Dal Forno is still true to the homegrown production that fans grew to love; Look Up Sharp is showing listeners just how much she's evolved in her slow-moving, wistful world.

Keery could have gone back to the alt-rock psychedelia that already earned him plaudits; instead, he took a risk and made DECIDE — a funky, sometimes goofy sci-fi odyssey with tons of twists both sonic and emotional.

To the Happy Few doesn't feature many standout songs, but as a whole, it's a remarkably cohesive, often unpredictable piece of work.

Songwriters Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan are in peak form and are far too self-aware to fall into that old trap; they know better than to chase capricious youth.

Aside from her moving rendition of little-known folk artist Zoe Mulford's "The President Sang Amazing Grace," Baez chooses songs that are close to her heart and represent her long journey, political struggles and ideals succinctly.

Cult Following manages to be danceable, fun and impactful, all in a tight 45 minutes.

The theme of perseverance resonates strongly on the album, and the imperfections and vulnerabilities in his vocals help to encapsulate the artistic progression.

Such concerns about the pitfalls of contemporary life are well-worn and Uniform Distortion largely retreads these coordinates. The excitement of this music, nonetheless, is its undeniable kinetic energy, as James laughs through his lyrics and bounds over his riffs.

As certifiable members of rock royalty, the Pretenders hit all the right notes with this latest entry to their expansive catalogue. Hynde teases at the borders of the expected, without disrupting the core formula that has contributed to the band's longevity — unwaveringly authentic as ever.

Chami really does know how to use her voice to soothe, entrance and fascinate. This, combined with the uncanny synth melodies that she is able to concoct seemingly out of thin air, is what makes her music enjoyable, and practically ineffable.

If nothing else, White Reaper Does it Again offers up a heady, enjoyable dose of nostalgia.

Although it lacks the kind of Apple-friendly jingles that have made them such a smash, it makes up for it with palatably overarching political themes and sequencing that gives it the wildly entertaining feel of a circus show.

Plumb is a rich, complex album, with the songs spilling over into each other.

There's definitely a familiarity to their sound, but once you get past the derivativeness of it all, there's much to like about Toy.

Bringing in a slew of analog instruments, mostly to give each track its own disposition, Lissvik pulls together swinging piano, shuffling guitar, drums and loads of modular synth lines, and though he does a great job of keeping the album instrumentally diverse, he falls into the same textural and spatial avenues throughout much of the album.

This compilation shows the lasting impact Funkadelic has had on popular culture and on subsequent generations of innovators, striking a balance between reverence for the originals and creativity from the re-visitors.

Because of the tightly cohesive kick-off in the first couple songs, the remaining album feels slightly haphazard in comparison. ... PITH is an album that old and new listeners alike can sink their teeth into and ride out a season of summer days holed up in their bedrooms.

On the whole, the album suffers from a bout of dullness, with the majority of tracks mingling in a grey area, struggling to push through their apparent amalgamation and stand on their own.

Interiors can proudly call itself a rightful successor to the post-hardcore classics status of their first two albums.

It's rare for a posthumous release to not only live up up to the artist's previous work, but properly capture their aura and spirit in the way that Forever manages to.

[Space Gun] is a little more what you would expect from a GBV album. You have some sing-along mainstays, including the title track and "Blink Blank"; it's slightly different, while comfortingly the same. It already fills you with nostalgia, with the album not yet attached to any specific memories.

There are enough great moments, such as "Why Are You With Me" and "All My Love," to make this his strongest solo record in quite a while, but it is still far from his best work.

Whitechapel have reinvigorated themselves without reinventing the sound they became known for and, in the process, produced an appropriate follow-up to their sophomore success.

This ranks amongst Gelb's most vital albums in an already storied career.

Pylon is sweet 16 for these 50-somethings, and honestly, it couldn't be sweeter; Killing Joke are still promoting the driving dynamics of post-punk, and still doing it better than the rest.

This is pop music designed to give you all the feels, and even with a disruptive pseudo-reggae track thrown into the mix ("Candles"), Future Islands prove that they can do it better than anyone else right now.

On the very next track, "Weapons," the production becomes quieter and dreamier, losing the noisiness and dirtiness that made Dälek so appealing in the first place. This continues throughout most of the album, which exchanges the sharpness of Absence for the gentle breeze of a drone record. If the group increased the focus on MC Dalek's rapping as a trade-off that would be fair, yet for most of the record his vocals are given an oddly low priority in the mix.

Embracing her past while looking forward, on GOOD LUCK, FRIDAY makes her own.