Elijah’s Top 5:

Dead Channel Sky by clipping. (Sub Pop). The California hip-hop trio continue to make catchy, ear-boggling bangers with their always gripping sample choices and intricate, lightning-fast lyrics.

Lonely People With Power by Deafheaven (Roadrunner). The Bay Area post/black metal darlings/pariahs present their tightest songwriting to date without sacrificing a single drop of emotional depth, a plethora of moods communicated to their absolute fullness.

The Overview by Steven Wilson (Fiction). A triumphant return to long-form progressive rock after an extended dive into electronic pop-oriented music, the prolific Brit makes it clear that his knack for attention-grabbing instrumental arrangements never went away.

Tsunami Sea by Spiritbox (Rise). Spiritbox propels the modern age of pop-oriented deathcore on its course into the spotlight with yet another instant classic of an album, adding a fresh batch of instantly recognizable hooks to their ever-growing canon.

Was I Good Enough? by The Body & Intensive Care (Closed Casket Activities). This month is replete with artists reaffirming their musical mettle, and The Body’s latest collaborative album is no exception. Intensive Care brings their own unique voice to The Body’s instantly recognizable noisescapes, further establishing that just about any music is improved when you have The Body screaming and pounding alongside it.

Adriane’s Top 5:

A Blade Because a Blade is Whole, Alabaster DePlume (International Anthem). Equally powerful as musician and as poet, DePlume’s latest is a brilliant and deeply felt jazz release, in the broadest sense of the genre. The Quietus‘ Patrick Clarke and The Guardian‘s Ammar Kalia have both written about DePlume as being earnest in his eccentricities, and that’s audible here, music and lyrics alike utterly sincere even whether the topics are mundane or much more esoteric.

Campanelli, Valentina Goncharova (Hidden Harmony). On her first new release in decades, Kyiv-born, Tallinn-based violinist and composer Valentina Goncharova gets weird and wonderful. Free-flowing experimentalism on strings, synths, and, as the title suggests, bells.

Only Dust Remains, Backxwash (Ugly Hag). On her fifth album, rapper Backxwash lands blow after blow after blow with the kind of raw rock edge that nu-metal rappers have only dreamed of having themselves. This is heavy catharsis, unrelentingly so; taking it on is a journey worth taking.

SOL, Raúl Monsalve y los Forajidos (Olindo). Beginning with a rousing cover of John Coltrane’s “Like Sonny” and ending with a kick of calypso, SOL is an eclectic sampling of music inspired by Caraquenian music scenes. Brilliant layers of jazz, funk, Afrobeat, and joropo come together in a perfectly harmonious spectrum.

Yarın Yoksa, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek (Big Crown). Dreamy, funky renditions of Turkish folk and pop modes and songs make this album a joy. Yıldırım has the delivery of a 1970s Anatolian pop diva and her group knows how to move with soul.