At the close of experimental solo careers for both Thom Yorke and Phil Selway, and the film soundtracks of Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead has finally come back to the fold with their ninth studio album. It's proof that talent never leaves you, more than thirty years after the band got together. Talent yes, surprises no. In fact, the biggest surprise on A Moon Shaped Pool is that there is no surprise. The Oxford grown quintet has undoubtedly just released their most "classic" album, almost with their eyes closed. Yorke is omni-present in the sound, and you can hear his influence throughout. As such, it's like listening to an old Radiohead record, without having heard it before. Radiohead have set aside their experimental tendencies in favour of sometimes minimalist, sometimes luxurious arrangements. Even in the most impressive arrangements for strings, Jonny Greenwood seems to be aiming for purity, (see Daydreaming). His diverse works on the 7th Art and, most notably, for the director Paul Thomas Anderson (Greenwood penned the soundtracks to There will be Blood, The Master, and Inherent Vice) have clearly given him a new vision that makes its presence felt. Even on the most intimate tracks (Desert Island Discs), Radiohead maintains a certain majesty, and when they get to post-rock (Full Stop and Present Tense), their musique becomes grandiose. With such an album, Radiohead pushes the legend slightly further, preserves its distinct style, and adds to its already legendary discography.© CM/Qobuz

A number one album in both the Top 200 and country album charts in early 1975, this was Ronstadt's breakthrough into wider stardom, spawning hit singles on both the country and pop charts. When describing the string of mid-70s albums that were the fruit of the partnership between singer Linda Ronstadt and producer Peter Asher, the word "curated" seems to fit best. The Ronstadt/Asher song choice alchemy here reached perfection for the first time. Every track feels and sounds exactly right, the sonics are stellar, and the arrangements and playing are transcendent. Here the talented pair mix songwriters, tempos and a range of emotions stretching from the accusatory opening blast of "You're No Good" to a somber, slow duet with Maria Muldaur on the Anna McGarrigle-penned title track. Ronstadt is again backed by a crowd of supremely musical players, led this time by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold. Never afraid to wade into deep waters and add her own reading to songs indelibly associated with another singer, Ronstadt here turns in a compelling take on the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham classic, "Dark Side of the Street," (otherwise best known as the signature hit for baritone soul singer James Carr). Further on, the trio of The Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved," through Lowell George's "Willin" to a duet with Emmylou Harris on Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)," is a quintessential example of the carefully calibrated, track-by-track mix of styles and arrangements that made Ronstadt's best 70s albums so listenable and their star into such a towering artist. © Robert Baird / Qobuz

Does the cliché of the artist improving with time, just like good wine, apply to Van Morrison? For several years now, the old bard from Belfast has been unstoppable, publishing up to two albums a year. With Three Chords and the Truth (his sixth in four years!), he proves it is possible to have both quantity and quality. Composed of 14 previously unpublished songs (not covers, as was often the case on his previous records from the 2010’s), this 2019 vintage encapsulates all of Van The Man’s art. His unique style of jazz and blues tinged with gospel soul is supported by a refined, warm instrumentation. With his slick double bass, groovy vintage organ, raspy brass and inimitable voice, Van Morrison carries on carving his own path and the result often touches the sublime. His old guitarist Jay Berliner (found on Astral Weeks, his 1968 masterpiece) even brings a delicate touch to the record. And Bill Medley from The Righteous Brothers sings with him on Fame Will Eat the Soul. Ultimately, Van Morrison is never a parody of himself, and the pleasure that making music brings him at 74 years old is more than obvious. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

On the second outing with a revamped lineup, hard rock outfit Breaking Benjamin stick to their tried and true formula, continuing the legacy of early-2000s post-grunge/nu-metal with album number six, Ember. On this set, frontman Ben Burnley relinquished songwriting control, allowing input from band members Jason Rauch, Keith Wallen, Aaron Bruch, and Shaun Foist. For better or worse, the results of that team-building effort do not stray far from past efforts. Notes of Chevelle, Disturbed, Shinedown, and Evanescence appear throughout, as pounding drums and beefy riffs are balanced with dour atmospherics and Burnley's pained, powerful voice. While his lyrics remain simplistic, they are relatable, which should not surprise faithful listeners familiar with these themes of despair, hopelessness, anger, and frustration. Like 2015's Dark Before Dawn, Ember is bookended by a pair of conceptual instrumentals, the celestial "Lyra" and "Vega." In between, Breaking Benjamin deliver ten no-nonsense rock blasts that roar ("Red Cold River") and pummel ("Feed the Wolf"), providing cathartic release with cinematic build-up ("Down") and desperate urgency ("Blood"). Additional highlights include the brooding "The Dark of You," which features celebrity dancer and longtime fan Derek Hough on guest vocals, and the frenetic "Close Your Eyes," the de facto closer that is so rhythmic it could be a late-era Korn song. As far as variety goes, this is a fairly standard collection of tunes from a band that is mainly concerned with giving fans what they want and expect.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

