While the tracks on Hill's End never stray too far from the sound evident in the first few notes of the beginning track, they never feel repetitive.

Kesha shines brightest on "Woman," an undeniably funky number whose soulful beat is driven by the Dap-Kings' legendary horns. Unedited takes of giddy laughter shared between Kesha and her co-writers in the vocal booth pepper the song, demonstrating an artist who refuses to be stripped of her joy.

It takes a few spins for the subtle charms of Life Is Fine to fully kick in, but it rewards patience. It may not quite match the sustained brilliance of seminal '80s albums Gossip and Under the Sun, but this is another fine effort.

Rawlings' and Welch's music always feels like a return visit, and Poor David's Almanack in particular seems perfectly suited to tack up on your wall and consult at home.

There's no doubt Good Time OST absolutely sounds like a movie score, but every single track here stands on its own, providing an intensely emotional punch to the gut.

Remains an unlikely and absolutely wonderful and essential listen.

Even after encountering a few detours and career doubts, Rose has turned a bad situation into something remarkable; Cage Tropical is a welcome return from an artist that clear has more to say.

Unsurprisingly, the music they select is beautiful and carefully crafted. The album features such acts as Boards of Canada, Stereolab, River Tiber, Thundercat, Delegation, Charlotte Day Wilson and the Beach Boys, to name a few.

Though Frost skilfully balanced the heaviness with some breathing room on A U R O R A, his work with Albini seems to have let in just a little more light and colour, enough to both surprise and enchant.

The result is an absolutely vicious, fearless record.

Even in its weighty moments, the simple melodies, infectious hooks and liberal dashes of humour will keep your spirits up from start to finish. Good For You is a satisfying, well-rounded effort.

At 20 years old, Allison is only just getting started, and Collection is a tidy introduction to Soccer Mommy that points towards her vision of bringing her contemplative songwriting to a more potent and energizing level.

Lyrically, Newman continues to play games that amuse him, but the logical and narrative backflips might be too much this time.

Call It Love is an enticing work, but despite its many pleasing qualities, it doesn't quite stand out from the oversaturated electronic dream-pop scene.

In just under a half-hour, the band tear apart any notion that punk music can no longer be inventive or groundbreaking; Dead Cross brings life back into the genre.

The smooth way in which Alexander's voice blends between shifting country and soul backgrounds demonstrates versatility, and his clear and accessible vocal delivery helps tie together these different strands like a good leader.

Tyler's most musically and lyrically focused effort to date.

Spooky Action is an incredibly simple record that's rescued by a primal energy and emotional output that artists half Loewenstein's age wished they possessed.

For the relative specificity of thematic focus, Hip Mobility is varied in its sound. More than just mining the past for interesting artifacts, Quindar have created something surprisingly new here, and in having done so, project their art into the future.

The evolution can sometimes be clunky, like on "A-Ok" and "People Are Pets," when Thomson's vocal venom and the band's brash tendencies clash in some ways with the songs' brighter moods. But with "Leash" and "Bolt Cutters," they find a softer side that works quite well; each is lifted by a nicely harmonized chorus, and beneath the blown-out speakers is timeless songwriting that could be stripped down to the bones and still stand on its own.

There's no song on Black Mile like "Wolves at Night" or "April Fool," the kind of high-energy howler fit for an EA Sports game, but their efforts have paid off with an artistic triumph, the kind worth regarding as a creative masterwork among their collection.

Crenshaw is a deeply funky jazz record with a sensibility that incorporates the best of this L.A. neighbourhood's long fascination with hip-hop and R&B. It captures the full breadth of the region's rich musical history. ... This is, at the very least, the record of the summer. For some, it might just be the record of 2017.

They're not back at their best, but on Everything Now, Arcade Fire once again sound like the world-beaters they were on The Suburbs without forgoing the acidity, swagger and scope of Reflektor.

Amid soulful, R&B-indebted sounds married smoothly to the more country-leaning, Atkins has created her best and most resounding work yet.

Spending time with this dreamscape of a collection--and it's definitely worth spending time with--unveils themes of masculinity and, especially, femininity, all the quiet dangers associated with womanhood, whether it's "Flash Company" or the complex dynamic between rapist and pregnant victim in "Bonnie May."

Oyamada's work as Cornelius over the past 20 years has defied genre, logic and time; on Mellow Waves, it sounds like he's on cruise control.

Eucalyptus finds Portner going back-to-basics, taking listeners on a psychedelic but steady trip over 15 tracks with atmospheric and shifting samples ("Lunch Out of Order" Pt. 1 and 2), Sung Tongs-style guitar work ("Jackson 5," "PJ" and opener "Season High") and spaced-out instrumentation (the twisted "Boat Race" and lo-fi drone of "Dr aw one").

Soulful yet sensational, Fabriclive 93 is a consuming mix that marks the intersection of Snaith's dance floor personas--and powerfully so.