Ishmael Butler’s Shabazz Palaces project moves through time, space and genre on It’s a Style Sport, extending his relevance for another generation of listeners

Doubles down on synthesizers and chokes out their previous sound; most of the album ends up sounding the same

A trip through advertising sensations that haunt childhood memories and stick around forever. The Avalanches mine this concept imaginatively, even if the individual songs and overall flow sometimes fail to impress

Despite Hippies, Thugs and Heroes being a good and often great album, one may yearn for Richard Thompson to go outside his comfort zone, rather than match his output of the last 50 years

All the hype surrounding Cameron Winter could vanish in an instant, the masses moving onto the next young talent, and it still wouldn’t detract from how triumphant Live at Carnegie Hall feels

On Mud, Remi Wolf continues to utilize her superb voice but seems to have lost the ability to do much with it

On Happiness Anytime, Leon Bridges delivers an openhearted celebration of human connection

Teenage Fanclub’s 13th album offers wisdom, warmth, comfort and hope, wrapped in beguilingly gentle and sensitive folk-inflected songs; it's a beautiful and perfectly realized record, if slightly lacking the fire of the band’s earlier work

The Age of Everything isn’t the first of Johnny Marr’s solo albums to be able to stand on its own merits, but it’s the one that does it most confidently, a polished, consistent record on which he becomes a singer and guitarist rather than a singing guitarist

On Violins, Bombshell's confidence grows to a greater extent yet, with Sabrina Teitelbaum moving out of her comfort zone both musically and lyrically to craft something in a more cohesive artistic voice

As constructed, Cancel Me (I'm Tired) is an album that begs for attention through an eyebrow-raising title, musical bombast and mildly tasteless lyrics. Sometimes its strengths actually merit that consideration

Here Because of Hope is the rare album that will have you thinking about the effects of slavery and diaspora on culture and society through time even as it has you moving yourself into a frenzy

While Sunshine successfully bottles a cohesive mood, the album’s primary limitation across these 11 tracks is its reluctance to depart from an established formula

Hotel Usona is the perfect accompaniment for Protomartyr's dark themes. It's a calculated mess, grandiose pomp in squalid decay, a steely examination of the modern moment

After a daring and impressive ninth album, Miley Cyrus rebrands by going back to basics with a boring, cliched release that’s often unpleasant to listen to

With more confidence, sparseness and sharpness, Julia Jacklin’s The Gem features some of her most direct and affecting songs yet

Kele Okereke is less interested in letting us in than he is in just airing things out, and the experience is about as pleasant as that sounds

Though derivative in spots, the Anchoress’ third work is a triumph of sonic design and thematic communication

A punchy collection of country songs overflowing with morose stories, emotional growth and electric music

The eighth album from the electronic veteran has its moments but runs out of gas