Marked by stronger grooves, darker lyrics and catchier hooks, Touch pushes July Talk's musical vision forward without sacrificing their core elements. It's an album that should cause anyone who'd previously dismissed the band reason to reconsider their stance, while exceeding existing fans' expectations.

Heaven Is A Junkyard will make you feel its spiritual tone and tenor, a superpower that has laid dormant with Youth Lagoon, now awakened by Powers finally finding his voice."

Pure Music is Strange Ranger's most alluring and most impressive effort yet. Fans of the band's beginnings will probably remain averse to this affirmed sonic shift, but it's hard not to respect an outfit brazenly evolving by throwing everything familiar out the window and going buck wild with their vision.

A very cohesive, if slightly precious, album.

Ambient music centred on glass sounds is nothing new, of course, but the duo's ability to take such a well-worn concept and turn it into a piece so meticulous and touching is a testament to their uniquely fruitful partnership.

If you've been following the quartet since day one, Snapshot of a Beginner feels like both a victory lap and another bold step forward in the race.

Seeds strikes the perfect balance, as Madlib's thickly layered funk and soul samples and cabinet rocking beats pair with Muldrow's gloriously off-kilter vocals and free-form song structures to make this her most satisfying release to date.

Every one of these seven tracks is like a J.G. Ballard car crash--the violence is beautiful and the beauty is ferocious.

I can assure you that you will not stand still while listening to this album.

The band have put a lot of work into refining their sound and making it bigger, fuller and bolder. There's more harmony, texture and structure in every song, and the choruses are huge and uplifting.

On Black Times, Seun Kuti continues to be one of the most important voices in music, by simply reinforcing to us what we already know.

This is a fine finale to an impressive artistic achievement.

E s t a r a is a step above genre-bending; this is genre-carving.

What looks like an odd couple cover album at first glance turns out to be one of the best matched and executed collaborations of which either group have been a part.

He proves that he is a fully-fledged, multifaceted person who can do it all, and has all the makings of a modern yet ever-evolving pop star. He just remembers to have a fun, honest time while doing it.

Fans who have joined the ride at some point in the past 20 years will no doubt be delighted with the dense, stomping chapter found in Orc, though newcomers might feel like they've wandered into a story very much in progress and may be more compelled by some of the band's earlier records.

On the whole, via his work and commentary, Iggy Pop has pushed our world to think and act differently, and he brings that same mission of liberation to himself on Free.

Karaoke Angel is a beautiful surprise from Sarlé, whose career as a solo artist has only just begun.

David's voice still sounds boyish after all these years, but All Hell noticeably showcases his increased range. Call it getting older, but it makes these songs that much more dynamic.

As Shabason bends, stretches, and warps instrumentation, field recordings and interview clips alike, he's working in neo-expressionist portraiture, mining the ambiguities of the abstractions to beautiful, evocative effect.

The Window finds Ratboys deservedly taking a confident step into a space they carved out for themselves.

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.

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.

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.

Unlike many B-side collections, much of E•MO•TION: Side B has single potential to the point where it's crazy that high-energy synth-pop gems like "First Time," "Higher" and "Body Language" were left off of E•MO•TION for mid-tempo bonus cuts like "Black Heart."

Sasami is a gifted writer who is careful to develop arrangements that heighten the emotions of her songs. Listeners will relish the detail poured into her debut, its polish not too shiny to obscure the raw experiences that its songs are drawn from.

It's a spiritually holistic, potent dose of manna fit to feed a weathered movement.

A detailed effort worth unfolding that reveals more each time.