Real Power is Gossip's first album in 12 years, when singer Beth Ditto walked away to launch a solo career, act, start a clothing line and model. She has admitted to needing a break, but that "in the music industry you're not allowed to have that. So you end up making things you don't like. You become a product." Indeed, Gossip's last record, A Joyful Noise, felt a bit phoned-in after the hurricane force of their mid-aughts, indie sleaze-defining output. Now, the band is recharged, but bearing battle scars—Ditto divorced her wife, who she had been with since she was 18; lost her father; and fell out of sorts with co-founder and guitarist Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell after he became a born-again Christian. The two have repaired their relationship and, along with drummer Hannah Blilie, they're not just re-treading the same old ground. For one thing, producer Rick Rubin—a Buddhist and Transcendental Meditation devotee who can rock out with the best of them—was a fascinating choice to oversee their comeback, and Ditto has said he brought a needed calm and peace to the proceedings. That does not mean boring. Songs like "Tough" and "Don't Be Afraid" feel stripped down and vulnerable compared to old Gossip records; that's not to say stark, but the air shifts to allow Ditto to bare a tender, Freda Payne-esque side. "Crazy Again" is subdued but with sunny guitar and a great kick-in, as Ditto seems to sing about finding love after divorce: "Don't invite me home/ I'm fragile at the moment/ Heart of glass." "Turn the Card Slowly," meanwhile, feels haunted—its edgy, lone-wolf guitar line tracking lines such as "Is it the last time?/ Was it the first time?/ Your love is a swinging door"; it's like a transmission from some alternate Stevie Nicks universe. "Edge of the Sun" is velveteen dance-floor pop, "Give It Up for Love" plays with New Wave disco, and "Light It Up" applies a sing-song melody to emo-pop mid-tempo balladry. "Act of God" is an absolute fearless delight: a thick slab of Motown soul set to cheeky organ and a great galloping rhythm, conjuring wild horses tromping across a landscape. And the title track sounds like revolution via the revelation that it's not enough just to make a difference in an insular community. Accompanied by cool funk guitar and buzzy synth, Ditto sounds every bit the soul diva as she declares "Rhythm in my blood, my heart is pounding … I want real power." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

There's a neat trick that Brooklyn's Beach Fossils pulls off on the band's fourth album, Bunny, in which time seems suspended. For nearly 40 minutes, no matter where you are, the setting morphs into a lazy summer afternoon where nothing else needs to be done. Dustin Payseur's songs bounce like paper boats on water ("Tough Love"; "Dare Me" and it lyrical sighs like "Spinning your wheels/ To the edge of this town/ She said, 'LA's so small/ When you're looking straight down'"), jangle and beam with bright rays of guitars ("Anything is Anything"), and find the rhyme in "easy-going" and "melatonin" ("(Just Like the) Setting Sun"). There are shades of Ride's hazy shoegaze—especially within the humidity-thick layers of "Feel So High," which lives up to its title—and The Cure's sunny guitar tones across the board, but especially on cuts like "Sleeping On My Own." "Run to the Moon" features a great relaxed-fit bassline and a crisp hit of cello and viola to cut through the daydream mist. "Living in New York, it can grind you down," Payseur sings, world weary as ever. "I tell you it will grind you down." With Payseur as the only remaining member of the project he began in 2009, there's a clear thread of melancholy—and being fine with it—through the band's discography. "Don't Fade Away," he has said, is about "missing old friends, being on tour, self-medicating, longing, anxiety, love, being an idiot, having fun, embracing your mistakes and keeping your spark." "Out on tour/ I just finished/ This pack of cigarettes/ And I don't even smoke," he sings on that track, killing time before arriving at the catchy chorus: "She's novocaine/ It's all I need/ To ease the pain." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

One year after his suicide, here we already have a posthumous album for EDM superstar Avicii, who was putting the finishing touches on it before tragically deciding to end his life near Muscat, Oman on April 20th, 2018. Wrung out from 800 dates in 6 years, alcohol was the only means he could find to manage his incredible global overexposure. While three quarters of the compositions were completed during his lifetime according to his family, it was friend and producer Carl Falk who finalized the album in Stockholm over the last few months. A first single with an evocative title, SOS, had fans salivating over a production with Caribbean touches, and with Aloe Blacc on the microphone: the voice that had launched Avicii's first studio album, True, with the hit Wake Me Up.But Tim is full of potential hits. The album features Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons on Heart Upon My Sleeve, Chris Martin from Coldplay on Heaven, as well as a big Swedish contingent, with producer Kristoffer Fogelmark aka Bonn, and beatmaker duo Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir, who all form 12 farewell tracks to the prolific Avicii. All profits generated by the album will go to the Tim Bergling Foundation, created by his family and dedicated to suicide prevention. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

