Minerva (née Juur) takes a few steps closer to the blurry line that separates quirky, home-taped experiments and straight-up club cuts.

While being one of the most serious Hauschka albums yet, Bertelmann still managed to produce an album of experimental music that you could dance to, if you weren't too busy having your mind blown.

Like Funkadelic's 2014 comeback First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate, Medicaid Fraud Dogg is a sprawling listen, and a few tracks, like the tedious "On Fire" could have been trimmed.

Full of prodigious riffs, intoxicating vocals and a narrative you just can't ignore, So When You Gonna… exemplifies just what happens when talent meets passion.

Thorn frames Record's songs within her experiences as a woman and mother, allowing for an immediacy to the music, which traces her first brush with guitar music through to a simple desire to enjoy dancing on a night out. ... Tracey Thorn possesses a lyrical and melodic intuition that shines.

Despite the glaring transition on El Dorado, there's no identity crisis to be found — King is just as commanding as a crooner as he is with his guitar wailing through a cranked-up amplifier. It's unclear where King will go next, or how much of Auerbach's influence directed the sound of El Dorado, but King certainly has the versatility to make any shift worth listening to.

There's a sense of well-earned intimacy throughout Local Honey, with songs that speak plainly and from the heart about deepening relationships and the life-sustaining love that comes from them. This record is warm, instantly inviting and crackling with life.

Honus's lyrics are as fever dream as ever — "The Prettiest Song In the World" has a clergyman find Satan 69ing in a motel room — but the widened instrumental prowess across Dream Hunting gives a fresh edge to his words.

Cynical and crushing, Bright New Disease is the sound of a short-term supergroup flexing their technical skills and boundless musical knowledge. It stands as a commendable and blistering — albeit slight — diversion from either band's respective output.

While IV is extraordinary for delivering fresh music that elaborates on their past work, it feels particularly exceptional because of its forward momentum.

With thoughtful lyrics, infectious grooves and catchy riffs, Frozen Letter is sure to bring out the air guitarist (or drummer) in anyone.

Age has only made the Hives sound tighter, giving them time to master an electrifying energy that few others harness.

The eight-part suite greatly expands on Thug Entrancer's previous efforts, yet still finds the producer relying solely on analog synthesizers and drum machines

Morning/Evening is a gorgeous, daring album that draws its greatest inspiration from a much-maligned genre most often associated with John Tesh and Yanni.

Black Marble has seen a massive development with Bigger Than Life. Whether the record has proven itself to acutally be "bigger than life" is up for debate. But for Stewart's third LP, it's a solid effort and pleasant change of pace.

Shaw's songs, in particular, sound like lost X classics. This switch in sonic templates doesn't blunt Bogart's rapscallion personality, though, which ultimately is what lies at the heart of his music.

When it starts, the overt prettiness and ornate, layered arrangements are very reminiscent of Owen Pallett, but very soon it veers of in some lovely tangents, although it inevitably comes back to string-laden, experimental pop.

If you're not in a particular mood, listening to this can be a chore. If you are in the mood, though, this is another solid entry in a series full of them.

"I'll Fight for Your Life" makes up for its unremarkable melodies with a percussive synth pulse, while the charming "Head of the Horse" is a curveball ballad from a project that has always been better known for upbeat pop tunes. Beyond that, however, this album is a 50-minute slog.

It's a joy to bask in the glow of one of the world's best producers leaning into his strengths.

Either as a companion or a standalone, it's a consuming piece of music that reminds us of the Weavers' ambition to always lead and never follow.

It's a cool record that coasts on chill grooves rather than bombastic drops.

Unlike their past efforts, though, Silver/Lead is sluggish when it needs to be spry and dull when it ought to be meditative.

This is music made for dancers (and highly dextrous ones at that).

Though the album lacks a unifying aesthetic, and a couple of pieces have a slight "interlude" quality, the strongest elements highlight Lipstate's unwillingness to place definitions or limitations on her music.

On Felder, St. Werner is coming closer to melding his two personalities, allowing his Type A to influence his Type B.

Layers is a great step forward, a glowing promise on his next album, his ambitions will be fully realized.

Tinged as they are by recent tragedy, each songs on In the End assumes a mournful, melancholic quality.