Retribution is immersive, cathartic, potentially even transformative.

All the Beauty in This Whole Life is a welcome work by an artist who's put it all on the table over the past six albums; his seventh was well worth the wait.

DiCaprio 2 exemplifies what the ideal student of the game sounds like--someone who's conscious of how a hook presents itself, how to control their delivery and how to diversify their lyrical bonds.

Once again, Lee Gamble has managed to produce an effort right in PAN's wheelhouse, pairing idiosyncratic experimentalism with dance floor styling, and it totally works.

If Pale Fire read like a dream, KoKoro reads like a worldly, real-life adventure.

K-os hasn't been this experimental or fun to listen to since his 2004 classic Joyful Rebellion. It's a thrill to hear him return to the creative stratosphere once again on Can't Fly.

His rhymes are so layered and rapid that they are all but indecipherable, giving them endless rewind value. These features make Bleeds a dense, dark, demanding listen. But patient, socially conscious audiences will not only find it compelling, but galvanizing too.

For an artist who's given his name such a despairing title, No Future shows Moiré at his most ambitious.

Don't Let the Ink Dry is a promising debut that showcases true talent.

Other than a few lapses, the hooks, synths and classical instruments effectively recontextualize Architects' musicianship. For Those That Wish to Exist proves these guys can successfully diversify their sound.

Altin Gün don't reinvent the wheel so much as craft a sick new set of rims. They do their thing like nobody else, and they're always getting better at it — Aşk gives you everything you want, and you'll still want more.

The group's musical evolution is clear, but they clearly can (and should) push even further into this heavier direction.

A band that could forever rely on their fascinating back-story and critical adoration alone, Tinariwen strives for much more on Emmaar.

Ugly explores the rapper's newly formed duality, deepening his songcraft and letting the raging flame dim to a white-hot ember; it's his most reflective album to date.

Krug doesn't let the instrumental limitation restrict him and, while the listening experience jarringly contrasts his past body of work, it exposes a rawer, more intimate side of Krug, to much success.

Teri Gender Bender's vocals are the star and the driving force here, pretty much the only truly engaging element.

Information is a decent effort that unfortunately doesn't quite bite as hard as it should.

Despite the underwhelming musicality of Total Freedom, many of these songs still pack some undeniable emotional force, especially the more joyful tracks like "Who Rescued Who" — a charming ode from Edwards to her dog. In her songcraft, Edwards remains dependable and enjoyable.

The musicianship of the guest artists is impressive, and Jameszoo's interpretations of their work are startlingly creative. The whole package is likely to be one of the year's best, and certainly one of its most original.

By all accounts, Honest reveals that Future's music was never a "right place, right time" story, but one that's unique and has staying power.

Though precise and at times cold and glassy, the album is by no means a minimalist evocation of a future world of urban decay.

While their mesh of influences isn't exactly novel, Patina shows Tallies coming into their own as songwriters, capable of crafting warm, memorable music unbeholden to nostalgia.

Pleasure presents a unique, uncompromising vision of intimacy and enjoyment.

The OOZ also practices an astonishingly brilliant economy of sound, allowing only the most needed instrumentation to percolate to the surface, emanating and radiating: nothing is overblown; everything is necessary.

There is unquestionable bravery in the access and vulnerability that sentiment communicates, and the journey into pop music is yet another promising step in rousay's always-morphing development.

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.

With Always Foreign, TWIABP's chaos is more calculated and controlled, even as their fiery resolve burns from the inside out.

Minor evolutions aside, there's not a whole lot to set 7 apart from the six albums that preceded it, making it easy to see this as just another Beach House album. Don't take them for granted, since it's hard to think of another band that has delivered so reliably for this long.