too often drowned out, often intentionally, by the music.

With Shulamith, Poliça have managed to create one of the most confident and assertive albums of the year.

It's a solid album from Mvula, but "beguiling potential" only begins to describe the musical authority this debut merely alludes to.

Eclectic, soulful and refreshing, Cool Uncle is a must-hear.

The Competition may be Lower Dens' most accessible album, but its best moments come when the band slow down and strips back their sound.

With all these varied components coming together to form a cohesive unit — a family, if you will — ODESZA cleverly offer a reminder that they're making world-changing stuff, and we're lucky to be alive at the same time they're making music.

While the majority of Harmonics was written solely by Goddard himself, he allows his songwriting to be elastic, bending and shaping around these guest vocalists, resulting in one of the most personality-filled albums of the year.

The shifting, irregular momentum on Render Another Ugly Method is bold and rewarding, with many surprises.

he Wainwright Sisters' voices blend together perfectly, and the melodies here are calming--almost too much so. A close listen to the lyrics, though, reveals the darker side of bedtime stories.

For all its focus on breakups, love very much appears on the record. "How Did You Know?" uses light and layered synths to create air on the album and explore the feeling of hope found in a new love."

Bed & Bugs finds one of America's mightiest, smartest rock bands playing at peak power, challenging themselves and conveying the ragged glory of camaraderie.

Afrobeat, techno, Latin rhythms, jazz and electronica fly by thick and fast on We Will Not Harm You in a dizzying display that's both comfortingly familiar and wildly futuristic.

Experienced as a whole, Mythologies is a satisfyingly rich tapestry woven by a band who've found their strengths and honed them accordingly.

The lesson should be that there are some great songs buried beneath all the studio trickery, and focusing on that would serve Dr. Dog much better next time out.

Staring At the X is definitely cut from the same cloth as its predecessor, but even more so. Everything has been ramped up, making for an even more satisfying record.

The album pops with memories of a time we might not have been in, and English's words make you feel alive. It's the perfect soundtrack to the next few months that may feel like an eternity under COVID-19.

While the arrangements are relatively unadorned compared to the original versions, Campbell's voice is strong, and the overall results are a dignified last letter to his fans. There may be little appeal beyond that.

The vocal delivery throughout (care of guitarist Woody Weatherman and bassist Mike Dean) is pretty weak, especially compared to Pepper's attention-commanding style, and that, combined with a somewhat jarring mix of fast punk, smothering, Sabbath-ian metal and good-ol'-boy Southern rock, just whets the appetite for the return of Pepper and the big rock.

Mac Miller emphatically joins a higher tier of rap artists with Watching Movies, an effort that at once silences his detractors and rewards his faithful following.

Mountain Man cling to the ordinary, but are able to make it extraordinary.

Hazy slacker rock with catchy melodies and psych-y breakdowns, Melt the Honey is a warm, raw album that invites reflection without judgement.

The result is a dozen highly listenable songs that don't sound like anything else in the world of rock music right now.

Powers has found the perfect balance between melodic sounds and a darker aesthetic, making his new creative endeavours come more into focus.

Hints of the album's atypicality are apparent from its opening minutes, for better or worse. "Falling Back" makes for a questionable lead-off, as Drake's falsetto has never been particularly strong, but Honestly, Nevermind rarely falters from there.

This odd, emotionally varied collection of songs embraces the fluidity of sexuality and gender, yet acknowledges that finding a stable, strong connection with another person remains an anxiety-inducing task.

The sparse chug of "Defector/ed" and the dirge-y mantra of "A Ceiling Dreams of a Floor" reflect the rough-hewn elegance of the duo's raw musical material.

While not a classic, Sex & Cigarettes is a solid effort from R&B's true queen of heartbreak.

Weber's creative theoretical and instrumental approach is unique, but the abrasive and connotative tonal qualities of the carillon often overshadow the colourful subtleties of the finer details of his delicate arrangements.

This Working Girl's Guitar is in top form here.

There's nothing necessarily at fault about borrowing so heavily from the past — these sounds are, after all, classic for a reason and it's true that Starcrawler conjure them expertly and deftly. The most memorable moments of the record, though, are those when Starcrawler distinguish their work from the giants before them, sketching out instead their own growing sense of self.

This is well worth having for fans that have worn out Mare or Terra, despite the fact that the immersive, soothing qualities that balanced the angularity on his previous releases have been ditched in favour of often shrill, jarring timbres.

Designed for finding communion with others while staying true to oneself, I Hear You touches the timeless with an ethos of openness, striking a vibrant and dynamic balance between familiarity and freshness.

Ultima II Massage marks a fresh direction for this always-challenging supervillain.

On Visibility is a Trap, Dalhous deliver another handful of terrific dark ambient music that will hopefully give way to braver, newer waves.

VII: Sturm und Drang is the album that almost wasn't, but it's worth celebrating for the album that it is: another solid addition to the Lamb of God catalogue.

After challenging themselves on Whorl, Simian Mobile Disco push their craft as far as their comfort level will allow on Welcome to Sideways.

While some of this album's material might seem pretentious or esoteric, Amidon's strengths--his musicianship, rustic voice and taste for innovative arrangements--still shine through.

Sensorimotor as a whole isn't as strong as Lusine's previous efforts for Ghostly International.

This is business as (un)usual for one of indie rock's greatest experimental institutions, to be sure.

Overall, The Triad is a satisfying reminder that Pantha Du Prince is still the best at what he does.

Though radically different in execution, The Powers That B is a compelling look at the band's ability to work with sounds both minimal and monumental, while containing some of their most riveting lyrical and musical work in recent memory.

Toeing a line both musically and lyrically between the darkness and the dance floor, Days Gone By is perhaps best enjoyed in the later hours, whether you're in your own head or out of it.

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

Post-rock, grunge, hardcore, noise-rock; it's all fair game in the eyes of Big Ups, and this album is all the better for it.

There's literally no other band that could handle this heady material with such confidence and ease, and Rhyton sound like they love every second of it.

It's a mature and refined album woven deeply enough into pop's historical fabric to please connoisseurs, but with enough lightness and fun for casual appeal as well.

Oxy Music's greatest strength is that it makes the plight of an addict easy to understand and sympathize with, and may even help addicts who tune in feel less alone.

Having shown herself to be an adept garage rock frontwoman in recent years, Crutchfield effortlessly slips back into the role of an intimate solo bedroom artist on Great Thunder.

Interpol are far past the point of trying to recapture their glory days, but even their attempts to change things up come off as a mixed bag. Prospective fans and diehards alike are better off starting at the beginning.

Like its predecessor, the new disc delivers a nice mixture of lighter fare with heavier songs acting as an anchor, though Happy To You has a distinctly animated glow.

Those looking for standout singles and sing-along choruses best search elsewhere, but for fans of downtempo folk, there is a lot to appreciate here.

Neuroplasticity is a full-on rock record, though, as much as it's just a transition for Spx into something that takes a variety of musical turns.

Everyday Life has more blunders than hits, but let's give Coldplay some credit — they've got a "go big or go home" attitude that's entertaining, even when it misses the mark.

Frankie Rose might not be the face of Beverly, but Careers is one of the best things she's done to date. But Drew Citron deserves most of the credit.

B3, fiddle, accordion and, on a couple of cuts, saxophones result in a full sound, but the focus throughout is correctly placed on Rose's pure and retro-sounding vocals and well-constructed. ... Consistently strong.