This debut album from the young London pop singer/songwriter follows two well-received EPs and her soundtrack to the Apple TV+ series Trying. Largely ditching the acoustic trappings of her earlier work, here Maisie Peters dives headfirst into full-on, synth-driven pop, with a more mature, but no less witty outlook than before. Partly co-written with her hero Ed Sheeran, the album is released on his label, Gingerbread.© John D. Buchanan /TiVo

Toots & the Maytals' first LP for Chris Blackwell was originally released in the early '70s, and it includes solid sides like "Pomp and Pride," a whacked-out restructuring of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie," and the wonderful title track, "Funky Kingston." Blackwell reissued a bulked-up version of Funky Kingston in the mid-'70s on his Mango subsidiary, adding in the immortal "Pressure Drop," the brilliant "Time Tough," and a reimagining of John Denver's "Country Roads" (simply called "Country Road"), to make a much better and stronger set.© Steve Leggett /TiVo

Despite coming off a monster ballad with Hot in the Shade's Michael Bolton-penned "Forever," Kiss was plagued by financial instability due to Simmons and Stanley's extravagance; worse, drummer Eric Carr succumbed to cancer in November 1991. But even with the grunge movement in full effect, Kiss was luckily recognized as a major influence on everyone from Trent Reznor to Lenny Kravitz -- their '70s legacy intact despite the band's often dubious choices in the '80s. And even though they, too, were on the brink of commercial extinction, being savvy businessmen first and foremost, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley fully understood the lay of the land. Not only did they need to make a definitive record, they needed to completely re-invent themselves, visually and sonically. The first step was to secure hard rock veteran Eric Singer to fill Carr's shoes; next, the band rekindled its relationship with producer Bob Ezrin. Again, never ones to ignore lucrative business opportunities, Simmons and Stanley swallowed their pride and rejoined forces with former bandmate Vinnie Vincent. Together, they co-wrote Revenge's three centerpieces -- "Unholy," "I Just Wanna," and "Heart of Chrome." Bringing Vincent back to the Kiss fold ultimately proves to be the album's coup de grâce. Some of the cuts are excellent, delivered with conviction and panache, but for all the hype, the album is also tainted with filler. On the up tip, Ezrin's mongo-enormous production galvanizes the Kiss sound, making it fresh again. The band's promotional efforts would help propel the album's first-week sales sky high, culminating with a Top Ten Billboard chart entry, but indifference once again plagued the ensuing arena tour.© John Franck /TiVo

After spending a few years in limbo after scoring her first R&B hits "Dance With Me, Henry" and "Good Rocking Daddy," Etta James returned to the spotlight in 1961 with her first Chess release, At Last. James made both the R&B and pop charts with the album's title cut, "All I Could Do Was Cry," and "Trust in Me." What makes At Last a great album is not only the solid hits it contains, but also the strong variety of material throughout. James expertly handles jazz standards like "Stormy Weather" and "A Sunday Kind of Love," as well as Willie Dixon's blues classic "I Just Want to Make Love to You." James demonstrates her keen facility on the title track in particular, as she easily moves from powerful blues shouting to more subtle, airy phrasing; her Ruth Brown-inspired, bad-girl growl only adds to the intensity. James would go on to even greater success with later hits like "Tell Mama," but on At Last one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards.© Stephen Cook /TiVo

John Mellencamp took his signature blend of Stonesy rock and folk as far as it could go on Big Daddy, so he wisely returned to straight-ahead rock & roll with Whenever We Wanted. Uh-Huh was the last record he made that rocked as hard and consistently as this, and his songwriting had improved considerably in the years since that breakthrough release. Which means, of course, that Whenever We Wanted is more consistent than the earlier record, but it never reaches the highs of Uh-Huh. Even its best moments ("Love and Happiness," "Get a Leg Up," "Whenever We Wanted," "Again Tonight") shine because of their craftsmanship, failing to achieve the kinetic energy of his earlier work. Whenever We Wanted remains a solid record, but it's one that feels like a holding pattern.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

