Seven Steps Behind is an album that, for the most part, has found its footing with a few missteps along the way.

Rave 'Till You Cry is as brilliantly insane from start to finish as any other collection Raczynski has assembled.

Where Black Is the Color was a debut of haunting folk-noir, Deluxe Hotel Room is a collection of emotive ballads that reveal an artist on the go who isn't afraid to make space for herself.

It certainly sounds diminutive in scope after the triumph of Iteration, and, despite the new gear, there's not much that sounds especially new or exciting here, just the usual Com Truise stuff in a slightly reduced register.

While it's hard to say whether or not it bests E•MO•TION, Dedicated does something arguably more important: as her first major work since 2015, it confirms both Jepsen's consistency and longevity as a songwriter.

Menuck and Doria found a new creative partnership, and each return to are SING SINCK, SING provides that crucial reminder while offering a shoulder to cry on.

The album's 11 tracks are anthemic, rhythmically driven, and infectious, perfectly blending industrial and electronic elements with hard rock and heavy metal in a distinctly unique way.

Pollard races through each song with all the gusto of the late '90s. His enthusiasm, though charming as ever, falls just shy of justifying what often feels like a collection of chaotic, unfinished demos.

The Best of Luck Club may lack some of the whimsy that got her noticed, but with this more mature turn, Lahey has expressed some lyrical depth that wasn't quite there the first time around.

I Am Easy To Find feels like a restart for a band in its 20th year. It might challenge some fans and may not ever grow on others, but more than anything, it proves that the National are not the band you thought they were. They're way more than that.

The Get Up Kids have a talent for writing catchy and infectious hooks and choruses and it's what has kept them on the map for over two decades. Both old and newer fans will find songs they enjoy and hopefully never stop listening to on Problems.

At 53 blurry, delirious minutes, it's a lot to take in. (Better suited for that might be the more melodious, less dense Dripping or this record's chronological and spiritual predecessor, A Hairshirt of Purpose.) But it's a strong step forward, and offers no more or less than exactly what Pile are all about.

LEGACY! LEGACY! is a complex and near-flawless reworking of genre--"I am not your typical girl," as Woods notes on "Betty"--as the singer-songwriter evolves her art, thought and reason for being.

Versing have an aptitude for taking the familiar sounds of earlier genres and developing them into something fresh. 10000 is bold and jarring when it needs to be, filling space with ubiquitous noise and melody.

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

Fear in a Handful of Dust might just be the best sonic definition for imperfect beauty we've got right now. Luckily, with the recent formation of Tobin's new label, Nomark, it looks like we'll be waiting far less than eight years for the next body of work.

At its best, the album retreads familiar ground.

As an album, YU feels like a body of work sewn together with interludes, hooks and a growing maturity. Lowe has made a statement by developing inward musings into grooves that reach toward new audiences, the heart at the centre of her work audibly beating.

You don't just feel unburdened of "progress" dysphoria, you feel like you've emerged from the paradigm equipped with a new language to help you navigate the next one.

Invitation can be a tough record to puncture. The shadowy soundscapes--thick layers of keys and strings with, oftentimes, thunderous percussion additions-- sometimes overpower Broderick's soft vocals.

Being more open to collaborations, and trusting the process of a co-producer, the quality of production is more on the synthetic side, but the record still has a sense of nostalgia that permeates her techno-pop melodies, because of the heavy synths.

The Damned Things explore a more alt side of rock'n'roll on High Crimes. One thing you can be certain of, however, is that the music is as intriguing as its unorthodox lineup would suggest.

The best of this record comes early, with opening tracks "Burn Baby," "Fighting the Crave" and "Proto Prototype." ... Scatter the Rats falters as it gets closer to its middle. ... The record picks back up in earnest with some of the final tracks.

Their third album, End of Suffering, feels less like a compromise between two sounds and more like a cohesive band.

There is certainly an urgency here; a difficult album to ignore.

One of the only things missing from the album is flow between tracks. Songs hit a satisfying ending, but then fade out and move to a track that doesn't connect to what the listener just heard.

Mint Condition is an incredible country-folk album, not only due to crisp and clear storytelling, but Spence's mesmerizing vocals, which have a unique sound of their own, with a hint of Dolly Parton, Lee Ann Womack and Ashley Monroe mixed into one.

Big Thief are accepting the inherent beauty of life's invisible forces and their contemplation with the unknown has led them to a mindful state of raw, celestial power. U.F.O.F. is trembling with mystical energy and is truly one of the year's best records.