When Anything But Words ups the pace, it proves to be one of the finest records of the year.

Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart is brash, loud, triumphant, and quintessentially Williams — her perseverance in the face of adversity is truly inspiring, and these stories are tales to live by.

He has the knack for cramming hooks into the unlikeliest places and ending up with unforgettable songs. If this is what he made with nothing, the potential for his music when he has everything at his disposal seems limitless.

Nicki is more personal, more timeless and more connected to her own artistry here, serving some of the most superlative work of her established career on The Pinkprint.

The depth of Cantrell's songwriting is best appreciated the second or third time around, once you're over the sheer prettiness of her voice.

He's probably too modest to just come out and say that Present Tense is where beauty lies, but he should; this fourth Wild Beasts album is a stunner.

His fifth studio album, second in a scheduled trilogy of albums and first in seven years. Yet here we are, with tracks evoking previous efforts while remaining fresh to the ear.

Waverly has a very consistent tenor that makes it a singular achievement, one that both creeps and soothes simultaneously.

Using a finite set of equipment to create these seven tracks, much of EX comes off strikingly similar in sound, but Hawtin being the staunch veteran that he is, uses it to his advantage, reusing and appropriating signature tones and modes to craft the most solid live set you weren't lucky enough to attend.

The writing is catchy and memorable, interesting and complex, giving the ten-track release tremendous depth that offers a brand new listening experience with every listen. It's an album that requires a lot of consideration, but the reward is well worth the attention.

It's dark subject matter — which makes grunge's famously gloomy sonic palette a particularly good fit for a record that's as beautiful as it is bleak.

Pickpocket's Locket stands as some of Mercer's most urgent and terse work to date.

The sparse chug of "Defector/ed" and the dirge-y mantra of "A Ceiling Dreams of a Floor" reflect the rough-hewn elegance of the duo's raw musical material.

Overwhelmingly, Winter's Gate is a tight and focused melodic death metal album, and yet another quality release in Insomnium's discography.

From the lonesome synth pop of 2016's Pool and 2018's The House to 2020's hyper-Auto-Tuned Ricky Music to the freewheeling indie rock of All Day Gentle Hold ! — Shirt is an intoxicating feat.

There are flashes of influences--Ministry's late '80s, early '90s run is a clear antecedent--but the pair never succumb to mimicry or idolatry. This is Berdan's pain, writ large and loud for all to hear.

The weight of Darkest Before Dawn doesn't simply rest on Pusha T's lyrical weight (literal and figuratively), but also his ability to tap into the strengths of his producers, like Boi-1da's thunderous drums, Kanye West's soulful grandeur or Timbaland's unorthodox layering.

There's a lot to unpack here, and as a result, SweetSexySavage feels a bit overstuffed at times; numbers like "Thank You" and "Hold Me By the Heart" are expressive in nature but aren't lasting. But by getting intensely personal, Kehlani adds a human side to the recordings that's multilayered and unapologetically self-determined.

On Is 4 Lovers, the pair have settled in and settled down, both in their lives and to their own sound.

This isn't the boldest step forward, but it looks like Local Natives are on a steady ascent and Hummingbird is sure to solidify them as one of the best indie-rock bands out there today.

Not every song on the record lives up to the anthemic nature promised in the title, but there are certainly moments of triumphant redemption and plenty of nostalgic nods to fulfill fans' understandably high expectations.

Everything works and there's really nothing more a fan of either Organs or Comets could ask for.

This is Logic at his best: making music that makes him happy. His comfort zone is infectious. If YSIV doesn't sell you on Logic, nothing will.

His latest LP, the 13-song Pressure, is a quality collection of songs that core fans will undoubtedly embrace.

It's a mature and refined album woven deeply enough into pop's historical fabric to please connoisseurs, but with enough lightness and fun for casual appeal as well.

Suede establish and uphold the album's gravitas with the type of symphonic grandiosity we've come to anticipate from them.

The truth is Trust are masters of delivery and flawless executioners, proving to be much better mechanics than designers.

On Anoyo, Tim Hecker stretches out his heady winning streak for another 32 striking and captivating minutes.