Hold Your Fire is an album in the purest sense; infinitely greater than the sum of its parts, it gradually draws in the listener by slowly revealing its nuances and secrets. While the use of keyboards is still overwhelming at times, Geddy Lee employs lush textures which, when coupled with a greater rhythmic and melodic presence from guitarist Alex Lifeson, results in a far warmer sound than in recent efforts. Of course, drummer Neil Peart is as inventive and exciting as ever, while his lyrics focus on the various elements (earth, air, water, fire) for much of the album. Opener "Force Ten" is the band's most immediate number in years, and other early favorites such as "Time Stand Still" and "Turn the Page" soon give way to the darker mysteries of "Prime Mover" and "Tai Shan." The multifaceted "Lock and Key" is quintessential Rush, and sets the stage for the album's climax with the sheer beauty of "Mission." As was the case with 1976's 2112 and 1981's Moving Pictures, Rush always seem to produce some of their best work at the end of each four-album cycle, and Hold Your Fire is no exception.© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo

The sophomore full-length album from Flying Colors, 2014's Second Nature, showcases the supergroup's ambitious, soaring prog rock. As on the group's 2008 self-titled debut, featured here are former Endochine member and Alpha Rev lead vocalist Casey McPherson, ex-Dream Theater drummer/vocalist Mike Portnoy, Dixie Dregs bassist Dave LaRue, Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, and former Spock's Beard keyboardist/vocalist Neal Morse. If on their debut Flying Colors were finding their footing as a neophyte ensemble, on Second Nature they reveal a newfound cohesion born out of their 2012 tour (documented on the 2013 concert album Live in Europe). Consequently, this is an album that balances the group's virtuosic talents with moments of orchestral lyricism, folk-inflected balladry, and powerhouse rock anthems. Included on Second Nature is the single "Mask Machine."© Matt Collar /TiVo

For a musician known to strive for authenticity, Eric Clapton has always been curiously obsessed with appearances, seemingly as interested in sartorial details and hairstyles as in the perfect guitar lick. It's hard to find two photographs of him from the 1960s and early '70s that appear to be the same person, and even after he formally launched his solo career he switched looks frequently. Thus, the album sleeve of his 13th solo studio album of new material, Reptile, its "concept" credited to the recording artist, seems significant. The album cover shows a smiling Clapton as a child, and there are family photographs on the back cover and in the booklet, along with a current photograph of the artist, who turned 56 in the weeks following the album's release, in an image that does nothing to hide the wrinkles of late middle age. This photograph faces a sleeve note by Clapton that begins with his explanation of the album title: "Where I come from, the word 'reptile' is a term of endearment, used in much the same way as 'toe rag' or 'moosh.'" (Thanks, Eric. Now, all listeners have to do is find out what "toe rag" and "moosh" mean!) The note then goes on to dedicate the album warmly to Clapton's uncle. All of this might lead you to expect an unusually personal recording from a man who has always spoken most eloquently with his guitar. If so, you'd be disappointed. Reptile seems conceived as an album to address all the disparate audiences Clapton has assembled over the years. His core audience may think of him as the premier blues guitarist of his generation, but especially as a solo artist, he has also sought a broader pop identity, and in the 1990s, with the hits "Tears in Heaven" and "Change the World," he achieved it. The fans he earned then will recognize the largely acoustic sound of such songs as "Believe in Life," "Second Nature," and "Modern Girl." But those who think of Clapton as the guy who plays "Cocaine" will be pleased with his cover of another J.J. Cale song, "Travelin' Light," and by the time the album was in record stores mainstream rock radio had already found "Superman Inside," which sounds like many of his mid-tempo rock hits of the '80s. This diversity is continued on less familiar material, especially the many interesting cover songs. Somebody, perhaps the artist himself, has been busy looking for old chestnuts, since Reptile contains a wide variety of them: the 1930 jazz song "I Want a Little Girl," recorded by McKinney's Cotton Pickers among others; John Greer's 1952 R&B hit "Got You on My Mind"; Ray Charles' 1955 R&B hit "Come Back Baby"; James Taylor's 1972 hit "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"; and Stevie Wonder's 1980 hit "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It." The two earliest of these songs are old and obscure enough that Clapton is able to make them his own, and he recasts the Taylor song enough to re-invent it, but remaking songs by Charles and Wonder means competing with them vocally, and as a singer Clapton isn't up to the challenge. He is assisted by the current five-man version of the Impressions, who do much to shore up his vocal weaknesses, but he still isn't a disciplined or thoughtful singer. Of course, when that distinctive electric guitar sound kicks in, all is forgiven. Still, Reptile looks like an album that started out to be more ambitious than it ended up being. There may be a song here for each of the artist's constituencies (and, more important to its commercial impact, for every major radio format except talk and country), but as a whole the album doesn't add up to the statement Clapton seems to have been hoping to make.© William Ruhlmann /TiVo

