Probably the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal, Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut was groundbreaking enough when released in 1992, but many would argue that it has yet to be surpassed in terms of influence and sheer brilliance -- though countless bands have certainly tried. This is probably because the uniquely combustible creative relationship between guitar wizard Tom Morello and literate rebel vocalist Zack de la Rocha could only burn this bright, this once. While the former's roots in '80s heavy metal shredding gave rise to an inimitable array of six-string acrobatics and rhythmic special effects (few of which anyone else has managed to replicate), the latter delivered meaningful rhymes with an emotionally charged conviction that suburban white boys of the ensuing nu-metal generation could never hope to touch. As a result, syncopated slabs of hard rock insurrection like "Bombtrack," "Take the Power Back," and "Know Your Enemy" were as instantly unforgettable as they were astonishing. Yet even they paled in comparison to veritable clinics in the art of slowly mounting tension such as "Settle for Nothing," "Bullet in the Head," and the particularly venomous "Wake Up" (where Morello revises Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" riff for his own needs) -- all of which finally exploded with awesome power and fury. And even listeners who were unable (or unwilling) to fully process the band's unique clash of muscle and intellect were catered to, as RATM were able to convey their messages through stubborn repetition via the fundamental challenge of "Freedom" and their signature track, "Killing in the Name," which would become a rallying cry of disenfranchisement, thanks to its relentlessly rebellious mantra of "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" Ultimately, if there's any disappointment to be had with this near-perfect album, it's that it still towers above subsequent efforts as the unequivocal climax of Rage Against the Machine's vision. As such, it remains absolutely essential.© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo

Sat at the table of contemporary blues-rock, these two are having an absolute feast. On the one hand, Samantha Fish is a singer and guitarist from Kansas City, full of typical Southern banter and eclecticism. On the other, Texan guitarist and singer, Jesse Dayton, is the pistolero of the series B Americana, an artist who is equally as comfortable with Rob Zombie as on an album of Kinky Friedman covers or on stage with X. They met a decade ago (Samantha Fish was a fan of Jesse Dayton) and released their first single together in 2022 (the EP Stardust Sessions). For this new album-length duet recording, it's the excited Jon Spencer, of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who acts as the go-between in his role as producer and artistic adviser. It would not be an unfair comparison to say that his mediation was reminiscent of a dynamite stick in a bowl of chilli. The basic premise (of festive electric blues-rock, which makes you thirsty and makes you want to tap your feet, and maybe even take your clothes off) is boosted and refined by the production of Jon Spencer, an eternal magician of sexy gimmicks and killer details. This augmented duo doesn't invent anything, but yet it triggers a firework display of crazy guitars and vocal interjections based on "yeah !!!!” and “ oh oh oh !!!!” (and often both in the same sentence). Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun on this album which celebrates the simple joys of funky rock 'n' roll and its bluesy roots. Purists probably won't like it, but everyone else will really enjoy this burger and fries kind of album. @Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz

Cunning if not particularly novel synthesists, Surrey's Guy and Howard Lawrence draw from several styles and sub-styles of dance music -- house, garage, dubstep, bass -- and add pop appeal on Settle, their first album. The Lawrences began humbly with MySpace uploads of scruffy, sampling-enhanced dubstep tracks, but they quickly accelerated to making lustrous, impeccably assembled tracks with varied vocalists. Between October 2012 and April 2013, the duo released a trio of singles that fared no worse than number 11 on the U.K. pop chart: the soaring shuffle-tech of "Latch" (with a bursting, almost overdone lead from Sam Smith), the undeniable crossover house track "White Noise" (a perfectly timed partnership with upcoming duo AlunaGeorge), and the rush-inducing so-called future garage of "You & Me" (featuring Eliza Doolittle, something of a sequel to their fine remix of Jessie Ware's "Running"). Those hits appear here. Without them, the album would still be generous. Few tracks, however, will appease those who bemoaned the duo's departure from relying on sampled and treated vocals. The sluggish "Second Chance," where a downcast Kelis line dissolves into mush, and the rattling "Grab Her!" -- its refrain pinched from Slum Village -- are no match for past sample-heavy delights like "Carnival," "Flow," or "What's in Your Head." The new vocal cuts are either near the level of the hits or are merely pleasant. Howard Lawrence's lead turn on "F for You" approaches the sweetness of Scritti Politti's Green Gartside. Teenaged Sasha Keable sounds wise beyond her years on "Voices," one of the album's deeper house tracks ("I tried to dismiss what you taught me"). London Grammar's Hannah Reid has the unenviable task of following Doolittle, Jamie Woon, and Jessie Ware but delivers one of the most heartrending leads on "Help Me Lose My Mind." Like the closing songs on the first three Basement Jaxx albums, the song initially comes across as an insignificant finale but gradually bubbles to the top as a discreet highlight. Considering all the shrewd alliances and its polished attack, Settle seems like it was designed to be 2013's acceptable dance album. That said, any purist who denies its abundance of pleasures is a crank.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

