From her visceral chemistry with her collaborators to their razor-sharp take on Americana and — above all — Price's deeply personal lyricism, there are plenty of elements that make That's How Rumors Get Started one of the year's strongest country releases.

Continuing to navigate everyday life experiences with insightful wisdom, reimagining biblical language with more universal interpretations.

For such a specific formula, the law of diminishing returns likely looms, if it hasn't arrived already, but for now, The Glow is just enough of a good thing.

Like all of Barwick's work, Healing Is a Miracle is an exercise in meditation and tracing the natural flow of emotion within. Barwick masterfully creates a temporary escape from reality which relaxes tensions that slowly surrender and dissolve into its harmless components.

The vocals on Unfollow the Rules are unmistakably Wainwright's — remarkably indistinguishable from his younger voice. With the strong drumbeat on the opening track, "Trouble in Paradise," it also becomes apparent that this album possesses some spark: if it represents coming home at dusk, then it is not without fireworks.

While there's an overall sense of reining in and refining on Jump Rope Gazers that keeps it from reaching the giddiest heights of its predecessor, the band sounds just as good in this mode as the other, just a little different.

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.

Full of prodigious riffs, intoxicating vocals and a narrative you just can't ignore, So When You Gonna… exemplifies just what happens when talent meets passion.

The fact that each member of the band produced their own tracks comes off like a harbinger to why Endless Dream simply doesn't work, ostensibly ending Peter Bjorn and John's secret winning streak.

Whatever this record "is" in terms of its overall sound, it will appeal to a broad audience with its series of radio-friendly medium-tempo stompers and tender ballads. A solid debut effort overall for Townes.

Ware has never sounded more loose and confident — the icy diva that presided over much of Devotion is gone. Despite the flirtatious, non-specific lyrics — Ware said she wanted to make an album for people to have sex to — there's a better sense of her personality and humour this time around.

Despite its name, Agricultural Tragic is also deeply comedic. That, along with its irresistibly catchy alt-country rhythms, make it one of 2020's most well rounded and re-playable releases.

Krivchenia has absconded with sounds traditionally associated with beauty, applied his twisted genius, and the result is A New Found Relaxation.

Traces of previous collaborators and tourmates such as Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Troye Sivan and S. Carey can be found in these songs, along with the bright folk-pop energy of Maggie Rogers, yet Gordi stands out from her peers on the strength of her direct, melancholic voice and honest lyricism.

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.

Coriky is its own, beautifully compelling thing. There is love and respect flowing between the three players and it's a palpable part of this expression that is emotive, reasoned, and rather relaxed. Once this record's playing, the Coriky universe is a fascinating one to be a part of.

Women in Music Pt. III flips between the band's least and most processed work to date. Both sides yield highlights. ... It's as multifaceted as the music it encapsulates and the women who made it.

LaMontagne seems more centered and confident as a songwriter this time around, imbuing the tunes with a sparseness that makes the whole effort more homemade and intimate.

This is Ghersi in her truest form — which is to say that it is many forms at once. The record zigzags between styles and moods at a breakneck pace, collapsing genre in its wake and crafting new pop forms – never has an Arca album held so many moments of pure songcraft.

From the starting gate to the finish line, The True Story of Bananagun is a genuine work of delight to listen to in all of its funky, jazzy, psyched-out glory.

More than anything on this album, the quintet prove they are willing to travel far and wide when it comes to exploring new sounds, while still being able to deliver a cohesive final product.

The album is an ode to all that Khruangbin have achieved and a look forward to everything that is to come.

While the record may not have been what she was expecting to create, it illuminates immense growth and versatility in Margaret's strength as a songwriter and as a producer.

Taken as standalone stories, they're almost brazenly mundane; considered as a whole, Somewhere paints a picture of the small pleasantries and anxieties of everyday life.

Couple the simultaneously sparse and noisy production with the overall scant running time, and the album unfortunately fails to leave an impression, especially in an area of music that has become more and more saturated since the band's 2018 breakthrough.

The 20-plus years of material featured on this record hold together with a remarkable consistency. 10:20 is far from being the sonic grab-bag of disconnected whims and ideas which would not have been completely unwarranted to suspect.

