While lyrically Bridwell is struggling during these tough times, musically he has rebounded and that combo works; Things Are Great proves Band of Horses has a lot left in the tank.

While How Is It can easily stand on its own, its greatest qualities shine better when compared to its predecessor.

He has created a modern blues album that is as much a protest album as it is a dance album. That’s not something just any artist can do. Also, the album is 16 songs, so no listener will feel cheated.

The result is easily her strongest effort to date, and a perfect take, both musically and lyrically, on the conflicting emotions and themes of love.

Wild Loneliness is a whole lot different than What A Time To Be Alive musically, but spiritually it is a very worthy successor and up there with the best Superchunk has ever done.

As a whole Screen Time is a curious listen/mood piece, the outings are all semi-interesting but (like the album as a whole) remain one note in tone, leaving a minimal visceral imprint. Screen Time’s sketches and atonal guitar jazz wanderings have moments, just not enough, however, with Moore, all guitar phases and releases are worth checking in on.

Though Marr has always been more musically creative than his former, outspoken songwriting partner, Fever Dreams Pts I-IV proves it. With such a broad array of influences drawn from in the formation of this album, there is much to discover in each track and multiple listens are bound to reveal much more.

The record sounds bigger and Shook and her band mates take full advantage, filling in all of the open spaces. Her cadence, much like that of Willie Nelson, has a tendency to lag a bit behind the music from time to time, just adding to the charm.

The five tracks on Texas Moon play more naturally to both artists’ strengths and come together to form a more fruitful and distinct collaborative statement.

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.

The music is simple with wonderful harmonies, but the breadth of what’s covered is so intriguingly complex, that while difficult to digest at first, exerts a yearning tug that keeps pulling one back for more listens.

Beach House succeeds on Once Twice Melody as they always do, by pushing their sound as far as it can seemingly go, while still sounding like themselves. The difference is, now, they are taking the biggest risks of their career.

Boulevards puts a pep in your step. Keep this one handy for that first spring or summer barbecue but be sure that your guests control themselves. Your gathering could easily get out of hand.

Use any adjective you want – stunning, devastating, captivating, or mesmerizing. Sea Drift sets the bar for the roots albums that follow in 2022.

Quite possibly his best album in a career already studded with accolades.

As good as last year’s I Told You So was, this is an even stronger response to their already highly raised bar.

Lucifer on the Sofa is a very good Spoon album, one that borrows from They Want My Soul more than anything on Hot Thoughts, but none of that comes through until about 13 minutes in.

Vedder has been open about his struggles with mental health and he seems to be in a very positive place with this record, expressing himself as his love for classic rock comes to the forefront on Earthling.

Ants From Up Here is a thrilling listen, brimming with the confidence and electricity of a young band coming into their own on all fronts, pulling from the past but pushing it undeniably forward, and fully owning their ambition.

While almost all of the songs on Laurel Hell, taken individually, make for strong additions to Mitski’s catalog, the melodies and production start to feel interchangeable from track to track through the album, and with relatively few curveballs thrown into the mix, there is a feeling of sameness that starts to settle in on repeat listens. ... This album shines the brightest in the moments when Mitski and her producer/collaborator Patrick Hyland lean into their more avant-garde impulses.

Le Bon’s genius, at a time saturated with nostalgia and gated reverb, is to borrow more from mood than technique. Pompeii moves towards Talk Talk, Kate Bush, and Richard Butler in how it emotes, but also achieves their same level of timelessness.

The 7th Hand reveals even more of Wilkins’ artistry, deeply embracing Black music, citing his elders, and in so doing, demonstrating a stronger commitment to the spiritual aspects of channeling improvisation through a higher power than heard on his first effort. He further cements his growing reputation as one of the strongest contemporary forces in this music.

Its obvious replay value hints at the kind of staying power required of truly great albums and while it’s unlikely to dethrone Merriweather Post Pavilion’s status as their greatest album, it is without question the elite artistic accomplishment the world has been waiting for in a spiritual successor.

Ghost Stories is a powerful record that should have been made a long time ago – but was well worth the wait.

What it might lack in energy, Anaïs Mitchell generally makes up for in the beauty of the songwriting and performances. Mitchell’s voice never fails to deliver, wandering fairy-like through each melody while inhabiting the all-too-human yearning in her lyrics. There’s not a note or an instrument on this record that feels out of place, each little horn line or guitar twinkle is intentional and it all comes together into something with all the warmth and coziness of a winter night sitting by the fire watching the snow fall outside.

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.

The arrangement works, right in line with a suitably restrained performance. As such, it sets a tone of novelty for the album in the best sense of that adjective.

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.