After the intimate Between Two Shores in 2018, Glen Hansard pushes the folk-rock boat out a little further with This Wild Willing. The Irishman releases a delicate fourth French solo album, enriched by his residency at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. The words were written in the capital, and the music in Angers. The former Frames guitarist, who added another feather to his cap as an actor and singer-songwriter, brought about twenty musicians into the studio. Their improvisations birthed twelve refined folk songs in which plucked strings, whispered voices and the piano piercing openwork melodies, whose contemplative songwriting takes center stage. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

The third studio album from St. Louis rapper/singer/songwriter Smino continues his blend of several generations of rap styles, R&B, neo-soul, and even hints of psychedelically bent pop, delivering some of the strongest articulations of his sound to date. Luv 4 Rent draws heavily on a Kendrick Lamar influence for its vocal performances and melodic structuring (the R&B proclivities Lamar started showing on Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City are apparent on songs like "No L's" and "Settle Down," and Smino even titles a particularly woozy track "Ole Ass Kendrick"), and the album experiments with combining electronic production elements and melodic R&B hooks on tracks like "Modennaminute." Lyrical themes of love, intimacy, and fraught relationships carry the majority of Luv 4 Rent, and Smino adds extra sparkle to his songs with excellent features like a breathless verse provided by J. Cole on the OutKast-modeled single "90 Proof" and Lil Uzi Vert's contribution to the summery and feel-good track "Pudgy."© TiVo Staff /TiVo

Crimson is the best next step for Alkaline Trio. It keeps Good Mourning's blacks and reds and crack melodic sense. But it's also much more accessible with its measured aggression, rich piano (courtesy of Jellyfish and studio veteran Roger Manning), and production from Jerry Finn, who's worked with blink-182 and the very-relevant-to-Alkaline Trio Jawbreaker. Like those groups Alkaline Trio has grown away from punk-pop; they've grown up. On 1998's Goddamnit!, Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano let out rowdy "woah-woahs" and wished things like "I wanna wake up naked next to you." But then that happened, and the other side of the bed wasn't as pretty. By Mourning they were dealing with death metaphors and painful levels of self-medication. Crimson has a similar sense of emotional brokenness, but things never get so heavy that you'll need the goth eyeliner -- the album's pop sense glimmers steadily beneath its dour shroud. "Poison" and "Time to Waste" downshift into powerful choruses despite lines about dead eyes and meaninglessness, "Mercy Me" and "Dethbed" rock self-hate and cynicism over propulsive beats, and "Prevent This Tragedy" incorporates a keyboard descent that's a perfectly pretty foil for a line like "the flames of hell they give me hope." As great as Alkaline Trio are at relating their booze and blood-spattered lives to listeners, it does get a little tedious. But Skiba and Andriano's interlocking harmonies never flag, and the band's rhythms are just too catchy throughout. Let's see. They're writing smart, bright, punk-derived pop, but they're black and white and blocky-featured, and they like Depeche Mode much more than Duran Duran. That settles it -- Alkaline Trio are the bizarro-world Killers.© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

In this third album, the enchanting and beautiful Leyla manages to capture moments of pure joy. She is the kind of musician that tells a story. A New-Yorker with Haitian roots, Leyla settled in the bayou of Louisiana to explore her Creole roots and to dig out and spread the message of social and environmental injustice. She really came into her own during those eight years spent in the New Orleans sunshine and has even abandoned her cello to embrace the clarinet, violin, piano and electric guitar. Now, the multi-instrumentalist is mixing it up more than ever, supported by a group for the very first time, King James & The Special Men. The retro folk of The Capitalist Blues dabbles in calypso (Mize Pa Dous), R&B (Me and My Baby) and Creole blues (Lavi Vye Neg) and Leyla’s vocals alternate seamlessly between Creole and English. A very well-arranged album that captures the leisurely lifestyle of the tropics. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

It was an inspired decision to shine a light on the endearing but often neglected star of late 70s/early 80s smooth jazz and soul music that is Patrice Rushen. She released her debut jazz album at just 20 years old, before quickly transitioning to a funkier disco sound. Beginning to fall into oblivion, it was the continuous sampling of her songs from rappers like Mobb Deep, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Slum Village, Mary J. Blige, Organized Konfusion and most notably Will Smith (who sampled Forget Me Nots for the Men In Black soundtrack) that breathed new life into her career.A gifted pianist and an expert composer, Rushen signed to the Prestige label at a very young age in 1974, before later joining Asylum/Elektra four years later. It is this period (1974 – 1984) that has been compiled here by the British label. “The idea was to create music that was good for commercial radio/R&B,” the Californian explains. “We were all making sophisticated dance music, essentially”. The album is full of top-tier funky soul, played by the some of the biggest and best names working in music today. “L.A. musicians were not so locked into tradition. None of us were accustomed to limitation and the record label left us to take our own direction”. Remind Me (The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984) is a perfect collection of beautiful ballads (Settle For My Love), dancefloor anthems (Never Gonna Give You Up), groovy tunes with heavy basslines (Music Of The Earth, Let’s Sing A Song Of Love) and disco (Haven’t You Heard). Enough to remind you that this legend of soul and disco is deserving of an artistic renaissance. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz