While not as accessible as It’s A Shame About Ray or as punk-focused as Hate Your Friends, Love Chant is an impressive blending of both styles.

The duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have found that creative musical joy again, with the overarching feeling on the album being, fun.

Expressive solos from trumpet, violin, guitar, and keys keep the tune choogling along, with ever-active percussion as well. “Coney Bear,” from guitarist Bob Lanzetti begins with his funky strumming before blossoming into a mix of soaring synths and horns interspersed by frenetic funk passages from the rhythm section. The closer, “Trinity” from fellow guitarist Mark Lettieri takes its name from Trinity River that connects Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denton, the band’s hometown. It features searing guitar lines in a rather angular take with strong horn lines navigating several rhythmic changes, far less direct than many of the others in the set.

Along with bassist Alan Anton, the band’s lineup has not changed at all since their 1986 debut and, thankfully, though they’ve grown as musicians and songwriters over the decades, the core of the band’s sound is the same as it ever was.

End feels like the soundtrack to life, placing you as the main character as the band crafts dynamic instrumentals that melt like gold and shine just as bright for their best album in recent memory.

Muzz is a familiar culmination of previous individual sounds that mesh well together, but Muzz not only blends influences, but they also undertake new sonics to further push the progressiveness of the project. Muzz is nuanced in how it shifts from intimacy to defamiliarization, this indie gray area riffs off the familiar and transforms it into something entirely new.

While the music is great and her vocals impressive, her knack for writing unforgettable lyrics is still the most charming thing about her music.

On When You Found Me, singer songwriter Ben Nichols and the band stated they were going for a Classic Rock sound, circa the 1980s; the type of music that would have soundtracked their childhoods. Based on the 10 tracks that make up the record, they clearly succeeded. ... Regardless of these tweaks, this is still unmistakably a Lucero record.

None are genuinely essential, but still, the gusto Bob himself displays so often is a revelation: hear the rousing version of Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox” with George on guitar and vocals. Meanwhile, the brevity of many other selections is often in direct proportion to the surprise they may evoke. ... That said, to become truly enamored of 50th Anniversary Collection 1970, it may be necessary to be a devout Dylan fan, a music lover insatiably curious about the recording process or both.

13 spell-binding, genre-pushing tracks. .... Atlanta is the mesmerizing, psychedelic outing we all hoped it would be, and then some.

Jonny is an album you need to listen to front-to-back in order to understand the full vision, nothing about this album should be skimmed over.

This casual record isn’t meant to change the world, it is just a deep dive into the tunes the duo love; less a major release than a passion project but by adding Deaton and Brown to these sessions The Black Keys blues workouts on Delta Kream go down smooth.

I Want The Door To Open stands in stark contrast to The Lamb, setting opposing goals and aiming for a different audience, but both remain uncompromising visions of West, a songwriter whose proven on top of everything else, her inventiveness.

What makes The Lemon Twigs such an exciting band to follow is that they have maintained a way to be new and still very rooted in what past masters of rock have accomplished sonically. ... For fellow fans of The Lemon Twigs, I’m sure we can agree it was absolutely worth the wait.

Cottrell’s voice is airy and breathy, seemingly forged specifically for Tycho’s music, but it’s in fact when it takes centre stage, the record stutters. Tycho’s beauty was in the remarkable way they had created a unique sound, something that gets lost within many of these tracks that play out as good but fairly standard down-tempo dream-pop.

The consistently heart-wrenching lyrics of Mercer combined with Danger Mouse’s ability to craft luxurious instrumentals give Into The Blue its colorful personality. Within the 40-minute run-time of the album, the duo explores new territory while Mercer’s poetic songwriting keeps Danger Mouse’s spaced-out instrumentals grounded.

Willie Nelson willfully imbues First Rose Of Spring with his own brand of bitter honesty, giving the album the sort of emotional resonance that the majority of his contemporary peers forgo in exchange for switchboard instrumentation and hollow lyricism.