In 1992, on the cusp of her 40th birthday, Lucinda Williams recorded a remarkable fourth album: Sweet Old World. A perfect treaty of country rock crossed with blues, which reaffirmed her status of Queen of Americana, a status she would again confirm in 1998 with her masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road… 25 years later the songwriter from Louisiana had the amusing idea of recording the whole Sweet Old World again, renamed This Sweet Old World for the occasion. Surrounded by guitarist Stuart Mathis, bassist David Sutton, drummer Butch Norton and, on the steel-guitar, the great Greg Leisz (who also worked on the 1992 album), Lucinda Williams allows us to marvel once again at the handling and content of these incisive songs but with a more contemporary sound. With a few alterations to lyrics here and there and changes made in the track listing, this reinterpretation is nicely complemented by a few original titles. © MZ/Qobuz

The Jayhawks' seventh album backs away from their "super-pop" releases like Smile and the underrated Sound of Lies and looks back to their earlier, rootsier sound. The band has whittled itself down again following the departures of keyboardist Jen Gunderman and longtime guitarist Kraig Johnson, leaving behind core songwriter and vocalist Gary Louris, founding member Marc Perlman on bass, and longtime drummer Tim O'Reagan assisted by newcomer Stephen McCarthy on guitar. Produced by Ethan Johns (and overseen by Rick Rubin), Rainy Day Music goes back even further than the band's first albums, channeling the ghosts of the Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Buffalo Springfield, and interpreting their '60s folk jangle and lazy, sunny harmonies through the Jayhawks' own sweetly awkward formula. "Madman," in particular, gives the listener a sense of Déjà Vu, sounding like a long lost CSNY demo, and the chiming Rickenbacker 12-string guitar of the leadoff track, "Stumbling Through the Dark," could've been lifted right from the master tapes of "Mr. Tambourine Man." The first six tracks are all vintage Louris gems -- trembling and honest, with warm melodies and hooks for days. Unfortunately, the album stumbles in the second half with the inclusion of two O' Reagan compositions (which try too hard to evoke John Lennon's world-weary mumble and Bob Dylan's nasal whine), and an unsuccessful stab at heartland gospel on "Come to the River." Although the summertime love song "Angelyne" and the waltzing "Will I See You in Heaven" provide bright spots near the end, the album never fully recovers. This is a real shame, since the whole affair starts so strong, and it seems as though if side B could've been trimmed by about four songs (and 15 minutes), Rainy Day Music would stand alongside their strongest albums. Still, fans who complained that their last two albums were "too poppy" or "not rootsy enough" should be pleased with this direction, and it's certainly an album that gets better with each listen, so it may yet prove to be worth its weight in acoustic gold. © Zac Johnson /TiVo

Reworked is the third compilation album from Irish rock outfit Snow Patrol. A reimagining of the band's extensive back catalog, Reworked sees Snow Patrol put a fresh spin on iconic tracks like "Run" and "Chasing Cars." Including three entirely new tracks as well as 13 reworked ones, the LP was released in November 2019. © David Crone /TiVo

The Essential Taj Mahal pulls together the bluesman's Columbia, Warner, Gramavision Private Music, and Hannibal labels' recordings, making it the first truly cross-licensed compilation of his work. Given the depth and breadth of this set (it covers four decades), the listener gets not only a cross-sectional view of the artist, but also his innovative and idiosyncratic journey through the blues: Mahal has not only kept the tradition alive, he's expanded it and deepened it, tracing its roots and developments through the course of American, Caribbean, and African cultures. While there is no unreleased material here, there doesn't need to be. The sheer adventure in these recordings reveals the wealth of the contribution Mahal has made not only to the blues, but to popular culture both present and past. This is a comp to own, to be moved by, and to ultimately enjoy. Columbia issued a three-CD set earlier, but there were things there that needed to be trimmed. This leaner and meaner version is superior.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Australian metalcore group Parkway Drive return from the raw production of their controversial 2010 album Deep Blue with the more adventurous and nuanced follow-up, Atlas. Some fans and critics squabbled over Deep Blue's intent and production. The songs trudged on full-bore for most of the record's duration, relying heavily on chunky breakdowns and production so guitar-centric it obscured a lot of finer sonic points completely. Atlas was deftly produced in brilliant colors with help from metal producer Matt Hyde, accentuating some of the subtleties of an admittedly not very subtle band. While the band still leans on moshy breakdowns a good deal over the course of the album, technical dual guitar leads sneak into a lot of the better songs, varying from the tenuous and slow New Wave of British Heavy Metal-esque leads on "Dark Days" to straight-up speed shredding on "The Slow Surrender." Songs like "The River" are where Parkway Drive really diversify their sound, incorporating clean wandering guitars and even melodic female vocals into the intro before exploding into a creepingly melodic thrash workout. Title track "Atlas" also goes into experimental waters, with a treated drum sample and chiming acoustic guitars providing an unlikely backdrop for tortured vocals, eventually incorporating plucked orchestral instruments and a dramatic string section. Vocalist Winston McCall's guttural singing is one of the best parts of the band. His versatile growls, spoken parts, and gut-busting screams convey a sense of sincerity, whether it sounds desperate, ferocious, or simply impassioned. Though it will be difficult to catch a lot of what he's saying without a lyric sheet, McCall's lyrics tend away from the usual approach to topics of pain and anger that a lot of hardcore bands deal with, touching instead on environmental concerns, religious confusion, and disappointment in a thoughtful, ponderous way. While the album's not without its share of awkward moments (McCall's ham-fisted proclamation "THERE IS NO GOD!!" on "Sleight of Hand" comes off more like metal parody than actual sentiment), the album's depth and openness to straying away from typical devices of the genre make Atlas one of the more engaging and thought-provoking metalcore releases amid a sea of the interchangeable riffs and howls of other bands.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

