Royce Hall, 1971 is a solo acoustic gig, recorded in January of that year on the UCLA campus, while Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 1971 is a similarly executed performance, with Young on vocals, guitar, piano and harmonica, on the last US show of his solo tour. While these first two may seem redundant in the wake of the aforementioned prior releases, they are also a testament to the consistently high level of Young’s performances (not to mention a sunny state of mind, then and now, to which he alludes in the abbreviated liner notes to Chandler).

Royce Hall, 1971 is a solo acoustic gig, recorded in January of that year on the UCLA campus, while Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 1971 is a similarly executed performance, with Young on vocals, guitar, piano and harmonica, on the last US show of his solo tour. While these first two may seem redundant in the wake of the aforementioned prior releases, they are also a testament to the consistently high level of Young’s performances.

While previous Van Etten albums, and pandemic albums in general, carried a somber scarcity to them, We’ve Been Going balances the deeply personal diary entries with moments of levity and hope.

A Bit of Previous stands alongside the earlier works as a cohesive full-band effort. This latest effort surely should be counted alongside B&S beloved classics If You’re Feeling Sinister and Tigermilk. It feels good to go home again.

Endless Rooms bristles with a creative spirit, which is clearly displayed in the twinkling folk-rock of “Open Up Your Window” and the building/banging dance-pop of “Blue Eye Lake”. The upbeat finale, “Bounce Off The Bottom”, keeps the tone bright with synths and chimes augmenting the sound of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever who seem to be expanding into a new era as a collective.

The album mixes Creole vocals with English, the latter in Caetano Veloso’s Brazilian song of exile “You Don’t Know Me,” one of several examples of beauty to offset the anger and angst.

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.

Radiate Like This floats along in the vein of 2016’s Heads Up as the former art-rockers wander in semi-aimless, sleepy pop waters. Warpaint’s dreamy vibe is pleasant, starting with the ambient-looking cover art, but it doesn’t leave any real lasting impact.

Emotional Eternal is about as restrained as you can imagine Prochet. Sure, the arrangements are still huge and encompassing, like on the swelling “Where the Water Clears the Illusion”, but these efforts are scattershot and often muted by Prochet’s own reluctance towards inhabiting any kind of persona. ... Prochet to her credit, has been able to wiggle into that narrow restriction, a surprising amount of diversity.

Theirs is a very relaxed approach, two longtime friends totally immersed in joyous music. The feel is far more important than precision. ... The gritty, gravel-toned voice of Taj is always a treat and Cooder’s masterful picking and slide skills are always impressive.

A stellar modern Americana/Bluegrass record from the opening track to “Hillbilly Boy,” the impossibly catchy album closer.

On (watch my moves) Kurt Vile lets his wooly freak flag fly, never reigning in his scattered thoughts and never rocking out, content to just drift along in his unique way.

These themes of love and loyalty encircle Ramona Park Broke My Heart in a way that is not particularly new to Staples’ discography but that is perhaps done in his most creative and intense way yet, both lyrically and thematically. ... As always, Vince Staples’ rapping ability is strong and his style unique.

The album is riddled with pretty hooks that are buried under interesting complexities.

As per usual, Burns adds his layered touches with synth, vibes, and cello in addition to the guitars and bass. Brown’s poetry stands distinctly apart from the Burns/Convertino writing in its short poetic lines in the former, a tune that regales the history and gods of the desert.

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.

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.

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.

Unlimited Love is a decidedly low-key affair, not concerned about competing with the band’s past greatness, but rather more focused on the simple joys of being in the same room jamming together again.

All in all, Quever does a great job of marrying all of his influences together to create his own sound that is both timeless and new. Fans of Papercuts will undoubtedly enjoy Past Life Regressions and those new to Papercuts have much to look forward to by giving it a listen.

A satisfyingly solid collection of new originals. ... Several of the tracks here take a little longer to grow on the listener, like the Woodie Guthrie-in-spirit singalong “Big Backyard,” but after hitting the repeat button a couple of times the appeal starts to become clearer.

The music is never afraid to insert something new, to a fault at times, as programmed beats, punk thrashing and groove metal clash on the schizophrenic “Coming Correct Is Cheaper”. ... Better is the overloaded “Thumbsucker” which pushes upbeat punk with hip hop influence, the screeching “We Wants Revenge” that kicks up to total blissful chaos, and “GODBLESSYALLREALGOOD” which fluctuates between screaming punk and hip hop breaks with an ease and dexterity rarely displayed in this style.

It’s slightly less immediate than Designer, but more diverse; and it never once feels derivative of any other artist or Harding herself. Even if taken strictly as a vocal exercise, Warm Chris is a triumph, and another key to unraveling her enigma.

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.

The power, pain, and suffering of the original Delta blues from perhaps its singly most important innovator is here to be appreciated in better sound quality than it ever has. ... This is Son House at his peak, this is one to savor and cherish. It will likely become his legacy recording.

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.

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.

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