This album is still very much a Lenker solo project with minimal arrangements and honest songwriting but thanks to some fearlessness and a bit of patience, she can make Bright Future stand out from the rest of her solo work.

Overall, the band sounds self-assured as they broaden their horizons without alienating their core fans. Secret Love is a gorgeously produced record that sounds vibrant, wandering, engaged, and slightly funky as Dry Cleaning continues to broaden their post-punk scope.

The album is consistent on the surface but a deeper listen unveils blissful tunes that come alive via unpredictable sonic twists that get better with every listen.

Weyes Blood’s And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is a revelatory baroque pop album forged in these recent chaotic days.

Clearly the collaboration between Carlos Santana and producer Rubin, the man who co-founded Def Jam Records (and has worked with the disparate likes of Run DMC, Slayer and Tom Petty) is a mutually fruitful one, because right through to the conclusion, “Candome Cumbele,” this record sounds all the more potent for its cooperative focus.

Art Dealers may just be his best album yet.

This album does have its missteps, enough of such to stunt its growth to a noticeable degree. Nevertheless, in many senses, Wet Leg undoubtedly shows great promise in their choice of which sounds they choose to greet the music world.

Although the album’s new psychedelic undercurrent absolutely deserves mention as a previously unexplored avenue for Del Rey, even with the new dimension, this is unmistakably a Lana Del Rey album, optimized for languid West Coast afternoons: contemplative, moving, and thematically consistent music to get lost inside.

Nile’s string of these three albums from 2018’s Children of Paradise to 2020’s New York at Night to this one is arguably as good as any songwriter be it Dylan, Mitchell, Earle, or whoever you want to name.

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.

Simple on the surface, basically a country blues effort, the album has a sneaky quality. It will grow on you after a few listens.

Life On Earth is a continuation of Hurray For The Riff Raff’s upward projection, ideally breaking her out to a larger listening audience, as Segarra’s voice dominates while musical surroundings ebb and flow in both natural and haunting fashion.

If MIKE had released Beware of the Monkey a few months earlier, a lot of the “Best Albums of the Year” lists you’ve been reading would look a lot different. He gracefully navigates a new season in his life through vibrant instrumentals and heartfelt poetry that is as direct as it is artistically ambitious.

“Route 66” and “Mannish Boy” are just two of the blues-rooted tunes on which the Stones cut their teeth, but that only renders more impressive the relish and attendant polish with which they imbue them here. ... Scintillating.

A mix of highs and lows, pains and struggles, joys and triumphs.

Compassion reveals one of today’s most fully rounded piano trios on their second foray, transportive music of the highest caliber.

Their ambitious sophomore album establishes them as a timeless act, a group of artists hellbent on saying what they want to say and nothing more. They proved they deserve every bit of praise while glossing over it to create an album so chaotic and stunning, it already feels timeless.

Mdou Moctar’s Africa Victime is a less out and out rocking affair than past offerings, yet it is a more nuanced and dynamic full length than anything they have delivered before.

Seven originals (three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade) may seem a paucity after so long an interval since the last group endeavor these men undertook, but in this case, it’s a surfeit of riches. Needless to say, as it may be, it’s worth declaring RoundAgain is a top candidate for ‘Best of 2020’ lists.

She begins with “Montreal,” singing in both French and English, with a voice so beautiful that it’s difficult to imagine the pain she recollects. “Persephone,” replete with a brief clarinet solo, is positively exultant as Russell sings an ode to her teenage girlfriend whose home provided refuge for Russell during her teenage years. “The Runner” swaggers confidently, spurred by the background vocals and a steady, emphatic beat.

Robinson keeps most of the attention on her voice that manages to be both soft and remarkably powerful. Themes of religion, flawed men and women and a longing to make things right are weaved throughout this collection, highlighting Robinson’s strongest writing so far.

Needless to say, long-term fans of this band should find The Hypnogogue a boon to their devotion. But it’s also true this latest work would function effectively as an introduction to this rock and roll institution from Down Under.

Sonic Youth is criminally underrated and fans of adventurous, guitar-driven rock will find tons to like from their wide-ranging, rich career. Walls Have Ears is just an early drop in the sonic bucket.

With Luca, Maas has managed to stay in that happy medium where it’s different without being too different. There is enough of what fans of The Black Angels want to still be familiar but different enough to be something completely his own. Maas’ first foray into solo territory is definitely a success.

Yet even as Volume 16 turns enervating from certain vantage points, the distinctive quality of the content ultimately renders omissions moot. ... The formatting and the content of Springtime in New York 1980-1985 thus mirrors Bob Dylan’s discography at large, especially in recent years. Accordingly, both fans and dilettantes will find it rewarding, though perhaps in ways neither demographic might expect.

This feels like Tumor’s masterpiece, an opus that has been laying dormant deep in the artist’s creativity waiting to be freed at the perfect time. They pieced together a tracklist that, despite the frantic nature of these songs, stays consistently chaotic even in its most mellow moments.

Bird Machine allows the nuances of Linkous’s unique artistry to take center stage while keeping even the most hectic moments intimate. These 14 songs put a stunningly beautiful bow on the Sparklehorse discography while being so distinctive and magically stirring, they stand in a spotlight all to their own.

This might be some of the most calming music you have ever heard. It is billed as “a private listening experience.” Put this on before you go to sleep, and it should certainly relieve any tensions or anxieties. Peace.