Aquilo captivate most when they vary the tempo and instrumentation within their songs, and they do it often enough to make Silhouettes a strong debut overall.

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.

Don't call it a full-fledged De La Soul record--call it an enjoyable diversion until the full crew come back proper.

A mysterious, sprawling listen that will baffle the masses, but reward patient listeners longing for an LP that is immersive, quirky and gently haunting.

This is an intense, unsettling work from the Canadian musician and if it doesn't quite reach the heights of Ravedeath, it's mostly down to Virgins lacking the fluid album arc of the former and not because the tracks are any less powerful.

Overall, the album's production is too polished, which somewhat contradicts the band's filth-caked persona. Instead of their lovable, sloppy sludge with festering warts and all, Nomadic Behavior is squeaky clean and coherent, with a surgical gravity to each and every downtuned chord.

The record is just playing true to form for the veterans, proving that the beast is back with teeth bared and a few more tricks up its hairy sleeves.

Jackie is unlikely to vault Ciara into the stratosphere, but it's a solidly produced effort that features an artist comfortable with who she is both privately and as an artist.

2:54 have made a debut album that pulls you in, immerses you and haunts you ever so slightly.

It's an analogue oasis of the past that rejuvenates for the present.

Though not as consistently aggressive as past efforts, the Chariot ride through other seemingly non-related genres (à la Between the Buried and Me) throughout One Wing, adding a bipolar insanity to the album.

This album reveals that Lanois is as gifted a collaborator and curator of talent as he is a creator of atmospheric productions for megastars. Let's hope the pandemic lockdowns lift soon, because Lanois and his bandmates deserve to delight audiences with their crackling chemistry and old-school gospel songcraft, all of which are vividly captured on Heavy Sun.

Lovelessness is an ugly, abject work that challenges the listener to accept both unhappiness and disgust, conveyed with power, intelligence and artfulness.

While not groundbreaking, it's a revitalizing rock record that is bound to rekindle the excitement of taking a chance on a (relatively) new band.

While many albums start out catchy and then become more introspective, Haunted Painting loses some of its moroseness to become more pop-ish.

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

Black Breath don't quite stand out like they used to, so while this is still a very solid album, the band would have been wise to perhaps make a louder, more out-there statement in order to establish themselves as leaders of the genre.

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

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.

It's the second half of the album where Reinhart takes over the vocals to sing a string delightfully warped groove pop songs with math punk flourishes that the band feel the most cohesive.

It's another album of Neil being Neil, and that's a good thing.

IDLES are at their best when they know their limits and play to their strengths.

Lucinda Williams is an artist with the confidence to say what needs to be said, and the power to back it up. On This Sweet Old World, she might be repeating the words, but she's hardly repeating herself.

Despite the massed personnel, nothing sounds cluttered or excessive.

Twins might not completely match up to the perfect storm of Slaughterhouse, but it is another solid addition to Segall's discography.

Similarly to Manic, The Great Impersonator shines most when Halsey is unapologetically themselves.

Alberta Cross' familiar '70s rock soundscape is lush and relaxed--ideal for the self-reflection that's fostered by long drives, Sunday afternoons and quiet dinner conversations with friends.

Merton shows great confidence in her abilities as an artist across her debut record, without losing her sense of fun.