When Smoke Rises is a succinct and well-crafted album that serves to tell the story of Mustafa's pain, grief and loss in way that honours his unique voice. Mustafa manages to transcend genres while remaining true to himself as he navigates his emotional trauma.

By chronicling the redemptive rise and bittersweet resolution of DMX's plot-twist ridden third act, Exodus not only fulfills the tall order of giving a long-overlooked great a fitting send off. It's also the sound of hip-hop's Job finding meaning in his suffering — and, thankfully, peace thereafter.

Your reception towards Convocations will depend on your patience, your tolerance for experimental albums, and whether you're even a fan of Stevens' instrumental work to begin with. If you're not, then Stevens exploring grief via Brian Eno-style minimalism is not going to be what swings the pendulum for you. For Stevens' disciples though, there's enough here to warrant a poring over reminiscent of the same given to holy books.

At a protracted 70 minutes, Morgan's latest may be a bit too arduous for its foundation, but Loscil has always been an artist unafraid to exhaust an idea to its fullest, and Clara proves this in spades.

Duterte and Kempner manage to break the mould with Doomin' Sun, proving their chops as singular visionaries as well as synergetic collaborators.

Play with the Changes is a testament to both the friendship and musical flexibility Jordan has found, and continues to build with all involved; bonds that carry the album's range of emotions and electronics beyond dance floors to heads and hearts effortlessly.

Disarming listeners with a palette of sounds that merge laidback rock landscapes with grungy grit, Madeline Link's lyrics are jagged and abrupt, with abstract lines fused together by vividly visceral imagery. Deciphering deeper meanings may prove difficult (particularly as filtered through her languid drawl), but the endlessly listenable, breezy rock tunes encourage plenty of exploration, and any efforts will be handsomely rewarded.

Cavalcade is a record that modernizes jazz fusion, evolving it beyond its party yacht past. ... It's smart and well-calculated, expressing their range as musicians.

By the end of the album, Rodrigo has established her voice and showed listeners that she's not afraid to be vulnerable. SOUR is a strong debut that vividly illustrates the beautiful chaos of being inside a teenage girl's brain.

It is a well-conceived and delivered piece of work, but perhaps unavoidably one that feels the absence of its staged elements.

Say What? is hardly DOOM's definitive work, but it gives us one last snapshot of a solitary mind that spurted in wonderfully volatile ways.

Totally original, completely unselfconscious and wonderfully catchy, WINK is one of those rare albums that you can throw on anytime and let it guide you on the journey it has laid out before you.

The Off-Season — an earnest return to blood, sweat and ink — doesn't need much more to hit like swish.

Through loud and quiet dynamics, and incorporating minimalism, Big Brave's Vital is one of the most impactful records in the band's catalogue.

He and his band are making truly tremendous guitar rock in a manner that is peerless in this era, and from anywhere on the globe.

Alfa Mist weaves masterfully from threads of nostalgia, but Bring Backs, when you unravel it, is more of an ode to faith and resilience than a mournful remark on what is gone.

Memoryland is arguably at its strongest when its homages and nods are less vigorous.

Paas has said that her music explores themes of non-romantic love, and while her operatic delivery tends to highlight emotion over enunciation, Anything Can't Happen is peppered with these moments of startling melancholy.

The music is raw, melodic and explosive, and captures the inner reflection one must undertake to properly envision the future.

The finely curated production on Slime Language 2 provides a perfect snapshot of the evolution of Atlanta's sound.

Eleki and psych rock appear to not be enough for the seven-piece's voracious and diverse musical appetites, and Shirushi offers many directions from which the band could reasonably choose.

While Daddy's Home may not be her best record, it's a bold and rewarding one.

For the most part, this is just the same old Weezer with added two-hand tapping. That's a good thing, since the half-hearted metal schtick is mostly just an excuse for frontman Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates to crank their amps and play the power pop they do best. It's a less radical experiment than this year's all-acoustic, orchestra-assisted OK Human.

The former enfant terribles seem to have arrived at their final destination and sound more assured than ever before with Seek Shelter — a stunning achievement that will restore even the most lapsed practitioner's faith in rock music.

Commerce is pulling more gears than art here. Simply skip the lows and ride the highs. Because when Khaled does hit, it can still be fun as hell, like gorging on popcorn and 'splosions.

The emotions that are being expressed feel lived-in and deeply personal while remaining open to listener interpretations.

They embrace vulnerability, taking time to address modern issues (read: symptoms of capitalism), while also imbuing a real sense of fun, artistic merit and instrumental democracy in the record's 11 tracks.

Rare, Forever feels less like an album and more like a series of single, punctuated thoughts; or one man's long meditation. It's a little jumpy, and pulses with frenetic energy. He oscillates between dancefloor bangers ("Dumbo") and languid transitions ("Allchea Vella Amor").