Long-time listeners will revel in the subtle sonic shifts but the rest of us are still waiting for the band to make that major artistic breakthrough we know they're capable of.

Its upbeat synth work and swirling crescendos are not just an illusion, or a cheap trick, like many songs that make up a "Happy Songs That Are Actually Sad" playlist.

Factory Floor might be known for their life-changing gigs, but their album proves that, in the studio, they also have the ability to induce shivers, body jerking and a rush of blood throughout your entire body.

Built on a fuzzy foundation, II is as classic as a psychedelic-stoner-rock record can be, building on well-loved tropes but never hesitant to colour outside the lines.

Overall, the trio showcase legend influences in their lines, while still authentically being themselves.

Maybe it's the tedium of a career spanning nearly two decades, or a shred of complacency settling in after winning the highly coveted Mercury Prize in 2016, but Skepta seems subdued on Ignorance. A decent album, but not his best.

Great art isn't great art because it's easy, and this 90-plus-minute, five-act rock opera inspired by Stickles' experience with manic depression is absolutely worth spending the time with.

Unlike most of his peers, Thompson is defying the march of time, continuing to write and perform at an exceptional level. Electric easily deserves a place alongside his best solo releases.

Like all of Barwick's work, Healing Is a Miracle is an exercise in meditation and tracing the natural flow of emotion within. Barwick masterfully creates a temporary escape from reality which relaxes tensions that slowly surrender and dissolve into its harmless components.

Although there are moments that show cracks, such as the uneasy, meandering riffs on "Born in a Rut" and the ridiculous chorus of "Canna Business," the majority of the straightforward thrash songs here demonstrate that Testament's magic has yet to fade.

The Last Rider is a gorgeous record, hazy and honeyed, which sounds and feels like a remastered '70s folk-pop classic.

While none of Samsara is necessarily bad, there are moments where tracks start to blend together and lose focus. This doesn't necessarily take away from the amazing moments of the album, but as a whole it could use a bit more variance. That being said, the record makes it clear that Venom Prison are destined to join the top of the new-school death metal pack

While Brain Candy does lose creative steam towards the back end, there's still plenty here on offer for those looking for a reprieve from the oppressive reality of day-to-day life in 2020.

This project may be just a bite-sized sample, a delicious hors d'oeuvre served up while you're waiting for whatever three-course meal that Alchemist has coming next, but it's also a reminder that Alchemist's circle doubles as a roster of some of the best rappers around.

A sound collage like no other, Garden of Delete finds Lopatin engaging listeners with an album that almost defies description.

Magma demonstrates a healthy admission and channelling of Gojira's explosive tendencies into a record that is truly an intriguing change of pace when considering the band's more eruptive past efforts.

Seven albums and 16 years into her music career, Williams seems more confident than ever in doing as she pleases instead of pleasing others.

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.

On Black Metal, Blunt's style is still very difficult to classify, yet a hint more inviting and amicable than his last.

Pull My Hair Back still shines with nonsensical warmth that is just as much sensual as strange. Kathy Lee would be proud.

It is a skilfully wrought glimpse into that dream.

Peaceful yet highly engaging, Ishi invokes the masters of modular synthesis, a music rooted in technology that somehow comes across as utterly primeval.

As listeners lose more of themselves, their fleshy armour useless in the face of absolute desolation, Contact rewards them with the knowledge of what wicked horrors they can endure. It's the bad head-trip we need to truly understand ourselves.

Witness owes its imperfect existence to garage-punk, psychedelic Afro-rock and the overarching and heartbreaking sentiment that ours is a system that we might not get out from under anytime soon.

Overall, On the Echoing Green is still an interesting listen with many enjoyable aspects, but a stronger, tighter EP might've been made from the first five tracks--or a stronger LP with less distortion and noise in the back half.

Overall, Wintres Woma is a great showcase for this extraordinary folk hero that suggests even better things might be to come.

Though Frost skilfully balanced the heaviness with some breathing room on A U R O R A, his work with Albini seems to have let in just a little more light and colour, enough to both surprise and enchant.

Here, she moves through songs about love and life that, whether because of the cavernous, sometimes tinny production or her timeless songwriting style (and often, both), feel channelled from some ghostly past where musical arrangement was simpler but emotions weren't.