In 2018, Blue Note boss Don Was signed Dave McMurray, the former saxophonist of his band Was Not Was, for Music is Life, a beautiful album mixing direct, percussive jazz with corrosive soul and abrasive Blues. A true chameleon, McMurray has played with some of the industry's biggest artists, including B. B. King, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Hallyday, Gladys Knight, Albert King, Nancy Wilson, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen, Bob James and dozens of others. This time McMurray takes his made in Detroit sound for a walk over to the West Coast of the United States, tackling the repertoire of the Grateful Dead. On Loser, he brings in soul singer Bettye LaVette and one of the founders of the Dead, Bob Weir. His tender attentions breathe new life into the works of Jerry Garcia's band. The result is the grooviest of tributes. © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz

The anthemic indie rock sound of Snow Patrol provides a bit of hope and promise among the many acts attempting to fit into a certain genre or scene. Snow Patrol belongs to their own scene, and their third album, 2004's Final Straw, proved that with several global hit singles such as "Run," "Chocolate," "How to Be Dead," and the reissue of "Spitting Games." British fans once more proclaimed their beloved Snow Patrol as a true rock & roll band while American audiences finally took notice of the Scottish collective. The band's fourth album, Eyes Open, doesn't fall short from where they left off; in fact, Snow Patrol's hungry rock sound only gets bigger and better this time around. All guitar hooks and singalong choruses are firmly in place, and Gary Lightbody is an underrated frontman. On Eyes Open, he once again writes songs that are from the heart and true to self-reflection without getting too sappy and too overjoyed. From the playful name-dropping of Sufjan Stevens on "Hands Open" to their passionate delivery on "It's Beginning to Get to Me" and "Shut Your Eyes," Snow Patrol's approach is epic. They are the kind of band that embraces simplicity as beautiful and human flaws as art. The lullaby-like "You Could Be Happy" and the passionate buildup of "Make This Go on Forever" are evident of that. This 11-song set is a masterpiece, so keep your ears and eyes open for Snow Patrol. They're onto something big.© MacKenzie Wilson /TiVo

Just as rap music was reaching its toughest, darkest, grimmest period yet, following the assassinations of 2Pac and Biggie in the late '90s, along came DMX and his fellow Ruff Ryders, who embodied the essence of inner-city machismo to a tee, as showcased throughout the tellingly titled It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. Unlike so many other hardcore rappers who are more rhetorical than physical, DMX commands an aggressive aura without even speaking a word. He showcases his chiseled physique on the arresting album cover and trumpets his animalistic nature with frequent barking, growling, and snarling throughout the album. He also collaborates with muscular producers Swizz Beatz and Dame Grease, who specialize in slamming synth-driven beats rather than sample-driven ones. Further unlike so many other hardcore rappers from the time, DMX is meaningful as well as symbolic. He professes an ideology that stresses the inner world -- characterized by such qualities as survival, wisdom, strength, respect, and faith -- rather than the material one that infatuates most rappers of his time. It helpes that his album includes a few mammoth highlights ("Ruff Ryders' Anthem," "Get at Me Dog," "Let Me Fly," and "I Can Feel It") as well as a light, mid-album diversion ("How's It Goin' Down"). The long running length of It's Dark and Hell Is Hot does wear you down after a while, since nearly every song here sans "How's It Goin' Down" hits hard and maintains the album's deadly serious attitude. Even so, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is a tremendous debut, laying out DMX's complex persona with candor, from his faith in God to his fixation with canine motifs, and doing so with dramatic flair. © Jason Birchmeier /TiVo