Although they have always been a duo dedicated to establishing their own persona as a group, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig have in the past decade developed a side career as backup vocalists that's threatened to become their main gig. Since their last album of all originals, 2016's Good Grief they have sung behind and made friends with the notoriously prickly Roger Waters and added background vocals to albums by Harry Styles, Ozzy Osbourne, The War on Drugs, Brandi Carlile, and others. The last Lucius album, 2018's Nudes, was a mashup of covers, re-recordings of their older material, and even hoary chestnuts like "Goodnight, Irene." While one of this pair's greatest strengths—outside their ethereal harmonies—will always be their stylistic range, it was high time for them to make a new Lucius record. With their band of guitarist/keyboardist Peter Lalish, bassist Solomon Dorsey, and drummer Dan Molad, the duo are most comfortable in a bright '80s influenced synth pop groove, and this is the home turf they have returned to on Second Nature. Recorded in Nashville by producer Dave Cobb—who's best known for his Americana records—and Carlile, the results prove that both have a hidden talent for dance music. This is a layered, shimmering synthy dance record from the opening powerhouse duo of "Second Nature" and "Next to Normal," where the choruses of the latter make clear, "When I'm close to you I'm next to normal/ I feel immortal /I'm high without the paranoia." The title track feels like a mix of a '60s girl group single set to a percolating synth funk background populated by a clavinet, string arrangements, bongos, and music's current instrument du jour: mellotron. The harmonies of ABBA echo through the slower, bubbling under synths of "24."  Although Cobb reportedly exclaimed "I wanna make a disco record!" during the sessions, tunes like the shiny, mid tempo synth-based numbers "Heartbursts" and the club track "Dance Around It" are moody new wave for a new century. The high note here though is undoubtedly, "The Man I'll Never Find," a majestically-paced  pop opus that highlights the slight differences in their voices, as they search for the soulmate that they "Don't want it if it's easy" but who they dream about and  "…every time that I wake up/ You'll be the first thing to cross my mind." Enriched by the enforced isolation of the pandemic and romantic travails, Second Nature shows just how serious Wolfe and Laessig were when they described the album as "dancing our way through the darkness." © Robert Baird/Qobuz

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Recorded on an off night during a European tour in 1991, this is a warts and all, no overdubs, unplugged session that captures the father and son duo at their most uninhibited. Basically, Carey and Lurrie Bell sat down in a studio in Kouvola, Finland, let the tapes roll for three hours, and this is the result. Why the finished product languished for 14 years in tour manager/co-producer Chip Covington's closet is unclear, but Alligator's long delayed yet welcome 2004 release shows the timeless quality of this deep Delta blues. The songs are sung by both guitarist son Lurrie and harpist dad Carey, and range from well-worn standards such as "Rock Me" (featuring a stunning acoustic guitar solo), "Key to the Highway," and "Five Long Years," to originals that follow established blues patterns. It's a relatively low-key performance, but the twosome show a natural affinity for each other. The result is a subtle, unhurried but not lethargic set. It sounds like the pair weren't aware that the final product would ever be released, which is likely the case. Both are fiery players but neither hog the spotlight, making this a particularly homey disc that will appeal to any fan of acoustic blues. The sound quality is so well defined it sounds like they are sitting in your room, which adds to the country-styled ambiance of this quiet gem. © Hal Horowitz /TiVo

3 stars out of 5 - "...Scarily tasteful....Miller's association with great songwriters has taught him that melody is king. As the band purrs jazzily behind him, he supplies plentiful hooks on top..."© TiVo

Destiny's Child isn't quite just another debut album from an R&B girl group. The quartet worked with Wyclef Jean and Jermaine Dupri among others, and their voices sound beautiful together. Still, much of the album sounds indistinguishable from all the other female groups out there. When Destiny's Child does sound different, as on the single "No, No, No, Pt. 2," they're more than competent.© John Bush /TiVo

More cinematic, melodic, and mellow than their usual experimental indie pop output, Keep You Close is the sixth studio album from one of Belgium's biggest musical exports, dEUS. Compared to the likes of Elbow, Tindersticks, and Broadcast, the follow-up to 2008's Vantage Point features the single "Constant Now" and two tracks featuring guest vocals from former Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli ("Twice [We Survive]," "Dark Sets In").© Jon O'Brien /TiVo