Altogether, as with most of YLT’s covers over the years, Sleepless Night is a stellar selection of songs completed by a very talented trio. If it sounds like the group could record most of these covers in their sleep, that only shows how well the band has honed their tribute skills.

Destroyer becomes the perfect album to play in your car while you speed (safely) down the highway. Though not as trippy or psych heavy as its predecessors, Destroyer still manages to fit perfectly into the Black Mountain catalogue.

Like most of Stickles’ efforts, some editing would help tighten the flow of the record, but as it stands, The Will to Live is a success with Titus Andronicus channeling their punk core straight into the arena rock rafters.

Its restraint may frustrate those looking for hooks or crescendos, but that sparseness is part of the message: climate change doesn’t always arrive as spectacle, but as the slow, quiet unraveling beneath our feet. The Antlers continue to churn out meaningful music that connects with listeners who prefer challenging rewards.

Overall Fear of the Dawn (like White himself) never sits still and while exhilarating at moments, none of the tracks stand with the best he has written and feel like experimental jam sessions.

Devoted fans of as well as casual listeners may ultimately find much of what follows too informal for its own good. ... Strictly on musical terms, though, this celebration of personal and creative bonds is just one more effort by this inveterate iconoclast that, like 2014’s Storytone, is slow to reveal its subtle rewards.

All Souls Hill feels like a gradual step with the heavier foot planted on the electronic DIY side while venturing back to the organic with the lighter foot.

What a short history of decay lacks in consistency, it makes up for with unapologetic, poetic displays of the many sides of Palermo as a writer and producer.

Flea’s mission for Honora was simple: create something that feels both natural and impressive, something the listener can take with them throughout their day, and he achieved that, and more.

Drenched in swirling reverb, the atmosphere evoked by Talkie Talkie is lush and cinematic – whiffs of surf rock, loping Latin drums, and shiny, liquid guitar twangs.

Medicine at Midnight is the most upbeat and poppy Foo Fighters album. While the band has always incorporated elements of melodic pop as far back as “Big Me” in 1995, this is the slickest and most radio-friendly album to date.

Managing to get any kind of new music during the pandemic has been rewarding and die-hard Sigur Rós fans that have waited 18 years to finally hear Odin’s Raven Magic, will no doubt find something to chew on. For most casual listeners however, this project, while undeniably beautiful remains messy and unfocused.

It is a multifaceted album of contrasts that melds pop hooks, rock guitars, and beautiful melodies in a way that crosses genres and tones and rewards careful listening.

With all its unpredictable mood shifts, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 has one consistency that nothing can take away from Lord Huron: their songwriting is some of the most beautifully poetic in Americana. Throughout the warping arrangements and surprise features, the band proves to have a cacophony of heartwrenching ballads that add a splash of color to grey emotions like heartbreak and loneliness.

The songwriting is impressively strong, with no weak or filler tracks. While Randolph is the focal point, the Family Band, which, in addition to his sister, includes cousins Danyel Morgan on bass and Marcus Randolph on drums, is amazingly versatile in how they can move between styles so fluidly. Brighter Days comes from sacred steel, and remains rooted in it, but isn’t locked into it.

It’s not just a sequel to its counterpart, but an extension of that prior work as well as the live autobiography-in-song that is this group’s their eponymous debut.

Look closely at the repertoire here. It’s emblematic of the Mavericks approach – classic country, Sun Records, Tejano, ’50s and ‘60s R&B, pop, and contemporary rock. It’s especially remarkable given Malo’s Cuban American heritage but that too has been part of their genre-agnostic approach that has served them well for 30 years, and maybe never better than the way they sound here.

Whether Jacob’s Ladder successfully reaches listeners, however, will ultimately depend on an open-minded response to the various instrumental and vocal components.

Fertita pulls from all his edgy influences fortuitously throughout this solo self-titled debut, as Tropical Gothclub shakes with an infectious buzzing energy in line with Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures.

The band’s sound has evolved steadily since Letting Off the Happiness, but they have managed to hold onto everything that made the band stand out decades ago—emotionally smart songs delivered with earnest charm.

