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

In 2017, Michigan rapper NF made an unexpected mainstream crossover with his chart-topping fourth album, Perception, and its triple-platinum radio hit, "Let You Down." Years later, that single endured on the radio even as he readied a follow-up with his fifth set, The Search. His second consecutive number one, the album featured all the hallmarks of NF's typical sound: lighting-speed bars, dramatic production, and serious subject matter. However, despite the success of his breakthrough -- or, more accurately, because of it -- he's anything but happy or content with the newfound exposure, seething with frustration and anger throughout The Search. One listen to tracks such as "Leave Me Alone" and "-Interlude-" and listeners will get an unambiguous taste of just how the artist born Nathan Feuerstein feels about his post-breakthrough life. Track after track, the sentiment is the same: fame, money, and success can neither banish the demons that plague us nor cure our mental and emotional woes. In both vocal cadence and lyrical content, NF falls somewhere between Eminem and Twenty One Pilots' Tyler Joseph, while channeling the former's rage and the latter's emotive introspection. As such, The Search is a heavy and emotionally exhausting listen, brimming with troubling allusions to suicide and soul-baring pain. When he's not bleeding out on tracks such as "My Stress" and "Hate Myself," he's lashing out on "Leave Me Alone" and "No Excuses." The remaining songs land on either side of that fence and, over the course of 20 tracks, it's clear that NF is struggling, jaded, and pretty miserable. With his star showing no signs of fading at the time of the album's release, it would seem NF's fame could only grow. Assuming the pain on The Search is genuine, that may not be ideal for the reluctant emcee, who is pushing against the limelight as it pulls him ever closer.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

The follow-up to the Michigan-based metallers' chart-busting 2016 debut, Lifelines, the aptly named Trauma arrives after the recovery of clean crooner Brian Burkheiser from a debilitating vocal injury. Employing a lethal and versatile blend of metalcore, alternative, electronic, and hip-hop, the 13-track set includes the hard-charging singles "Bow Down" and "Breaking Down."© TiVo

4 stars out of 5 -- "Mathieu brings a surreal suspended glow to the smallest musical moments, as if tuning in to the dying resonance of still-warm instruments."© TiVo

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Five years separate Beautiful Trauma from its predecessor, 2012's The Truth About Love -- a half-decade P!nk generally acknowledges in lyrical themes, not musical terms. Chalk this up to a general maturation -- the singer/songwriter is a happily married mother of two, creeping up on her 40th birthday -- but her decision to do little more than nod at contemporary musical trends is deliberate, a reflection of how her hits and audience have crept toward the adult contemporary charts. P!nk isn't entirely ready to enter Adele territory: She's still as liable to curse as croon, she makes the occasional feint toward EDM pop, and has the sense to hire Jack Antonoff, the hitmaker du jour of 2017, as a collaborator. These modern moments are bunched up at the beginning of the record, coalescing around "Revenge" -- a catchy bit of clean funk mussed up by a wildly inappropriate Eminem verse that seems culled from outtakes of The Eminem Show -- giving the false impression that Beautiful Trauma is a livelier album than it is, but once the record slides into the piano-anchored ballad "But We Lost It," it enters an extended stretch where diva showstoppers alternate with delicate folk tunes and icy midtempo pop. Every one of these styles is executed well -- the productions are crisp, not chilly, they're undergirded with genuine feeling that P!nk conveys with her measured performances -- but the cumulative feel is somewhat less than the individual parts. Maybe the culprit is that Beautiful Trauma feels too controlled, with every element in its right place. There's none of the emotional mess that has enlivened some of P!nk's best work, and while this sense of calm may be well earned, it does result in a tamer record.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

