During those carefree, unfussy peaks, Silk Rhodes sounds less like a retread and more like soul's next step forward.

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.

Throughout, We Fall is a slow, contemplative record, perfect for those introspective, late evenings. It occasionally has some interesting post-rock vibes, especially on the guitar-driven tracks, but elsewhere the slow piano playing is closer to older ambient records.

It's a comfortable collision of songs that probably won't gain many new listeners, but should find a home in real fans' collections, despite its lack of risk-taking.

The Early Years is a ferocious and borderline terrifying slab of feral noise-rock, but it's only a small indication of what it sounds like Girl Band might be capable of.

1989 fans will breathe a sigh of relief when "I Did Something Bad" kicks in, though, which starts off a string of shiny pop songs that not only feel like a more natural progression from the last album, but improve upon each listen in that sneaky way Swift songs tend to do. ... The moments on Reputation that Swift stans appreciate the most are likely the ones casual listeners will be quickest to dismiss.

I Like Fun remains a strong, if not exactly noteworthy album, simply because TMBG are a strong band that can pull off anything at this point, and although newcomers looking for examples of their late-career excellence should probably start with recent gems like Glean or Nanobots, longtime fans will find much to like here, crunchy guitars and all.

Released more than 15 years after his debut as Rustin Man, Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb's followup, Drift Code, is atmospheric and moody, but too often forgettable.

The majority of the record does take the tortoise's path to victory and proves that with this kind of music, it's really not a race at all, but a fight.

Twerp Verse is a solid entry that should please fans of Speedy Ortiz and might also gain them some new ones with its hints of pop.

The album's strongest asset is its sense of emotion that bleeds through, especially on guitar solos, in impressive contrast to the always-brutal breakdowns.

Lazaretto will no doubt be heavily scrutinized by critics and celebrated by hardcore fans, but love it or hate it, nobody can call this stuff "watered-down."

This is perhaps Krauter's best work yet, as their artistic project comes into sharper focus.

Sure, the LP falters when it casts its net too wide, particularly on the Roxette-indebted "Love They Say" and Twin Shadow outtake "Shock to Your System," but those moments are few.

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.

It's a sound we've come to know DaBaby handle on his own, but he invites industry peers like Quavo ("Pick Up"), Future ("Lightskin Shit"), YoungBoy Never Broke Again ("Jump") for the ride.

To the casual listener, it may sound like a shadow of their greatest work, but fans will find it rewarding.

The rest is more than art for art's sake, and a pleasure for the ADD listener in all of us.

Themes for Television works as the perfect translational piece between Windswept and the much lighter, more traditionally ambient followup Digital Rain, despite actually arriving in the wake of the latter.

Parallel Universe Blues is a dreamy, laidback record made for easy listening. It's a great album with a step up in its production. It would be more interesting for Quever to do something a little bit different this time around, but staying true to your roots isn't a bad thing.

Surfing Strange feels like a transitional album, as the group look to define themselves with their artistic voice, rather than those of their influences.

The sense of velocity and flight, paired with Meiburg's dramatic vocals, delivered with Bowie-like flair here, making Jet Plane and Oxbow a natural progression for Shearwater, and a nice departure from their typical offerings.

In these subtler moments, Ward's genius is undeniable; if he employs more of that lighter touch on his follow-up, it'll be the classic that More Rain falls just shy of being.

Although Köhncke may have released stronger singles in the past, Justus Köhncke & the Wonderful Frequency Band stands as his most all-around complete full-length to date.

Though not their best record, IV is nevertheless an excellent addition to the group's staggeringly consistent discography.

The ten songs here threaten at times to up and wander off, but Bare manages to hold everything together with some strong songwriting and unusual, borderline retro arrangements.

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

This is likely not an album to give their career an extra boost, but one that'll surely keep loyal fans happily on board the Rockets' ride.