The opening track, the explosive “American Dream” is a solid indication that, despite the inspiration for this particular album, it’s not going to be crammed with maudlin introspection. That infectious energy is carried through on the dance-punk vibe of “Like You Did Before” and the incredible album closer “Bad Guys Always Win.”

Working with producer Butch Walker (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran) in his Nashville studios, Cosentino reaches for the pop heights with timely tunes and lyrics which are current, but also middle of the road at times.

Only a confident and fearless songwriter could take on this kind of subject matter and make it resonate.

Each of the three volumes stands alone as great compact albums of indie pop, but they work better together, with each volume featuring a slightly different take on the material.

This is a band that has stayed true to its singular, languid, atmospheric sonic to best frame Margo Timmins’ vocals. Even when they step into denser and occasional harsher sonics, they manage to successfully retreat to this infectious comfort zone. We can’t call The Cowboy Junkies a national treasure, but an enduring, consistently strong North American treasure will do just fine.

Most of the time Morrison plays the songs straight, some with different arrangements and a few with lyrical twists. ... This music is well-designed for live performance and early reviews of the shows are highly favorable. However, as an album listening experience, the weight of so many background vocalists with call and response or echoes in every chorus on these tracks becomes wearisome.

The band leans into what they do best — swelling ballads, earnest confessionals, and gratifying harmonies — and as a result, the album feels less like a reinvention than a reaffirmation of what they do best.

It’s very dreamy and a bit fuzzy; but magnetic. Once pulled in, it’s hard to let go. It’s a mysterious place that seemingly offers no easy exits.

There’s attitude aplenty from the very outset. In fact, its first track, “Shockwave,” contains the clarion call of electric guitars combined with bluesy harp, at least partially giving the lie to chest-thumping lyrics Liam delivers with an almost audible sneer. The repetition of the refrain might be better served with an extra dollop or two of spontaneity, and while this somewhat stilted production might well be expected from Kurstin and Wyatt–who’ve worked with the likes of Adele and Lady Gaga–it doesn’t lessen the dampening effect on this performance and that of “Now That’ I’ve Found You.”

The Baltimore based artist has released and produced a variety of EP’s, soundtracks and experimental offerings but on Mystic Familiar he succeeds in combing passions and moving things slightly to a more personal tone amongst the cluttering digital world in which we all live.

Regardless going against all conventions and ridding itself of repetition, Croz Boyce is an album that begs to be heard again and again.

King Gizzard made sure every guest felt welcome without sacrificing their true range. While Phantom Island is a consistent and stadium-sized effort, each song feels like its own little universe of musical solace to get lost in.

The group flashes its technical wizardry, an ear for the weird/experimental and crushingly powerful headbanging ways, cataloging their past while looking towards their future.

Ultimately, his multi-faceted approach proves intriguing.

When Chris and Oliver Wood began collaborating as a duo in the early 2000s, there was a tangible element of self-deprecating humor in their work. That element has faded to a great degree over time–especially in comparison to the latter’s solo efforts–but the jolly, acerbic attitude has returned virtually in full here. It’s most reminiscent of 2006’s Ways Not To Lose and Loaded two years later. “Above All Others,” in fact, sounds borderline sarcastic (and lethally so ), its effect heightened by the easygoing waltz rhythm at the heart of the performance.

With Second Nature they prove once again that they can filter in new sounds and stylistic ideas in a way that never feels inorganic, letting their songs and gift for memorable melodies shine through whatever outfit they’ve dressed them in.

Temple captures the band’s unique melding of styles: Asian with American, hip hop with rock, analog with digital, off-kilter with hummable. The band’s influences are combined not as a precise recipe, but as an experimental alchemy that rewards in unexpected ways.

Sultana has crafted a wide-ranging offering on Terra Firma, appealing to different tastes, eras, and styles.

Lund goes out of his way to cover each in his own style without simply trying to duplicate the originals. As a result, he manages to pay homage to the songwriters while still putting out a record that his growing fanbase will relate to.

