Underneath its few flaws, an electrifying energy shines through, even if its not as potent as it might have seemed in those halcyon 2000s days.

With Always Foreign, TWIABP's chaos is more calculated and controlled, even as their fiery resolve burns from the inside out.

This is a record bursting with indecision and excess, but that excess is revealing; we're shown more of Shania's emotion than ever here. It's enough to make Now one of the best pop albums of the year.

Washington delivers an LP's worth of ideas, vision and passion into only six tracks and 33 minutes of music.

The Desaturating Seven finds Primus oddly compelling, as ever.

Ben Frost again proves himself to be adept at juggling noise and melody, rhythm and drone, distortion and clarity on The Centre Cannot Hold, a record that sculpts comfort from chaos and tunnels through darkness back to light.

The band's punk'n'roll won't make converts out of unbelievers, but for those already initiated, V proves the Bronx an undoubtedly vital institution.

At times the music meanders a little, especially as the album comes to a close with the title track, but hats off to the band for pushing themselves on Visions of a Life.

Nokia wears many hats throughout the album--but each personality feels authentic. There's never a sense that she's masquerading. Despite Nokia's artistry, though, Deluxe has a few marked flaws. Her cadence and punchlines are amateurish at times, and there's something flat about the production and overall mix. ... Overall though, Deluxe is a solid effort that proves this Harlemite has the range. Fans will surely delight.

The album's low point comes over top of the solo acoustic guitar performance of "Change," in which Laraaji croons, "Change, by any other name is still change." ... These profundities continue for more than seven minutes--a rarely accomplished exercise in irony, given the song's title.

There isn't much here for serious followers of modern electronic music. It will bore you mostly, which--not to be dismissive here--appears to be the point entirely.

For the most part of Concrete and Gold, it's the same anthemic, meat 'n' potatoes arena rock we've come to expect; a little more punk or metal aggression here, a little more acoustic balladry there, but the mould is the same.

At its best, Relatives in Descent makes guitar music feel radical again, capturing both timely and timeless anxieties.

Perhacs' stellar melodies are bolstered by excellent musicianship throughout, like Cline's watercolour-like guitar work at the end of "Winds of the Sky," and Leddie Garcia's tumbling percussion on "The Dancer."

Striking a balance between sinister and comforting, it's a compelling sign that Cold Specks remains an artist to watch.

All in all, Half-Light makes it apparent just how much of what was captivating about Vampire Weekend came from Batmanglij, solidifying the newly independent musician as a collaborator artists from multiple genres should--and do--want to work with.

Despite its flaws, Wonderful Wonderful is a welcome course correction, a relatively personal record from a too-often facile group.

Vital, vibrant, and necessary, Luciferian Towers is a stunning addition to Godspeed's storied catalogue.

While the band challenge themselves, occasionally blindsiding fans too ("Caterpillar" is a demo that only features Edkins), there's also a reassuring aspect to the calm confidence of METZ here, though they find themselves in a lost world.

The music has remained familiar, as Dani has one of the most idiosyncratic and immediately recognizable voices in metal, but the perpetual whirlwind of members has made every Cradle of Filth album feel unique, and Cryptoriana is no different.

Ununiform is an uneven album at best, showing that Tricky isn't bereft of ideas but was lacking the fire to properly flesh them out.

Sumney approaches the complexities of relationships, power structures and an inability to experience romantic love with a quiet, powerful confidence.

They manage to balance quieter, more serene moments with bombast and wildness, ending the album with the two longest tracks on the album.

Listening to Hiss Spun is a punishing affair, but it's a rewarding one too. It's the sound of an artist not afraid to dig deep emotionally, and that challenges the listener to do so as well.

Haiku From Zero is another strong effort by a band that continue to celebrate the power of dance music, but as closer "Tied to the Weather" demonstrates, they aren't opposed to feeling the comedown effects, either.

Stranger in the Alps is a gorgeously written record, and Bridgers shows her brilliance consistently across its 45-minute runtime.

Where once we witnessed the group tilling the fields, Thrice Woven presents the bounty on a shining plate. WITTR still provide a plentiful feast, but the sense of having earned Mother Nature's gifts is diminished.

The ambience of Second of Spring is pleasing for sure, but there's nary an earworm in the 17-song bunch.