Nicki Minaj reaches for the throne room, Animal Collective unearths an interesting live artifact, Death Cab do more Death Cabbing, and more in this week of new releases.

Mitski makes music about inexpressible emotions—urgent, intimate dispatches that seem to come from her very soul. At least, that’s how many, including this writer, have characterized her past work. And there’s something romantic about the idea that someone has captured the secret fears and desires that perch on the…

Foxing reaches for the skies on its biggest and best record, country singer Shooter Jennings fires off a spotty but enjoyable new collection, and more in this roundup of new releases.

YG stays dangerous, while Helena Hauff’s Qualm is her rawest collection to date, and The Nature Of Imitation is a glorious return to chaos for Dorian Concept. These, plus Mac Miller and GAIKA in this week’s notable new releases.

In this week’s notable new releases: Hive Mind is a step forward for The Internet, while Devouring Radiant Light glimpses a more refined Skeletonwitch, and Ty Segall & White Fence mostly go folk on Joy.

Dirty Projectors’ Lamp Lit Prose calls to mind the band’s late-’00s peak, while Deafheaven reach higher on album No. 4, and Lotic softens their approach on debut Power. These, plus Pram’s first album in 11 years in this week’s notable new releases.

In this week’s notable releases, Byen finds nü-disco fixture Bjørn Torske blending more ambient textures into his playful sound, while Chicago footwork pioneer RP Boo gets melancholy, and NYC art-rockers Bodega debut with the lyrically stellar but musically weak Endless Scroll.

The worst thing that ever happened to Drake was becoming a great rapper. He was always good—funny, direct, emotive—but on his first few releases anytime the bars weren’t coming he’d skip his voice up into some melancholy melody, shape-shifting Boi-1da’s airy, ambient beat into an R&B track. But as he became an…

Florence + The Machine open up old wounds (and stick to old sounds) on High As Hope, while both Gorillaz’s The Now Now and what should be Teyana Taylor’s breakout moment, K.T.S.E., feel unfocused and undercooked. These, plus Panic At The Disco, Jim James, and Dirty Beaches’ Alex Zhang Hungtai in this week’s notable…

It’d be hyperbolic to say this has been the biggest month in hip-hop history, but the sheer wattage of Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Kid Cudi, Drake, Future, and Pusha T all releasing major new efforts within the span of a month has to be something of a record. This is not even taking into account the regular…

Bad Witch is a thin, if rewarding, listen from Nine Inch Nails; while Kamasi Washington’s cinematic soul-jazz is more ambitious than ever on the awe-inspiring Heaven And Earth; and Gang Gang Dance turn in a somewhat too-impeccable sixth LP with Kazuashita. These, plus Martyn and The Orb in this week’s notable new…

It’s tempting to view Everything Is Love as the conclusion of a trilogy begun with Lemonade, Beyoncé’s revelatory 2016 exploration of JAY-Z’s infidelity. But that narrative didn’t need a sequel, let alone a trilogy; it was self-contained, resolution and all. Jay told his side of the story on last year’s sober, soulful …

Note: This review is based on last night’s livestream of Nasir, which hasn’t been officially released at the time of publication. You can watch the stream below.

Melody’s Echo Chamber pushes its warped psych pop to new lands on Bon Voyage, while Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever debuts with the dreamy, mature Hope Downs, and Chromeo strikes the right balance on fifth LP Head Over Heels. These, plus Immersion and The English Beat in this week’s notable new releases.

What is freedom to Kanye West? The answer to that question is becoming exceedingly difficult to understand. He’s always positioned himself as a free thinker in the mold of Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and other titans of industry (without pausing to note the irony that his free thought brings him to the conclusions of the…

Zeal & Ardor forges an exhilarating new sound on second LP Stranger Fruit; Lykke Li turns inward on the hit-or-miss So Sad So Sexy; and bedroom pop gets a hi-fi makeover on Snail Mail’s full-length debut, Lush. These, plus Angélique Kidjo and Lily Allen in this week’s notable new releases.

In a way, Ye is what everyone wanted. The word “Trump” appears nowhere on the album. Kanye only acknowledges his risible claim that “slavery was a choice” obliquely, and with regrets (“I ain’t finna talk about it another four centuries”). He doesn’t attempt to fit the hateful rhetoric of his YouTube thought leaders in…

Father John Misty reaches the apex of hopelessness on God’s Favorite Customer, while Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay (Tunng) embrace the surreal on LUMP, and New York no-wavers The Dreebs take pleasure in the claustrophobic on Forest Of A Crew. These, plus catching up with A$AP Rocky’s recent Testing in this week’s…

There are harpsichords all over Age Of, electronic composer Daniel Lopatin’s eighth studio album as Oneohtrix Point Never. It’s an instrument that Lopatin derides in press materials as a “perfectly dumb machine”—one that always reverberates the same, no matter how you strike the keys. That sound, reminiscent of…

Pusha T came out of the gate fully evolved. He kicks off the intro to Clipse’s Lord Willin’, released in 2002, talking shit and pushing weight—“Playas we ain’t the same, I’m into ’caine and guns”—a statement of purpose from which he never wavered. He was 25. Over Clipse’s ensuing mixtapes and albums, he and brother…