The beauty of Almost Free is the underlying honesty that exudes from each riff and lyric.

On What Chaos Is Imaginary, Tucker and Tividad have created an album that find the duo embracing their personal changes while still writing honest and deep lyrics. The harmonies and melodies on the album are far above those on past albums.

Literally, any song on Mint could become another huge hit for Merton, both because they hit on a formula that has worked well in the past and just because they’re that good.

The biggest weakness of Life Is Yours is its lack of variety. Foals have always had a vast sonic palette, but on this album, the Oxford band limits itself to only a small portion. But what that album does, it does well. Each song is kinetic and has great grooves to get people moving.

This is a fun and impressive album showing you don’t have to be a young American to make a killer blues rock album.

Yes, this is confessional song writing but it’s done in the spirit of helping others who have felt similar emotions. She’s baring her soul in a selfless manner, hoping to help others move forward. The sound of Lucette is appropriately contemplative and reflective. It stands apart from most.

Despite the quality of the songwriting and the performances, there’s something about Let’s Rock that feels like the two are tying up the band and bringing their music full circle. Whatever the intent and the future of the band, Let’s Rock is a solid release that should make fans happy, whether it’s a coda or just their latest record.

As a whole, WE is a fairly good album and would be better received if it wasn’t an Arcade Fire album.

A wealth of songs that are as engaging as they are enjoyable.

How much you want to hear the duo’s take on the Floyd song may sway your overall feeling on the record, but even for non-Floyd fans, the originals captured on Mettavolution are reason enough to check in on this always unique duo.

LP5 is a solid effort by a vital musician, worthy of multiple listens – ideally, with no distractions, and complemented by a glass of wine or tea and some low lighting.

Fans of Mr. Bungle and Patton’s wilder/heavier tendencies may not find a lot here, as the project skews more towards the Avett Brothers side of the house.

Honey is rave music for a party of one as Snaith balances his nimble pop tendencies with sprawling soundscapes. In an attempt to balance his two worlds, Snaith landed on an infectious middle ground.

A tense, polished, cold affair that never truly explodes into something larger.

11:11 is an album that’s sure to please longtime fans of the band, but it also serves as a prime document of the cultural atmosphere in the United States in 2022.

Marshall is an artist who will work in any genre and his art digs into his psyche yet the end result can be just as messy as most psyches are. Man Alive! is far from a celebration, it sounds transitional casting a wide net unsurely searching and grasping for what is coming next.

The singer-songwriter’s twelfth studio album mostly sounds like 2000s-era Crow with some contemporary flourishes in the production. Crow’s diverse vocals are still solid, ranging from country twang to soulful croon and saccharine pop.

Harmonizer shifts from that tone halfway through the glam rock spiced “Pictures” which starts off like a gangbuster only to switch halfway to a minimal stripped-down effort in odd fashion, resulting in two songs shoehorned into one to the detriment of both. The downer “Ride” drags as well, but the confident strutting riffs around the silly lyrics of “Play” picks up the pace. The dabbling in Black Sabbath-like sludge metal (“Waxman”) and intriguing post-punk sung by his wife (“Feel Good”) prove that you can never pin down a style with Segall.

Overall Benson has crafted an enjoyable, thoughtful slice of pop-rock on Dear Life, embracing his classic rock love while not limiting the scope of his sound and voice.

It’s easy to envision any one of these tracks performed live as almost all have singalong type choruses and hip-shaking grooves, certainly the case for “Baby, I’m Coming Home,” which has enough fiery guitars sounding off that it suggests Gibbons has strapped on his axe too. The closer, “Didn’t I Love You,” brings blues riffs, guitar distortion, and a rawness, emblematic of the garage-rock that first stamped this enduring band.

Non-Secure Connection is more than just a strong & cohesive collection of well-written material. It also represents a continuation of Bruce’s keen ability to adapt to the ever-changing musical & societal landscapes that shape our world today.

