Nelly Furtado, “7.” “Feel like I’m ready to change,” Nelly Furtado croons shortly into the synth-laced, peppy two-and-a-half-minute “Showstopper.” It’s been seven years since her last album, and she opens her new one, 7, by doing just that. 7 Nelly Furtado Republic, Sept. 20 7/10 Get the album on…

Blossoms, “Gary.” Sometimes inspiration strikes in an unexpected place. On Blossoms‘ fifth album, the Manchester rockers used the heist of an eight-foot-tall fiberglass gorilla statue affectionally named Gary from a Scotland retirement home to guide them. Suddenly, Gary had a narrative arc in the form of the title track…

Bright Eyes, “Five Dice, All Threes.” The first 90 seconds of Five Dice, All Threes, the new album from folk-rock act Bright Eyes, features dialog centered on a dice game called game of threes.  It’s impossible to know whether the conversation was recorded for the album, is a dialog…

Seether, “The Surface Seems So Far.” When it comes to heavy grunge-inspired rock with anthemic melodies, few bands deliver as reliably as Seether. The South African band has been making solid hard rock for the better part of two decades, and the trend continues on The Surface Seems So…

Suki Waterhouse, “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.” It’s been an eventful year for Suki Waterhouse. The English singer-songwriter and actress became a first-time mother, performed at Coachella a few weeks later, opened for Taylor Swift in London, and now she’s back with a sophomore—double!—album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. Memoir of…

Keshi, “Requiem.” What happens when your debut album has over three billions streams and leads to sold-out shows worldwide? You make a second that allows you to contemplate the bigs things. That’s what Keshi did on Requiem. Requiem Keshi Island, Sept. 13 8/10 Get the album on Amazon Music.…

Miranda Lambert, “Postcards From Texas.” For her 10th album and her first, Miranda Lambert didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. The Texas native remains strong and unapologetic. Postcards from Texas brings her home stage to life through rich personal storytelling and collaborations with fellow Texans. Postcards from Texas Miranda…

The Jesus Lizard, “Rack.” There are those for whom rock and roll is a transformative experience, people who are remade in the crucible of overdriven guitars and pummeling drumming. As someone who’s been through it, I can tell you that my baptism, my immersion into the vocal fry, guitar…

Snow Patrol, “The Forest is the Path.” U.K. band Snow Patrol allowed the seasons to change on its eighth album, The Forest is the Path, its first in six years. While it’s another work full of lush and expressive forlorn anthems, the band is a trio now, following the…

blink-182, “ONE MORE TIME… PART 2.” Following up their career-resurrecting hit album One More Time, blink-182 quickly expanded the offering with One More Time… Part 2. Online commenters poked fun at the title—“Missed opportunity to call it ‘One More Time With Feeling’” and “Damn, how many more times?” were…