By the fourth line — "Being this young is art" — it's obvious, the track ["Slut!"] is a stunner. .... The chorus [of "Say Don’t Go"] ("Why'd you have to lead me on? Why'd you have to twist the knife?") hits so tragically hard that it was destined to be screamed by stadiums full of fans at future Eras shows. "Suburban Legends" is a euphoric, dizzying rush to the head, with Antonoff's production making it sound like the soundtrack to the world's most addictive arcade game.

As always, Blink-182 are at their best when they are channeling punk-rock energy and wailing tongue-in-cheek couplets against choppy guitars and Barker’s driving rhythms. The action-packed “Turpentine” hits the mark and uses the band’s immature humor to unpack One More Time’s darker themes.

In tracing the way Mitchell’s songs mutated from bare-boned recordings to fully realized tracks with more musicians than she’d ever used before, Archives Volume 3 finally allows us to hear those steps along the way. That evolution is most apparent in the making of Court and Spark, an album that was both a beautifully crafted piece of adult pop on par with Steely Dan‘s work and a warm, intimate, emotionally conflicted meditation on love and relationships.

Throughout the LP, he seems to ask: Who is with him and who is against him? Who truly knows him and who pretends to? Who’s a real fan versus a fake fan? This comes at a cost, making the album a bit thematically repetitive and lacking some of the political depth of past projects. But it is an unflinching look into the celebrity psyche, and Bad Bunny keeps it ruthlessly honest.

Multi-layered and deeply personal, Something is Sivan’s most adventurous album in more ways than one. Musically, the singer stretches out to explore new instrumentation — and ornamentation. .... Lyrically, Sivan manages to be earnest and self-aware, without descending into bitterness or self-loathing.

As a representative of a modern production-by-committee rap album in 2023, Set It Off achieves a modest goal of being erratic yet diverting.

Throughout Tomorrow’s Fire, Williams sounds strategically self-effacing while also cradling a quiet, growing inner certainty. The result feels like the sound of someone coming into their own, albeit not without some rough patches; she still gets good and angry, but where rage used to feel like a deadend in her previous songs, here it drives her forward.

While the 23-year-old’s outward aesthetic is dark and gothic, her catchy pop songs are bright, upbeat and radio-ready. Humberstone depicts her neediness in a way that feels authentic.

Hackney Diamonds isn’t just another new Stones album, but a vibrant and cohesive record — the first Stones album in ages you’ll want to crank more than once before filing away.

Drake meanders through yet another collection of superlong streaming bait. For All the Dogs may have its sparks. But too often, he settles for subliminal bars aimed at rivals like Kanye West and Pusha T, keeping it “gangsta” by putting down women and, of course, filling up the piggy bank.

His intimate vocals are bolstered by the addition of celestial choral harmonies, and his production is immense, yet every layered instrument and rackety beat feels meticulously deliberate.

On Autumn Variations, the storytelling skills that paved the way for Sheeran’s mainstream success are on full display.

It’s the first Wilco set since the ‘00s to use an outside producer, and it shows, in the best possible way.

The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is another evolution: a mix of quotidian-yet-elliptical lyricism, classic country accompaniment, daring orchestral movements, and the musician’s unique brand of storytelling.

Zach Bryan’s up-close realism means that this album is hardly an escape from those cruelties, but Bryan’s careful presentation of his obvious songwriting talents makes it a gripping listen.

Do You Sleep at Night offers little in terms of actual ingenuity. Instead, it presents a smattering of existing tropes thrown at the wall with little in terms of depth.

Her excellent new Guts is another instant classic, with her most ambitious, intimate, and messy songs yet. Olivia’s pop-punk bangers are full of killer lines (“I wanna meet your mom, just to tell her her son sucks”) but she pushes deeper in powerful ballads like “Logical.” All over Guts, she’s so witty, so pissed off, so angsty at the same time, the way only a rock star can be. And this is the album of a truly brilliant rock star.

The songs on I Told Them… are sharply written but at times also tender, balancing seriousness with moments of levity. .... The album would have gone off without a hitch if Burna hadn’t decided to close it out by taking a shot at the people in his home country. On “Thank You,” an admittedly club-ready Afro-pop number, he accuses his fellow Nigerians of being ungrateful for what he’s done for the country’s image.

Jaguar II is a shining demonstration of the aptitude that made Monét a sought after collaborator, but here, in the album’s comfy old-school soul and sharp modern edge, she preserves something fresh and unique for herself.

Snow Angel allows Rapp to channel her larger-than-life emotions into twisty pop songs that take big swings while being keenly aware of the human at their core.

Hozier doesn’t just succeed in exploring that dark emotional world; his painful ascent makes the listener immediately want to climb with him. Even harder, he successfully delivers a third album that doesn’t shy away from any topic, even when he doesn’t have the answers. Hozier isn’t just growing as an artist, he’s being reborn.

You’re the One occasionally suffers from its lofty goals: “Who Are You Dreaming Of,” which sets her voice to luxurious orchestration ordinary reserved for pre-rock standards, feels oddly out of place. But on her most outward-looking record, Giddens melds the past and present, writing a bold new future for herself in the process.

Noname isn’t ambivalent at all here—she goes full blast. Sundial is the sound of an artist who hasn’t lost any of her passion for making music—or making trouble.

The reality is that while Scott is a masterful curator, he’s just an OK rapper. Those two realities are discordant for too many moments on Utopia.

Almost every track finds Post in some tortured posture like this, singing cheerily into a bottle he’s doomed to finish. They’re largely fine songs, and clever, but lighter than Post seems to want them to be.

Barbie the Album has something for everyone (Brandi Carlile’s loving bonus track cover of the Indigo Girls’ “Closer To Fine” is an especially sweet, sincere touch), and it neatly ties together the playful feminism of the film into an enjoyable musical experience.

So are Greta Van Fleet shameless imitators? Yep. Are they also carrying on a musical tradition that’s now endangered, like the young blues players still adhering to the basics of that genre long after we’ve lost Muddy and B.B.? Yes, that too. For defenders, you best show up with a pretty good broadsword.

The tracks are brief but potent and pugilistic, with the big hooks followed up by Leray’s flurry of verbal punches. As the record nears its close, though, the proceedings get more compelling, with Leray dropping her façade and letting things breathe a bit.