Although Kinsella still writes dense math rockers ("On with the Show") alongside uncomplicated acoustic ditties ("Headphoned"), The Avalanche seems to meld together into slosh of uniform sound, leaving the listener with an album that is emotionally thrilling even when it is tactilely urbane.

It makes for a frankly less fun and memorable album, but Baauer remains a master of the big party moment, and some of these are red hot.

Fans of Braids and those interested in the kinds of personal, political and artistic struggles this work deals with will enjoy spending time with this new record.

Rough and Rowdy Ways is the work of a man in love with language and philosophy, and, at 79, he continues to take the pulse of the zeitgeist with unerring precision. He ain't no false prophet, he's an artist, he don't look back.

Verminous acts as a solid testing ground for experimentation in the band's sound that works well and could be improved and perfected as time goes on.

The maturation of Bridgers' craft, and influence of her peers, is apparent on Punisher. The songs alternate between tightly wound pop-rock ("Kyoto") and a soft concoction of folk-rock ("Savior Complex") and both sides feel focused and sturdy. Bridgers keeps getting better and Punisher affirms this.

Through songs now considered longtime favourites, and ones that will now find wider audiences, Homegrown is now free to stand as a more organic, lovelorn harvest of the personal turmoil that influenced Young's revered mid-'70s output.

Sleep On the Wing finds comfort in discomfort. The emotions expressed are not completely happy but there is also the sense that listeners can make peace with this.

Despite such inclinations towards the jaded and cyclical at times, Out in the World boasts enough latitude and flexibility to hook interest.

Lamb of God is essentially what fans should expect from the band at this point. Nothing on it feels groundbreaking or cutting-edge like the band's music did in the 2000s, but then again, it's unlikely Lamb of God will ever muster up that same aggression from the comfortable place they sit now.

Hardy and her band have written an album that meets the daily crises of life head on, finding light in the darkness and the motivation to keep going. That victory was born out of a very personal fight, but with Survival, Wares make the personal universal.

Omens is more of an extended jam session, with the four dudes of Elder playing off each other's musicality, never getting ahead of themselves or losing the plot.

Summerlong showcases Johnson's prowess as a songwriter, as effortlessly as the sun shines on a clear summer day.

Sondre Lerche's latest may not be worth picking apart lyrically, but it is a treat for the ears. The exquisite production combined with the pop sensibility on Patience makes it delectable.

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.

Between Fox at this most stripped back and Fox at his most ornate are "Vedana," "Arising and Passing" and "Parasthesia," which mostly eschew the stream of consciousness rhythms and melodic flourishes of the rest of Contact for a more pensive feel, replete with drones, tuned percussion, and tantric textures. These tracks aren't ineffective so much as they are on a different plane from the rest, one less ecstatic and adventurous.

The album finds Knxwledge stretching in unpredictable new directions, while also maintaining the soulful throwback sound that garnered him so many fans in the first place.

At the end of the day, the Lovells have created another strong, forward-thinking record that continues to show an overall evolution in Larkin Poe's sound and style, providing a worthy followup to their previous outings.

Originating as instrumental studio sketches, Kember's change in scenery gave birth to lyrics that add substance to the LP.

Chami really does know how to use her voice to soothe, entrance and fascinate. This, combined with the uncanny synth melodies that she is able to concoct seemingly out of thin air, is what makes her music enjoyable, and practically ineffable.

It's a slightly scattered record, but one fuelled by an invigorating conviction and helmed by an artist with the gravitational pull to make it all align.

Fantasize Your Ghost encapsulates the thrilling and sometimes terrifying joy of moving forward and finding the confidence within yourself to be exactly who you are — an album with enough depth and passion to fill a room, something you can listen to on a loop and never get bored.

No Age's latest is not ground-breaking, but it doesn't need to be. It's an enjoyable rock record from a pair of sonic auteurs whose instincts for DIY noise-punk are as strong as ever.

The New York rapper-producer's greatest contribution to RTJ4 is his vivid and varied sonic backdrops. His on-point production offers the lyrically superior Killer Mike both space and sonic support as he rises to new heights of artistry and activism, making El-P the kind of ally worth emulating.

