The Magic is not their best album, but it's an excellent Deerhoof album, and they are the greatest of all time at what they do.

RAA's secret weapon has always been the expert drumming of Paul Banwatt, and here he's given more of a chance to shine.

Not every song sees atmosphere, theme and emotional power meld seamlessly--a collab with composer Sarah Hopkins called Features Creatures feels like a b-side--but when those elements coalesce the result is all-encompassing.

Totally cohesive and thoroughly bangin’.

Here we are not even two years later and the band has taken a huge leap forward. Or, more accurately, sideways. Nothing in the angular post-punk of 08's Beat Pyramid suggested the band was capable of something this novel.

Stuff might not be a true follow-up to 2013's Fade, but it's an excellent follow-up to Fakebook 15 years later.

Maybe their tightest, most replayable album yet.

Rather than merely rehashing sounds of yesteryear, Speedy Ortiz add modern rock ’n’ roll strokes to their take on fuzzy noise pop.

At times, the mid-tempo brooding gets a bit monotonous, but Cole is an engaging enough character to make this a solid debut.

Monomania somehow makes Deerhunter’s previous albums sound like they were controlled and constrained, as if it took four albums for Cox to finally be the shit disturber he’s always wanted to be.

Between Rahman's "Slumdog pop" on Mahiya (deluxe edition), Marley's melodic island jam, Miracle Worker, and Stone's vocal acrobatics fluttering around Jagger and Stewart and adding big choruses to Energy, the album's all over the place and never dull.

They easily incorporate traditional folk elements like Nick Drake with contemporary indie rock and cinematic string arrangements that often soar above many of their songs' humble openings.

This EP, a teaser of what to expect from the full-length album scheduled for January, sees the vocalist reining in some of his more histrionic tendencies while expanding his palette of influences and sounds.

Puberty 2 is full of isolation, anxiety and loss, with the idea at its centre that happiness eventually becomes sadness and despair. Mitski switches between airy minimalism and bursts of loose, wild rock as she navigates these tempestuous waters.

In getting their own group back together, the Internet have delivered their most fully realized project to date.

It's not quite perfect: his voice is the star of the show but is occasionally buried under the clever beats and production. But that's a small complaint about someone who's looking more and more like one of the most exciting artists to emerge this year.

Brutally beautiful.

It feels way huger than the work of two people, with dense, textured songs that sound like a remarkable collision between two distinct personalities.

He has a slightly Bob Dylanesque nasal whine on some songs, but at other times he slips into a soft Harry Nilsson croon, and fills his lyrics with vivid imagery and storytelling.

There can be a thin line between ambitious and pretentious, but this record dodges the latter gracefully.

Monica’s highly anticipated sixth album is rich with songs about self-validation, love lost and subsequent recovery, and doesn’t let up on that thematic gas pedal until the last tune.

It’s a more introspective, political and mature sound, but no less fun.

Compton is easily his most introspective album.

The whole album is rich with memorable hooks, as opposed to just the singles.

This time around they sound slightly more connected to genuine dance music, while at the same time stripping away some of the atmospherics to allow more of their subtle pop sensibilities to surface.

The contrast between the adrenaline rushes and nihilistic machismo and the score’s cold serenity is strangely intoxicating.

Fans of Chad VanGaalen will find much to love in Black Mold, the Calgarian’s electronic instrumental side project that reveals just how fertile his imagination is (in case we needed further proof).

Though the music is breezy, Kenny's sage, unfussy meditations on life and love add welcome weight.