It's a slow-burning beauty.
High as Hope dials down Florence and the Machine's trademark theatrics to forge a vulnerable and visceral musical achievement.
It may not be the most uplifting album of the year. It may not be the most woke album of the year. But nothing is going to touch the "YUGH" factor of DAYTONA this year.
Forgoing the epic sweep of his previous album, Father John Misty takes things down a notch, but still delivers a beautiful, unique album.
Jeff Rosenstock's POST- is a frustrating, yet important, journey into American society to be sure, but its eventual optimism makes it worth remembering in the current soundtrack of our country trying to make a change.
Fatoumata Diawara's know-how, musicality, and sense of self all come together, and Fenfo proves her to be one of the most dynamic voices in Afropop today.
Hopkins weaves a thematic consciousness throughout each song on Singularity and, rather astonishingly, manages to intensify the listening experience to evoke the euphoria and vivid awareness of a psychedelic experience.
Love Is Dead is not a bad album, it's just that this felt like CHVRCHES' time for a great one. Love Is Dead is not that, either.
Ultraviolet sees Moran attempting to find the place where opposing forces converge. Starting from a minimal perspective, with a solitary piano as the main guide through this journey, she can awaken a pronounced ethereal and light characteristic, but further infuse it with a darker element.
This is not a first album that sounds like a first album; it is a first album that sounds like it came from an artist who has been doing this for years and years, an artist who already has award shows and headlining tours in her rear view mirror. As such, it's hard to keep from seeing those things in Jorja Smith's future. Lost & Found is a revelation.
Mitski argues from the very first track "Geyser" to the end of Be the Cowboy that we are meant to be emotional people, although pent-up human emotions are never released as majestically as this electric explosion.
Pistol Annies offer hope through their heartbrokenness and comfort through community on their third album, Interstate Gospel.
Years is a compact, straight to the heart (and feet) record. Every song connects and no notes are wasted. It's a new country classic, plain and simple.
And Nothing Hurt is a remarkably efficient record, a concise display of Pierce's songwriting, a kind of greatest hits of the greatest merits of Spiritualized.
While carrying over many of the practices of his previous record, Tim Hecker shifts his perspective away from the dreamscapes of Love Streams and explores a darker spiritual realm on Konoyo.
The boygenius EP marks a stunning release from three singular artists. Hearing them integrate their particular gifts would be worth a listen alone, but the performances are so remarkable that the disc's background becomes trivial.
Considering the band's output so far, You Won't Get What You Want is the perfect return for Daughters. While aspects of the band's creative vision have been altered and their sound has further evolved, the core elements remain intact.
If we're going to rank Neko Case albums, then Hell-On might not be at the very top of the list. But Case is always a fascinating singer and songwriter and that is still in effect here.
Double Negative sees Low continue their tradition of producing highly emotional music and delivers their most powerful, direct, and moving work yet.