Your Hero Is Not Dead is an impressively contemplative debut album, filled with quiet music that packs a surprising emotional punch.

The album-closing title track gets synthier, but also heavier, hitting listeners with a wave of doom. It's the best of what the two can do, both together and apart. If Mrs. Piss's first release is any indication, we can't wait to see what's next.

Too often, supergroup side-projects come across as ego-building exercises, yet Banks has managed to avoid this with both his collaboration with Wu Tang Clan's RZA (on Banks & Steelz) and now with Muzz.

Sideways to New Italy is not only the perfect summer companion, but it also makes room for a reflective experience. As the band work to find what constitutes "home" again, digging into their individual pasts and the people and places who have shaped them, perhaps it can inspire listeners to look inwards and do the same.

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 current king of rap manages, yet again, to offer a searing insight into his life, past and present. The songs on Alfredo are fun even when the themes aren't.

The music is punchy, with electronic and analog elements, but, in contrast with Fucked Up, there is absolutely nothing abrasive about the vocals, which are sometimes dominated by beautiful harmonies, as the album's title suggests.

For more than a decade, Lady Gaga has encouraged us to 'just dance' regardless of the pain hidden deep within ourselves. While she may have veered off from her own advice over the past few years, Chromatica proves that Gaga is back and better than ever.

In so far as 'vibes' and 'moods' become more important in hip-hop, Nav captures the feeling of boredom exceptionally well. Surrounding himself with hip-hop's most superficial, NAV somehow manages to represent even less.

NO DREAM is punk rock that's fit for the masses without sacrificing any of its authenticity. For every catchy melody there's a brashness that says to the wrong people, "This isn't for you." But Rosenstock always makes a case for joining him in the good fight.

Although Dedicated might be a more comprehensive piece of work as a whole, Side B is so impressively strong that it could easily be a continuation of the album (its B-side, even). Side B is brimming with starry-eyed euphoria, glittery synth-pop confections and her characteristically odd lyrical syntax.

Ultimately, while not pushing beyond well-worn genre expectations, Hollywood Park does present the Airborne Toxic Event at their most sincere and vulnerable.

King Gizzard's offerings, by their experimental nature, are a disjointed product. Rather than fight this, Chunky Shrapnel thunders headlong into it. ... While this jarring approach may not give you the best sense of a King Gizzard show, it certainly captures what makes them so appealing.

Island represents a tender, more melancholic chapter in Pallett's repertoire, but one that offers a refined perspective.

If Future Teenage Cave Artists is the only cultural artifact left behind in an apocalypse, future generations will at least have an interesting scripture to use to rebuild.

There are at least two too many instrumentals, and songs that stand apart on their own start to bleed together near then end. But the ambition and execution can't be denied. This is the 1975 operating at the peak of their powers.

Don't Let the Ink Dry is a promising debut that showcases true talent.

This album feels like they need to take another walk in the trees to reconnect with their namesake.

While I Love the New Sky would have been a near-perfect nine-track LP, it's a rare treat that Tim Burgess can give fans something so inspired and inspiring this deep into his career.

Banana Skin Shoes is classic Badly Drawn Boy: Eclectic songs held together by heartfelt lyrics and rich instrumentation. The only thing that's changed is Gough has proved he can dance.

Instead of digging up coal like the miners grippingly depicted in these new songs, the Hardcore Troubadour and the Dukes unearth anthemic gems for America's marginalized.

Okkyung Lee has delivered an album so achingly tender that it is bound to stand as one of this year's best neoclassical releases.

For each song where the more minimal sonic approach comes up short, there are places on Temple where it succeeds.

Although Jim White and Marisa Anderson never seem to give themselves enough time or space to truly stretch out, The Quickening nonetheless captures two masters at their most free.

The Mosaic of Transformation is a generous record, a gift from Smith to those who need to lock into their body, to move quietly and deliberately.

Pretty much the only complaint is that, similar to all of his releases since the infamous EVOL, it delivers and lives up to the hype, but it doesn't build and surpass his previous work. It remains to be seen whether he will ever create an album that is better than everything he's done so far, but this is still an extremely solid release.

