7/10
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Leaving Meaning, while frequently stunning, feels more like a reiteration for Swans than it does an evolution.
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Big Thief’s second album of 2019 takes the band’s sound back to basics, which is far from a bad thing.
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By virtue of its moving vocal performances and lyricism, Ghosteen is among Nick Cave’s finest statements—even if its sound design often leaves something to be desired.
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Brittany Howard undergoes an eclectic reinvention on Jaime.
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Iglooghost, Kai Whiston, and BABii don’t quite break new ground on XYZ, but they do complement each other very nicely on a majority of the tracks.
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Animated Violence Mild is an electro-industrial bangerfest on par with World Eater.
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North Carolina rapper Rapsody’s newest album is a thoughtful tribute to black women, and her most ambitious concept to date.
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Swain heads in a moodier and relatively low-key direction with Negative Space.
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Part-man/part-meme Oliver Tree continues to find common ground between pop rock, rap, and electropop.