The subject matter isn't new, but the trio's knack for delivering humorous one-liners, tasteful adlibs and memorable hooks in impressively technical fashion remains a winning formula here.

Love in Beats finds Omar's brand of R&B at its most peerless, timeless and, yes... mature.

Myths 002 certainly delivers in terms of a successful, collaborative and twisted effort between two rather different artists, and may they find themselves recording together again in the future.

If you dig Baldi's work, this is as fine a collection as any in the Cloud Nothings discography.

There's a lot to unpack here, and as a result, SweetSexySavage feels a bit overstuffed at times; numbers like "Thank You" and "Hold Me By the Heart" are expressive in nature but aren't lasting. But by getting intensely personal, Kehlani adds a human side to the recordings that's multilayered and unapologetically self-determined.

Jardín serves straight-up soul and funk with a pop sensibility. Garzón-Montano's vocals are solid and serviceable, the album production robust and efficient and the musical mindset supported by a strong level of craft.

Not Even Happiness is a triumph of subtlety, proof that music doesn't have to be forceful to be powerful.

Coming across as a viscera-churning blast of pure sub-bass propulsion, Borders demonstrates that while Emptyset's methods may have morphed, their madness is still intact.

There are flashes of influences--Ministry's late '80s, early '90s run is a clear antecedent--but the pair never succumb to mimicry or idolatry. This is Berdan's pain, writ large and loud for all to hear.

The album perfectly captures the abrasive and raw sound that Sleater-Kinney have only strengthened throughout the years.

The band only falters when they lean on stock symbols, as on the materialist-baiting "Pink White House." If those lyrics sound lazy, it's only because Nothing Feels Natural is so taut and particular otherwise.

Near to the Wild Heart of Life isn't the record fans waited five years for. But backed into a corner, Japandroids have penned a truly great record filled with all the guitar hooks, shout-along choruses about nights spent drinking, sweating and longing to be somewhere else that we've come to expect.

She's turned that feeling into an album as glittery as it is gut-wrenching, making Tourist in This Town a point on the musical map that's well worth a long, enriching stay.

Ty Segall is a mixture of boisterous and blissful, and certainly is a great place to start if you're looking to introduce someone to Segall's ever-fattening discography.

Tift Merritt and her wonderful band deliver big time with this record ... Despite it being very early in 2017, it's safe to say this album will be on many year-end lists come December.

Modern Ruin is a solid, well-balanced effort that showcases Frank Carter's versatility as an artist while pleasing fans of his previous work.

There's a lot of stuff there, and sure, not everything seems crucial. But when the ecosystem works as well as it does on Pas pire pop, it's worth taking the time to get lost in its dense flora of sounds.

Lonely Planet is a pleasing collection of well-crafted, often beautiful sketches, and while they may not always end up anywhere specific, you'll always enjoy the journey nonetheless.

Originally envisioned as the first in a series of efforts to help inspire artists (hence the title), this is the perfect album to sleep, cry or meditate to, an album for life on this planet from an artist usually obscured by the whirring of machines. Imagine that.

Though the production lags at times, Wiley's performance overall is still a fitting conclusion to his groundbreaking journey in music.

Embers could (and should) start over then, urging all software to "repeat all" and every DJ to throw side one back on the bed of coals.

He's Got the Whole This Land Is Your Land in His Hands is a minor gem in the Joan of Arc discography, as Kinsella gives listeners more simply by pulling back.

Although it's an intertextual and oftentimes challenging listen, Future Politics is also a compelling call to action to collectively conceive of the future and its manifold possibilities.

As Foxygen continue with their disparate series of throwback experiments, Hang finds them closer than ever to striking a balance between their wild, ambitious ideas and innate strengths

It's hard to shake off singer Davey Havok's sterile lyrics, especially when many of the choruses lean heavily on his bold, operatic delivery yet are somewhat squandered on half-cocked one-liners.

With Forever, Code Orange have put together a record that few others in the genre would have the nerve to attempt making, and have found a number of ways to stay engaging across the set without losing any of their previous weight or momentum.

Diehard fans of the Brazilian band who rekindled their interest in the band with the return of Roots producer Ross Robinson will find Machine Messiah lacklustre, possibly even forgettable, when held up to Sepultura's better past work.

Although Romans is a collaborative effort between two dance floor heavyweights in their own right, the largely dark sound that has distinguished previous releases from Haslam emerges as this record's strongest aspect.