In the Dark is a ska/reggae classic that captures the Maytals in their prime, brimming with energy. In the group's music, the positive vibrations of reggae and the deep soul of singer Frederick "Toots" Hibbert are united and elevated by a pervasive spirituality. Exuding warmth and goodwill, Toots & the Maytals seek to excise their sorrows through joyful celebration and praise. "Got to Be There" sets the mood perfectly with its jubilant roll call into heaven. Hibbert's religious concerns are equally strong on "In the Dark," a song directed at those lacking belief. But he continually succeeds in reaching across lines of strict faith. The emotions in the Maytals' music always defy such boundaries. Similarly, this soulful reggae blend has the power to communicate to diverse musical tastes, reggae converts and unbelievers alike. "I'm from Jamaica/I want to do my Jamaican stuff," sings Toots, inviting everyone to watch and listen. Backing him is a formidable rhythmic force, capable of luring anyone out onto the dancefloor. At times, the grooves are so dense with reggae's characteristic syncopation that rhythms seem to spring forth from multiple directions. "Time Tough" layers organ stabs, chopping reggae rhythms, and tight, coiled guitar lines along with call and response vocals. In the Dark's classic status may be assured from three songs alone: signature numbers "54-46 Was My Number," "Time Tough," and the Maytals' rendition of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (which sounds like it was written for Hibbert to sing). But the Maytals hit the mark with every song on this collection. Like the best of the blues, gospel, and soul, they turn struggle into strength. When Hibbert sings "I'm so lonely/I'm so blue" on "In the Dark," he makes the emotions seem truly addictive; if the blues felt as good as they sound here, people would be lining up to get their dose. © Nathan Bush /TiVo

Retro Active is a collection of outtakes and leftovers spanning Def Leppard's entire career. Kicking off the disc, "Desert Song" and "Fractured Love" are two of its most distinctive tracks, harkening back to the band's early (pre-success) days with their rough power chords. After paying homage to some of their heroes with a set of covers (Sweet's "Action" and Mick Ronson's "Only After Dark"), the band tackles a couple of solid, but hardly groundbreaking ballads -- "Two Steps Behind" and "Miss You in a Heartbeat" -- before stretching out (with mixed results) on the folky "From the Inside." Taken from the Hysteria sessions, the classy "I Wanna Be Your Hero" is another pleasant surprise, and the band reaches all the way back to the beginning by re-recording their first demo "Ride into the Sun." Overall, this is an interesting release which marks the end of a long chapter in the band's history, following the death of guitarist and guiding force Steve Clark. While casual fans might find it confusing, Leppard fanatics will revel in its diversity and informative liner notes. © Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo

After releasing a solo debut that made a great case for his talent but didn't deliver the rock & roll goods as expected, Nils Lofgren turned up the guitar heroics on his 1976 album Cry Tough and the results were a lot closer to what fans had hoped for from the whiz kid from Grin. However, Cry Tough also unwittingly revealed the Achilles' Heel that would haunt Lofgren's solo career for the next three decades -- there's no denying that the guy is a great guitar player, but his gifts as a guitarist and songwriter have been maddeningly inconsistent, and while 1975's self-titled solo debut was one of his high-water marks as a tunesmith, he gave himself more room to strut his stuff on guitar here without bringing many memorable tunes to the table ("Jailbait" and the title cut are particularly faulty). It's significant that two of the sharpest and most effective tracks on Cry Tough, "Incidentally … It's Over" and "Can't Get Closer (WCGC)," feature the same rhythm section that backed Lofgren on his debut; produced by David Briggs, they sound straightforward, compelling, and emotionally direct, while most of the rest of the album (produced by Al Kooper) features a larger band, a glossier approach, and somehow allows Lofgren to effectively sound lost on his own album. Lofgren certainly plays up a storm on Cry Tough, and his soloing on "You Lit a Fire" and "It's Not a Crime" is inspired, but that's not enough to keep this record afloat. Cry Tough is at its best when it is also at its simplest; if the whole album had been as good as "Incidentally … It's Over" and "Can't Get Closer (WCGC)," it would have been a winner, but instead it was the first in a long line of disappointments from a gifted but problematic talent.© Mark Deming /TiVo