FLOOD

It’s tough to shake the idea that we’re getting the real John Legend for the very first time.

The author’s reflections on his relationship with his deeply racist brother make an appeal to our common humanity.

If a sudden shift toward EDM trappings sounds like an awkward fit for an alt-country band, on “FLOTUS,” it plays out as neither sudden nor awkward.

The My Morning Jacket frontman’s second solo record is not a hymn to destruction, but an anthem of resolve.

Nothing is held back.

If you found yourself lost in the cosmos of Kamasi Washington’s triple-LP “The Epic” last year wondering which star to reach for next, 2016 has a few answers for you.

With the essay collection “Upstream,” the lauded poet offers a portrait of herself and the world that is no less shrouded in mystery than her best work.

Rumors of Leonard Cohen’s desire for death have been greatly exaggerated.

“Ruminations” is what it claims to be: a series of ponderous reflections that abide and even cultivate solitude, finding the melancholy romance in moments of quiet introspection.

These are songs that tangle with love as a force both personal and political, and with the love of self, the love of God, the love a people must have for one another if any of them are going to last.

Though it turns out this isn’t a Harry Nilsson tribute album, the title is still a good omen.

Daptone’s inaugural reggae release is freighted with a tragic backstory.

The Chicago rapper and singer delivers an album filled with psalms of lament and hymns to hope through hard times.

When presented with a collection of songs that’s explicitly billed as mood music, the correct question is: what sort of mood?

All together now: “We make fire! With our bare hands! We catch fish from the stream like a bear can!”

Past ScHoolboy Q records have shown a similar grasp for introspection, but “Blank Face LP” is all immersion.

Rhymin’ Simon’s still vital at seventy-four.

On “Everything’s Beautiful,” the jazz pianist deconstructs Miles’s old recordings, then reassembles them with help from Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, KING, Bilal, and more. Here, he talks about how the legend’s legacy extends far beyond jazz.

Like Miles and Monk, Julianna Barwick understands the importance of space; each resonant note and each distinct sound is chosen judiciously, allowing each one to echo with even greater power.

The psychedelic outlaw’s third album album doesn’t hold a lot of easy answers, necessarily, but it does have plenty of right ones.