One of the best bands playing today just keeps striding forward with confidence as Desires Pathway is yet another successful offering from the Screaming Females. The New Jersey trio continues to shift and create new sounds while keeping their hard driving style intact.

Yes, while the previous three revealed a gentler side of the band, this one flat-out rocks until we hear the spoken dialogue from St. EOM for whom the closer, an epic 12-minute instrumental, is named. It’s rendered simply by the quartet of Trucks, Dixon on B3, Boone, and Greenwell. As expected, it showcases the phenomenal spiraling, stratospheric guitar of Trucks. ... TTB, as expected, is off to a flying start.

History Books is a layered outing from Gaslight Anthem that is as familiar as it is refreshing. Longtime Gaslight Anthem fans will be pleased with the varying arrangements as the band traverses a colorful palette of moods and tones. Newcomers will be taken aback by the band’s unique diversity and lyrical dexterity as Gaslight Anthem pens gorgeous words to drive their latest outing.

Through its simplicity, Five Easy Hot Dogs achieved a level of beauty that redefines Demarco as a musician. Instead of relying on cheeky guitar tones and whispering vocal melodies, Demarco created a project that expresses his diversity without it feeling forced.

Ghosts of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett float among the slinky groove that could set out on the tide forever as it gorgeously gets the head bobbing and hips swaying around the only non-political track. Those lyrics are the exception though as the upbeat post-punk of “The Perilous Night” bubbles and bounces while sarcastically saying Amen to fascism on the rise, cars cutting down protesters and Red Square shining in the White House; it is a dance party at the end of the world with splashes of the Talking Heads mixed in.

The album is one powerful, deep dose of positivity, purposely overstated, with the whole bigger than any single song. Whether any of us need the tidal wave of healing power DeMent summons may be debatable but the album brings an indelible, lasting quality that few others achieve.

If you are unfamiliar with the band’s music, this release may be the perfect place to start.

Earle has made a gorgeous tribute, every bit as good, maybe even a shade better than TOWNES.

These three-part harmonies and killer songwriting mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy, yet the overriding result is joyous. Careful planning and years of work went into this project that breathes a spirit of collaboration and freedom beyond the meticulous decisions about instrumental textures.

Coming out of a decade where many bands decided to incorporate electronics (for better or worse) into their sounds, it is refreshing to hear the new generation of bands returning to more traditional rock instrumentation. Horsegirl not only does this, but does it well.

While not a must-own for non-fans, it is the truest testament possible to the finale of The Stooges original lineup.

His most effortless success yet. Sundry Rock Song Stock is a breezy trip through the life of a confident and naturalistic performer, someone whose best work still may be ahead of him.

Despite containing infectious anthems like The Cure-inspired “One More Day” and pop-punk powerhouse “Chain Reaction,” Cotton Crown is a complex yet highly rewarding listen.

Unlike the last two albums, there really isn’t really a strong theme to this record aside from the rowdiness of many of the tracks here (the slow tempo “Drunken Moon” and “She Leads Me” being the two big exceptions). But after a couple of strong yet musically restrained records, it’s fun to hear Lucero tapping into their more raucous side again.

Mustaine and Mäntysaari tear through complex, heavy riffs and blistering solos with speed and precision. .... While the album may not reach the level of the band’s first six albums, it’s a fitting farewell for Mustaine, with enough heavy riffing and histrionic shredding to make those last notes memorable.

That effortless mixing of European folk, South American soul, Caribbean groove, cumbia, and dub makes returning to Chao’s style a joy. While it has taken seventeen years to arrive, Viva Tu is classic Manu Chao, a bit more mellow with age, maturity, and an easy-flowing sense of musical comfort.

This is indeed as animated as we’ve heard Lucinda in some time. Her articulation and her songs are strong, while buoyed by excellent backing musicians, vocalists, and superb production values.

The Ballad Of Darren has the band sounding as tight and crafted as the first time we heard from the Brit-pop trailblazers except this time around a sense of maturity rings through these 10 songs.

The World Is Still Here and So Are We is a wildly refreshing departure from the manicured world we live in, and welcomes back one of punk’s most innovative and underappreciated bands.

Each tune is hummable and lovely, the kind of soft-spoken tune that Bonnie weaves around acoustic guitar strums. The latter half of the album remains slow and steady—a pace broken only by the snaking horns on “Thick Air”—in contrast to the first half that culls the all the upbeat optimism into a packed room.

Albums don’t get much more soulful than the Memphis sound the two channeled on Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, yet this continues in a similar vein, plunging deeper to include not just soul but some deep gospel too.

Lydia Loveless’ Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again is a cathartic release without a strong resolution, as the journey is the focus, staying strong through heartbreak, mental stress, and much more.

The Tubs’ debut album Dead Meat is a solid effort that showcases the band’s energy, attitude, and ability to blend punk aggression with melodic hooks. Fans of punk and rock music will find plenty to enjoy on this album, with its driving drums, snarling guitars, and impassioned vocals. The band is not afraid to take on difficult and controversial subjects and their lyrics are biting, politically-charged and true to their roots. It’s a must-listen for anyone who appreciates punk and rock music.

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.

Lennox’s Sinister Grift proves that the artist is far from done evolving. Its loss of its refreshingly underproduced consistency is a testament to Lennox’s maturity and songwriting.

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

Ivey has a gift for peppering purposely vague lyrics with direct messages as if today the world is often dark and chaotic but there is a path through it. While the musical aspects of the project began rather experimentally, he ultimately delivers pleasing soundscapes that carry us through the bleakness. Somehow, we emerge feeling better.

Into The Blue introduces us to Frazer’s ambitions of redefining the modern soul landscape while reminding us he had a hand in shaping it.