After seven years away from the scene, Pierce the Veil made a surprise return with their fifth full-length, The Jaws of Life. The set featured more-polished production, focused songwriting, and a matured point of view, which could rub purists the wrong way. However, given their extended absence, it's a welcome evolution. "Pass the Nirvana" is a fine example of how they've merged their former caustic sound -- retaining that youthful vigor with throat-shredding vocals, bottom-heavy riffs, and pounding drums, wrapped up in catchy production worthy of early Linkin Park. "Even When I'm Not with You" slows things down with yearning lyrics and soaring atmospherics that could have landed on a Deftones album. Meanwhile, the programmed beats of the dreamy "Shared Trauma" and the indie rock "Emergency Contact" expand their sonic wheelhouse, as "Death of an Executioner" and "Flawless Execution" push them in an almost alt-prog direction. The Jaws of Life is definitely not the Pierce the Veil of the post-hardcare early days. Much like contemporaries Sleeping with Sirens and Bring Me the Horizon, they've changed with the times -- for better or worse, depending on the fan -- and the results are no less immediate and impactful. © Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

The two previous full-lengths from H.E.R. were well received, to say the least. Although they were welcomed with acclaim, high chart placements, a platinum certification (for the first one), and a slew of Grammy accolades (for both), H.E.R. has remained insistent that neither was her debut album, as each one compiled EPs and added bonus material. Presented as her true first LP, Back of My Mind plays out like an assemblage itself. It contains an EP worth of previously released material dating back almost two years, and there's enough content -- an amount exceeding that of each compilation -- to fill a compact disc to capacity. This begins with a triumphant exhalation in the form of "We Made It" and then slips into a dim and labyrinthine corridor of slow jams and ballads with the odd subtle switch-up. Along the way, there are more guests than necessary. While Ty Dolla $ign's street gospel support on the title song is a fine match, H.E.R. more often is too accommodating, most so on the Lil Baby meeting "Find a Way," where she drops de rigueur references to her bag, haters, and one of rap's most popular luxury cars. On a more discreet level, however, "Bloody Waters" -- a heady Kaytranada production tricked out with a delectable Thundercat bassline -- is a brilliant sequel of sorts to her Academy Award-winning "Fight for You," another career high point with shades of sociopolitical Marvin Gaye circa 1971 and 1972. A few other songs stick out from the surplus of confessionals, late-night yearnings, and conflicted discourse that drifts along over soft beds of gently strummed guitar and trap-styled boom-and-skitter. The platinum "Damage" transforms Herb Alpert's "Making Love in the Rain" (produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with background vocals from Janet Jackson) from an expression of rapturous release to one of seductive threat. "Cheat Code" is like a follow-up chapter to wistful sample source "The Sweetest Thing" (fronted and co-written by Lauryn Hill); the lilt in H.E.R.'s voice on the hook hits like an unexpected jolt of grief. "Closer to Me" flips an aspirational early 2000s deep cut (by the undervalued Goapele) into a love song yearning for intimate repairment. Like "Bloody Waters," these standouts nod to an inspiration while being unmistakably H.E.R.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

After losing the talents of the Cavalera brothers, with Max leaving in 1996 and Igor following suit a decade later in 2006, Sepultura have felt like they're just barely hanging on, chugging along without the brutal streak that powered their early work. As the band has continued to release albums, there's been the feeling of waiting for the sleeping giant to finally wake up and wreak havoc on the countryside, with that old spark always seeming like it was possible, but just a little bit out of reach. On their 13th album, The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, it would seem the giant's alarm clock has finally gone off, and he's not at all happy about oversleeping. While it's not exactly the Sepultura of old, the band feels revitalized, shaking off the slower pacing of 2011's Kairos in favor of a faster, more savage tempo that allows the band to really recapture some of its former power. This especially comes through in the vocals of singer Derrick Green, whose distorted growls serve as a vehicle for some old-fashioned metal menace. And while Green's vocals might not have the bellowing authority of Max Cavalera's signature shout, they deliver the kind of raw, unbridled hostility that established Sepultura as a band that was not to be taken lightly in the '90s. Without the Cavaleras on board, it's hard to call The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart a true return to form. That said, it's a damn solid album from a band that's been having a hard time steadying the ship, and any fans who might have written Sepultura off should definitely consider giving this one a chance.© Gregory Heaney /TiVo