This one has terrific moments and arguably, some of the best songs he’s ever written. These ten songs, each three or four minutes in length. are the essence of Will Kimbrough, songsmith.

Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was is very complicated lyrically and also very fresh. The trio championed the moody music that college English students sat in their dorms and cried too, and Bright Eyes doesn’t leave that signature out, but they doctor up the sonics resulting in a dense return from a long hiatus.

Midlake’s sixth LP is an unassuming yet vibrantly fun listen, brimming with expressive anecdotes that aim to enhance your surroundings rather than distract from them.

The multi-Grammy Award winner deserves to be proud of such deeply personal, readily identifiable work as Side-Eye III+.

My Finest Work Yet is an elegant musical piece, enriched by stimulating messaging.

The cohesive Other You finds Gunn comfortably delivering gorgeous layers of guitar sounds over relaxed songs which are in no hurry to do much more than reflecting the Southern California sun.

Despite it being one of their shortest albums, their feral-like energy continues to demand your attention for the full 40 minutes.

While it would be difficult to ascribe the term ‘organic’ to the original album, the original bears more melodic qualities and the ebbs and flows are musician-driven versus effects-driven. It’s a preference – dancefloor or couch and headphones. It’s not every group that can deliver both experiences and that makes GGP special.

Los Lobos puts out a dazzling love letter to their hometown of Los Angele with Native Sons, 13 songs initially sung by LA-based bands. The reinterpretations are as inspired as they are varied.

While Part 2 might not be quite as excellent as Part 1, the album as a whole contains some of Lavelle’s best work.

After years of recording under various aliases, he seems to have made peace with it and settled back into Wreckless Eric as his moniker. As his past several albums prove, he is just as vital.

Cavalcade, much like its title suggests, is the sum of its individual parts, a great collection of songs, but still, exactly that.

These songs find her shaping her thoughts on motherhood, romance, the universe, and death into some of the most accessible music of her career, telling the tales of our bodies and what comes after in a mesh of psychedelic funk and earworm hooks.

Even without Bejar, there are enough pop hooks and interesting melodies to live up to The New Pornographers’ high standard.

Produced by Alvin, From An Old Guitar: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, the 16-song collection offers a mix of acoustic blues and ballads to electric bar room blues to folk and country/rock, a great representation of Alvin’s many endearing styles from one of the best songwriters and energetic guitarists of our time.

Whether you’re a fan of the desert blues sound or new to it, Songhoy Blues has delivered an infectious, comprehensive take on the music infused with tradition.

The band crafted their most personal and revealing album to date by allowing themselves to play with minimalism in a way that creates an atmosphere of honesty. Fantasy has M83 at their most fearless.

Back In Black is a tribute, extension, and reminder of Cypress Hill at its peak, to do this so successfully thirty years after that era is impressive in its own unique way.

The funky hip-hop moments sit beside some truly gorgeous passages, especially Kuroda’s flugelhorn on the Hancock piece.

Rarely Do I Dream blurs the mystique of an artist whose honest songwriting made listeners feel like insiders with the musician and introduces the world to the full potential of Youth Lagoon.

He continues to show why he’s been one of the best songwriters in the past four decades and again, despite what at times feels like a curious mix, he delivers the kind of gems that only he can.

Her voice and song selection work well, going over the top at times to nail the tune with all the requisite pomp and circumstance but also experimenting in unique ways.

This is a much-needed dose of Silver with young cats Shaw and Henderson, guaranteed to lift your spirits.

This combo of fidgety indie rock and uneasy dance tracks works well on Thee Black Boltz, Tunde Adebimpe’s successful solo debut.

The album has a joyous feel and familiarity even by those who have never heard U-Roy before. Each tune rings vibrantly with highlights being the artist’s earliest hits of “Wake The Town” and the cheeky “Wear You To The Ball.”

Tracked largely in analog, Dylan-style, and featuring L.A. players like Amy Aileen Wood (Fiona Apple) and Wayne Whitaker, For the First Time, Again sounds richly vintage. Though nearly flawless, its loose approach leaves open the question of how Tyler might sound in a more modern, ambitious setting.

With a few exceptions, Daddy’s Home doesn’t have the show-stopping, what-just-happened hooks of other St. Vincent releases. Yet it is the most eclectic St. Vincent album, juxtaposing calm soul-searching acoustic ballads with funky dance grooves, frenetic claustrophobia with sprawling psychedelia, fuzzed-out guitar with clean finger-picking. It is a new style for St. Vincent but because of its attitude, humor, and off-kilter compositions, it still feels very St. Vincent.

Though darker than most Garbage releases, No Gods No Masters is no less catchy than the albums that produced numerous hits in the 90s.