Oxy Music is not, however, any kind of masterpiece, but it is another surprisingly consistent concept album, one just as slick and depraved as Forced Witness was, even without the extra schtick.

Though the rest of the album doesn’t meet the same standard as its closing track, Daylight is a solid pop album with no bad songs and a few brilliant moments.

[Sloan] have certainly built up a solidly loyal following over the years but have inexplicably never been huge outside of their native Canada. Steady likely won’t do much to change that but is certain to make even the most casual fans of the band happy.

Dayton not only renews these classics; he infuses them with an energy we didn’t even realize they had.

The songs here are largely fun and accessible, but contain hidden depths that encourage repeated listens; and that in itself is a testament to Toro Y Moi’s staying power and ability to find new ways of expressing himself.

Under the Spell of Joy allows Death Valley Girls the freedom to explore and the structure to tighten up as they communally dance and shake along the void.

Most of the songs maintain a decidedly hollow-eyed sound, one that requires the listener to lean in and patiently wait for the songs to reach a crescendo. Happily, it’s well worth the indulgence.

Anybody Out There? may have been four years in the making, but it proves to be well worth the wait.

Campbell chose to embrace his personal sound, owning it, and refining it. It’s not an easy task but Campbell and the Dirty Knobs take it seriously.

Unfortunately, the biggest misses are at the heart of the album, as the over-long and manic “Pink Lunettes” is crazed from a bad drug trip or just 18 months cooped up, pin-balling around searching for meaning with grating lyrics. ... The finale recalls the opener with a swirling mix of electro, longing, and strings, pedal-affected guitars and keyboards, doing an admirable job recalling the best of Pink Floyd but skewed through a modern filter, bookending the shaky 9 on an exhilarating note.

Though it lacks the raw mosh pit fodder of early Slothrust releases, Parallel Timeline shows a new sensitivity, vocals improved in both tone and melody, and plenty of pop hooks while still peppering small doses of heavy rock.

It may take repeated listenings over a period of time—plus no small honestly and self-awareness in a listener–to plumb the depths of introspection this artist (and his main collaborator) is aiming for here. And ultimately, while All the Bright Coins may represent a Rorschach test for those hearing it, the bravery required in that context is no greater than that of its author(s), both of whom deserve commendation for their own patience and perseverance in creating this often dramatic piece of work.

Wand is most at home onstage, and Spiders in the Rain does a proper job of delivering the group’s unique mix of noise/psych/jam/shoegaze/alternative rock to those who have yet to experience them in concert as well as those who want to relive the majesty.

He [producer Andrew Wells] manages to magnify an already impressive sound without weighing it down in over-production or slickness. The Vaccines have been a big deal back home, but Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations could (and should) be the record that brings them that same type of recognition in the U.S.

As The Velveteers continue to grow, so does their sound and songwriting. A Million Knives is a positive next step on their journey.

The dissonance in styles and tones is unnerving in the best way, resulting in a multifaceted experience that challenges metal preconceptions while remaining easy to digest.

Engines of Demolition shows that Black Label Society hasn’t lost a step over the last 28 years. It’s uncompromisingly heavy while doling out hard rock hooks and introspective meditations on mortality.

In terms of tone, production, and energy, Neon Pill feels connected to Social Cues. And like that album, there is plenty to enjoy, even without the powerful guitars and frenzied vocals. This softer Cage still has the grooves and melodies to keep things interesting while the band gets more comfortable.

The softer, subtler sound of The Other Side of Make-Believe means it’s never able to reach the greatness of the peak moments of Turn On the Bright Lights or Antics. It simply doesn’t have those powerful moments. Despite that and Banks occasionally singing outside of his range, it’s a solid effort and a welcome splash of color to Interpol’s dour palette.

This album is a success, albeit one that does little to distance itself from the releases that came before it. Each track shares the percussive and wonky tone of Face Stabber but Dwyer knowingly infuses enough melody into the highlights to make for a few key standouts.

Extreme Witchcraft proves Everett is willing to let it all hang out sonically, delivering enjoyable results.