His puns about denial v. the Nile river, or his boasts about being like Mother Goose, land with laughable thuds (though perhaps that's this fun-loving MC's intent?). But Uzi nimbly switches from relatedly lovelorn speak-singing on "Bust Me" to rugged, speedy punch line powerhouse on the very next track, "Prices." That transition is merely one of the energetic and unpredictable performative tricks Uzi pulls off on this stadium sized LP.

Ricky Music shows a different side to Porches as an artist that we haven't seen before; it may be more produced and heavily Auto-Tuned, which takes away from his strong vocals, but it's refreshing to hear a new side to Porches.

Code Orange usher in a new era with Underneath that will alienate sections of their audience, and bring their us-against-you might to places no Pittsburgh band have gone before. They've become masters of numbingly heavy and world-expanding metalcore, but operate within rock music more than they probably ever intended to.

Raspberry Bulbs paint a seductively dystopian image through Before the Age of Mirrors, but its aesthetic cannot fully carry the weight of its musical shortcomings. There is both too much runtime and too little substance here.

Stetson does an admirable job finding ways to maintain a tone of persistent unease, but his compositional skills are tested by the film's reliance on abstract horror with occasional visceral shocks over any kind of concrete story or consistent character beats. Detached from the visuals it makes for a pretty bumpy ride.

It's not a perfect album — at times it seems only a taste of the power that Porridge Radio will eventually wield — but it's an important album, a statement of purpose from a group with everything before them.

Ceremony is one of Phantogram's weakest records, one that struggles to set itself apart in the sea of electro-pop still stuck in the aesthetics of the late 2010s.

On Conference of Trees, Pantha du Prince creates new vistas of sound by expanding his musical palette progressively, holistically and audaciously.

Simulcast is a shining and beautifully crafted album that reaffirms Hansen's hold atop of 21st century ambient electronic.

Whether the band chose to do so to demonstrate their virtuosity, or merely their indecisiveness, has yet to be shown. Regardless, Collector is inspiring in its scale and complexity.

This project is the high energy expected by a mare balancing sugar and spice just in time for the hotties — Megan's fan club — to warm up to for the summer.

Silver Landings shows Moore unburdened and the joy she finds in being honest is both heartening and inspiring.

If Clark maintains the marquee star promise she shows throughout Your Life Is a Record, swaths of the next generation's songwriters will long for her to cover their tunes, and daydream about following in her footsteps.

Starmaker is a world unbound by time and gravity, a fantasy borne of solar winds. If this is where country music is headed, we should all be so lucky to be invited along for the journey.

Though it still flirts with the blues, soul and R&B that he's built his name on, the record has a country-fried warmth, coloured by slide guitar and Southern rhythms. That those Southern rhythms are played mostly by chintzy drum machine, that they're undermined by hip-hop-biting guitar samples or artificial horns, is the record's vaguely outlandish appeal.

There's some really great songwriting on the album and a handful of tracks worth adding to your daily rotation, but it viciously grabs your attention without being able to hold onto it for very long.

Lauv has definitely established his own niche. Maybe it's only a matter of time before he becomes one of pop's biggest acts, but for now, ~how i'm feeling~ confirms that he's doing fine looking in from the out

This record is an artefact of the finest quality released to keep our ears cool and hearts throbbing, whether our future brings endless summer or nuclear winter.

Part one of Sumney's smart double feature proves that art is everywhere — even in the drab hues that exist between extremes.

The artist's seemingly unlimited reservoir of imagination and talent have allowed them to fuse years of musical tradition into a wholly singular sensibility encapsulated in these 18 finely hewn tracks.

Rose shines a disco light on shame, lets panic leap into a bouncing gait that's faked-till-it's-made. And though she masterfully wields the absurdity of hubris, she also doesn't ridicule what she finds. She asks the misfits of the human psyche what they want and what scares them, and gives them a whole floor to do their dance. They laugh together, let loose and sweat off their blush.

Expectations is a nearly flawless record; Katie Pruitt will have to work hard to top what she has achieved here.

Heavy Light, the remarkable new record from Meg Remy's U.S. Girls project, is a scavenger hunt for these elusive pasts — music devoted to reflection and retrospection. ... Never before have her narratives felt so personal and resonant.

This is an inspired album and potential goldmine of samples for future generations.

Accentuated by the pair's newly honed synchronicity and Carlile's expert production, the Secret Sisters' lofty ambitions for this record ring out clear and true.

Unrefined and uninhibited, Fungus II is a visceral journey through layers of chaos that refuse to be subdued. Wasted Shirt's first record makes it clear that the two have teamed up to indulge their impulses and then blow them up.

With their songs, Ratboys document an ongoing search for stability amid a feeling of unstoppable motion and upheaval — whether that means finding a shoulder to lean on, a memory to relive, or a place that really feels like yours. But if being Ratboys is as much fun as "Alien With a Sleep Mask On" sounds, that's some good company to have along for the ride.

Despite the lesser tracks on the record, Forward Motion Godyssey is a strong sophomore attempt from Post Animal. The band still have yet to truly define their unique identity, but as they are now, they are one of the stronger genre-bending psychedelic rock groups around.