Despite its brisk pacing, Starz still suffers from bloat. Songs like "Iceheart," "Dance in the Dark," and "My Agenda" could have been left off the track list and made the album more coherent and enjoyable to experience.

Lovers Rock reflects the Dears' identity as a band, illustrating their development, both lyrically and musically, by intertwining a sense of being down in the dumps with intricate, euphonious melodies.

All That Glue is a great compilation, and one that should please fans and newcomers alike with enough unreleased or B-side material to fill a full-length and enough strong picks from the band's past to give new fans a perspective on what to check out next.

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.

Though without some of the magic of his debut, Hakim's sophomore full-length shows that he is still full of genre-bending potential.

While the album could be described as moody, and there certainly are dramatic shifts in mood throughout, there is also always the feeling of sunny skies above. The music conjures up the grit of the beach, the flow of the ocean, and the hot concrete below the unrelenting sun of the Pacific coast.

At times jovial and elsewhere solemn, Quickies is an anthology of flash fictions, thematically clashing against one another like "I've Got a Date With Jesus" and "You've Got a Friend in Beelzebub," yet otherwise twinning mischievously like "The Best Cup of Coffee In Tennessee" and "The Biggest Tits in History."

All Visible Objects is a welcome addition and one that offers a little bit of everything to everyone.

Though it lacks the alien opalescence of Charli's best record, how i'm feeling now contains a different sort of thrilling delirium. It's fun and sometimes silly, made on the fly and under a tight deadline. But it's desperate too — a frenzied call for release, an ode to the love that keeps us going, and further proof that no other pop artist today can make the digital sound so disarmingly human.

Paradise Gardens digresses ever so slightly from this aesthetic, at least initially, resulting in a slight identity crisis resolved by the strength of her newfound pop leanings.

With Reunions, Isbell unites the disparate aspects of his craft — soothing acoustic and fiercely electric; Hemingway's word economy dashed with Oscar Wilde-worthy asides, relatable details and otherworldly allusions. ... For listeners immersed in similar bittersweet nuances on a daily basis, there's no better musical accompaniment than Isbell's latest.

Lacks the clever subtlety of innuendos on songs like "Can I" (featuring Tory Lanez) and "F&MU." "Bad News," "Everybody Business" and "Open (Passionate)" are the album's standouts, showcasing elements of Kehlani's strongest contributions to music thus far, and highlighting her ability to make vulnerability a strength.

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately is an enormous, cavernous record – the kind that invites you to sit inside and let your fears and triumphs echo against its glittering walls. It's been a small marvel to witness the transformation of Mike Hadreas, and his latest offering is only more proof that he's an artist unlike any other working today, capable of opening doors to the unknown and illuminating new pathways.

Because of the tightly cohesive kick-off in the first couple songs, the remaining album feels slightly haphazard in comparison. ... PITH is an album that old and new listeners alike can sink their teeth into and ride out a season of summer days holed up in their bedrooms.

Two-dozen albums in, Sparks provide pleasing surprises. Unquestionably, A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is one of their most dynamic — and strongest — efforts.

It's not perfect – there's a spoken-word bit tacked on to the end that is less than satisfactory, but the lyrics aren't really the point here. This is a record that fills up a room and begs to be turned up loud.

Honus's lyrics are as fever dream as ever — "The Prettiest Song In the World" has a clergyman find Satan 69ing in a motel room — but the widened instrumental prowess across Dream Hunting gives a fresh edge to his words.

The album is perfectly suited for restless observation. It's like watching a sped-up time lapse of the tides, or nature evolving rapidly before our very eyes.

Petals for Armor is a musically strong, emotionally vulnerable album that finds her standing confidently as an artist in her own right.

The Mountain Goats really haven't gotten the attention they deserve over the past several years, so if you want to introduce someone to them, Songs for Pierre Chuvin is a fitting choice. It's a great example of the heart of the band.

Damien Jurado provides yet another quietly magnificent album. What's New, Tomboy? feels like a traveler finding new footing after a storm at sea.

Shall We Go on Sinning So That Grace May Increase? is an journey of an album for The Soft Pink Truth, as emotional as it is adventurous.