Thankfully The Silver Cord's hits overpower its misses, and disco battle epic "Set" strikes with a punch, adding another track to the short yet mighty list of King Gizzard songs to play in the club.

Oblique's songs are intricately woven into a dark, discordant tapestry, alternating between longer, more atmospheric songs and straight-up destructive doom.

For Play What They Want, Colpitts and Brooklyn-based ensemble TIGUE Percussion partner with some legendary guests, and the result is an expansive, writhing body of busy, ego-less playing delivered with a beating, beaming heart.

Though less adventurous than on earlier work, Parquet Courts still manage to deliver a unique record that builds on the foundations of the past.

Not everything here works--Shahid Mustaf MC's needless reworking of Parliament's "Getting To Know You" simply doesn't improve on the original--but exclusive mixes like Joey Negro vs. Horse Meat Disco's "Candidate For Love" should ignite the dance floor.

Masana Temples is a comparatively accessible release from Kikagaku Moyo, despite rooting itself in a reality outside of our own. The ease with which these tracks can be entered leaves one wondering whether this utopian vision--for all its gestures at peace--could be closer to us than we thought.

Queens of the Stone Age dial back their intensity and step up their groove to develop a new sound for the end of the world on In Times New Roman…. For better or worse, it's clear that the band are not the same alt-rock anthem-makers they were in the Y2K era.

With Hardcourage, FaltyDL proves that he still has an endless arsenal of tricks up his sleeve; it's just what he chooses to wear on said sleeve that makes all the difference.

Keery could have gone back to the alt-rock psychedelia that already earned him plaudits; instead, he took a risk and made DECIDE — a funky, sometimes goofy sci-fi odyssey with tons of twists both sonic and emotional.

The improv pieces are purposefully positioned so that the Unsemble seemingly upset their own composure, like a film reel that's become stuck: it distorts slowly, then bubbles feverishly until it finally melts away.

While the self-examination he committed to tape this time around isn't quite as pointed as those of other figures in the genre this year, it's a worthwhile story to hear as we welcome Hodgy back to the mic.

It's warm, inviting, comforting and – much like a cloudy day spent indoors – always pleasant, sporadically stimulating and only noteworthy if you're paying close attention.

These songs don't contain the spine-tingling embrace of death that fuelled Leonard Cohen and David Bowie's final albums, but Nelson faces his realities head on here, with grit and a grin.

There is very little melody on The Upward Spiral; the sounds are more like drilling, sawing or machines beeping than traditional instrumentation.

On a surface level, these tracks form a more tempered piece of work, but multiple listens unveil layers of sound that make Weird Work the most fittingly titled album of the year.

Moby isn't letting the ills of the world get him down though; instead, they serve as the driving force behind These Systems Are Failing, an album both powerful and political that plays through without coming off the least bit preachy.

The record is an achievement of pop-house production, and Jayda's performance throughout is earnest and enthralling — It's a strong effort and vital evolution in her ever-shifting career.

Although Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are brilliant Motown/Stax revivalists, their stalwart '60s soul/funk, at times, hits the inevitable yawn note.

Guitarist Reine Fiske joins them, fitting in seamlessly: the power and energy they work up on "Skink/Fugl Fønix" could power a train. Despite some slow spots, the two volumes of Psychedelic Backfire show Elephant9 as an engaging and exciting live act, a dazzling mix of rock rhythms and jazzy interplay.

Occasionally on Wallop, !!! sound either too world-weary or too committed to being incendiary to relay ideas relevant to listeners. But at their best, the band maintain their convictions about privilege, power and culture and present them as defiant, monumental tracks.

The usual Jeezy tropes of hustling and encouraging others to also hustle haven't gone anywhere — the rote "Been Getting Money (featuring Akon)" could be plopped on any Jeezy album and no one would notice--but there's a heap of real-life wisdom here, too.

Ocean Roar proves to be a cinematic experience that's good more often than not.

Even though their unique music production always nudges musical boundaries, Can't Say I Ain't Country attempts to knock down musical barriers by affixing a fresh glow on past country music trends.

Alfa Mist weaves masterfully from threads of nostalgia, but Bring Backs, when you unravel it, is more of an ode to faith and resilience than a mournful remark on what is gone.

[Space Gun] is a little more what you would expect from a GBV album. You have some sing-along mainstays, including the title track and "Blink Blank"; it's slightly different, while comfortingly the same. It already fills you with nostalgia, with the album not yet attached to any specific memories.

It does occasionally err too heavily towards swaying ballad tropes, but importantly Blake never hides his feelings through allegory or metaphor, nor does he mangle his vocal delivery with electronic trickery.

On All Born Screaming, Clark sounds more at home than she has in a while, but all planets inevitably die — perhaps the next one she lands on will finally be her own.

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