In effect, McIlwain has succeeded in making not only a great record, but also a thoroughly lovely one.

"Psycho Star" and "Neverending Sunshine" are the more dance-y tracks that make The Other much more vast than Thomas's earlier work. Lastly, "No Man's Land" is a mesmerizing sendoff to end the album; slow and triumphant, by the time it's over you're left with a lasting impression.

A bold, far-reaching and determined work that continues Brock's journey creating music both accessible and eccentric.

In its lyrics and tone, Infinite Granite is remarkably blue, and beautifully so. Some fans might not appreciate the direction the band has taken towards the light, but nevertheless, the heart of Deafheaven remains.

Free of filler and definitely worth repeating, Hive Mind is the Internet we know and love, but tighter and more refined.

Unsurprisingly, the music they select is beautiful and carefully crafted. The album features such acts as Boards of Canada, Stereolab, River Tiber, Thundercat, Delegation, Charlotte Day Wilson and the Beach Boys, to name a few.

Much of what Duterte has accomplished on Anak Ko reflects the balancing act depicted in its album artwork: songs that weave together contributions from a range of players, carried by Duterte's singular vision.

Free Dimensional is infectiously positive, building off of similar foundations as his previous tracks while boasting a fuller, more dynamic sound.

With the release of Melophobia in 2013, listeners saw Cage create a new identity; Tell Me I'm Pretty takes that change further by exploring new avenues and soundscapes, and it's better for it.

Siggelkow's Born Again is fearlessly exposed, touching on emotions in the most direct way — an infectious, wondrous full-length debut for Ellis.

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

Their latest offering confirms the act have found footing with their sound, as III revels in minimal electro glitch while an orchestral current weaves beautifully throughout, Ring's vocals lending soulful, poignant reflection not often found in contemporary electronic music.

Even for all the newfound sheen, there's nothing on this new self-titled album that necessarily feels out of step with what's come before. ... Anchoring the songs to drum and bass grooves and keyboard loops gives Bixler-Zavala more space to flex his voice; once little more than a high-pitched rebel yell, it's now capable of delivering a rainbow of emotions.

It's to CHVRCHES' credit that Screen Violence doesn't suggest any shallow, put-down-your-phone answers to the questions it raises. Instead, the album makes an unflinching appraisal of present-day anxieties to summon the vitality needed to keep going, in spite of what keeps coming through the screen.

If All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us was an Olympic gymnastic performance, it would have nailed the double backflip but stumbled just a bit on the landing, leaving onlookers blown away by the trick and barely remembering that last wobble.

The seemingly strange power that Actress has is to disorient the listener (i.e., the visceral shock accompanying the tonally maximal "Shadow From Tartarus"), though this contrast mostly allows for R.I.P.'s intricate and detailed beauty to thrive just beneath the cracks.

Nothing is overdone here. Washington's saxophone grounds the entire project. His fiercest fans will miss hearing him out front, but that's entirely beside the point. No one's at the head of the table here. Instead we get a group of friends with genuine history and the kind of outsized talent we can only marvel at. Savour this.

Pythagorean Dream is a qualified success because it shows Chatham moving forward with his craft, if only by simply reaching back.

Amid soulful, R&B-indebted sounds married smoothly to the more country-leaning, Atkins has created her best and most resounding work yet.

Hovvdy's balanced expressions between residual nostalgia and murmuring secrecy are worn in beautifully on Heavy Lifter.

This debut album stands on its own as an artistically daring personal statement.

Marginally more "mature" in composition and content than the band's previous records, Transit Blues is another solid release from a band that audibly continue to give their all.

Exhausting Fire synthesizes and fuses those sounds with their more doomy roots.

As with all successful concept albums, its individual songs work as well independently as they do as a whole. It's depth shrouded in mischief, and it's proof that King Gizzard have mastered creating music that's as heavy conceptually as it is sonically.

While there's arguably nothing here that will dethrone your favourite all-time Robyn tracks ("Call Your Girlfriend" forever wins the March Madness bracket, doesn't it?), a great many stand proudly amongst them — and for most fans, this is very much enough right now.

At times, the album sounds a maybe little too polished, but the energy and stereo movement in songs like "Do We All Feel It" and "Disco Night Driver" sound like they would translate better live than in studio, anyway.

With Reality Show, Sullivan delivers an R&B album that feels like how R&B used to sound circa late 90's/early 2000 while still coming off as forward-looking.

Desire Lines refurbishes '50s pop, turning it into modern classics filled with unabashedly lovely melodies, just the way Camera Obscura want it, and just what we've come to expect, and love, about them.