The recording of Somewhere Under The Rainbow (by Pete Long who also contributes an essay on the four-page insert) radiates palpable resolve and despair in almost equal measure, plus an air of genuine catharsis, all this despite the murky audio quality remaining in the wake of mixing and mastering by the artist himself and long-time technical collaborator Niko Bolas.

Neil Young is having a bit too much fun to sustain anything genuinely intense over the course of these nearly two-hours on stage and in rehearsal with his cohorts. Still, it’s hard not to become caught up in the joy of it all before it’s over, because songs like “I Am A Dreamer” are infectious by their very lack of affectation. Both of these two-CD ‘Official Bootlegs,’ each in its own way, reaffirms that the seeming vagaries of Neil Young’s career are not random anomalies, but rather a pattern of purposeful behavior.

72 Seasons is an impressive metal album, not just for a band 11 albums and 41 years into its career, but for anyone. It packs a punch and doesn’t let up on the assault for over an hour of menacing guitars and head-banging rhythms. In the end, that’s what we want from a Metallica album, and that’s what 72 Seasons delivers.

At times the album succumbs to bloated overload, the occasional instrumental placeholders like “Sultry Air” and “Movements of Time“ are not necessary on an already long-running album while the AOR pop of “Slow Days” feels a bit like running in place with fine, yet dull, overall results. However, the band’s chilling-on-a-space-age-beach attitude also results in some grand successes.

[“Rushin’ River Valley” is] up there with the solid indie pop mid-tempo “Waking Up in Los Angeles” and the charming “Tacoma,” (see two more geographical references!) as some of the record’s early highlights. Those tracks serve as a counterweight for some of the mellower numbers on the album.

In more ways than one, these renditions fulfill the duo’s ambition to avoid just cranking out the hits.

The result is a freer flowing record that admittedly takes a few sessions to really stick, but once it does, you realize that it just might be – song for song – their strongest album yet.

Never shy with their political activism, Plastic Eternity is a battle cry for those who share the band’s beliefs. For those who don’t, it’s still a fun alternative album that channels political fury into a fiery collection of aggressive rock.

Except for a few tracks, London Brew, imaginative as it is, doesn’t evoke the level of energy that Miles’ original did. For all we know, though, that could be purposeful as this cast clearly put their own stamp on this project.

An album that redefines collaboration on a spiritual level. ... 12 poetically moving pieces of art that focus on emotions and environments most would attempt to ignore. The Record hit our speakers with high expectations, and not a single second let us down.

The Price of Progress as a whole prove The Hold Steady is in a great space, shifting, experimenting, and willing to try almost anything while still delivering their brand of well-worn, classic rock-influenced sound.

Apart from McLorin’s Salvant’s singular voice and compelling musical arrangements, it’s her courage and imagination for such heady projects that set her apart from any contemporary singer.

Even without Bejar, there are enough pop hooks and interesting melodies to live up to The New Pornographers’ high standard.

This feels like Tumor’s masterpiece, an opus that has been laying dormant deep in the artist’s creativity waiting to be freed at the perfect time. They pieced together a tracklist that, despite the frantic nature of these songs, stays consistently chaotic even in its most mellow moments.

Messages of love and peace, so prevalent during the late sixties and early seventies come through stellar arrangements of “The Creator Has a Master Plan,” originally associated with Leon Thomas and Pharaoh Sanders as well as the traditional gospel chestnut, “Wade in the Water.” ... This recording will likely still emerge as one of the year’s most important.

The band crafted their most personal and revealing album to date by allowing themselves to play with minimalism in a way that creates an atmosphere of honesty. Fantasy has M83 at their most fearless.

Despite the otherworldly talent displayed on the album, there is an element of humanity hidden in there. By simply relaying their life story through whooshing production and swooning melodies, UMO created their most personal yet most relatable album to date.

The resulting unwieldy quadruple album manages to be overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.

["Goodnight" is] one of the strongest album closers heard recently and takes the edge off the hard-hitting statements that make up the bulk of this provocative, lay-it-all-out-there effort.

Death Valley Girls have softened musically with each release, adding more pop influences, and digging more into the spiritual hippy cosmos of the we-are-all-in-this-together vibe. They also have continually improved, as Islands in the Sky is their best album to date.

There is a comforting steadiness and calmness to Moen’s vocals that draw in the listener regardless of what he’s singing about; the songs have a tendency to be both haunting and melancholy at times yet also reassuring – not an easy feat to pull off.

As a consistent work of songs gestating over many years, Radical Romantics is a remarkable composite of Dreijer as they exist in 2023 and of the emotions that brought them here.

Most of the time Morrison plays the songs straight, some with different arrangements and a few with lyrical twists. ... This music is well-designed for live performance and early reviews of the shows are highly favorable. However, as an album listening experience, the weight of so many background vocalists with call and response or echoes in every chorus on these tracks becomes wearisome.

Needless to say, long-term fans of this band should find The Hypnogogue a boon to their devotion. But it’s also true this latest work would function effectively as an introduction to this rock and roll institution from Down Under.

These songs find her shaping her thoughts on motherhood, romance, the universe, and death into some of the most accessible music of her career, telling the tales of our bodies and what comes after in a mesh of psychedelic funk and earworm hooks.

Unlike the last two albums, there really isn’t really a strong theme to this record aside from the rowdiness of many of the tracks here (the slow tempo “Drunken Moon” and “She Leads Me” being the two big exceptions). But after a couple of strong yet musically restrained records, it’s fun to hear Lucero tapping into their more raucous side again.

Food for Worms features shame’s strongest music in the pantheon of their short discography. They hit a new creative stride through the album’s dense textures and complex structure, allowing them to shape otherworldly arrangements for their evolved songwriting.

Allowing themselves to become fully engulfed by their own creation created a creative energy that bursts through the LP, conjuring up a listening experience that requires you to close your eyes and surrender to the uncompromising vision of Gorillaz.