FLOOD

“Life is just a game, we’re all just the same.”

“Ology,” twenty-four-year-old Gallant’s debut LP, makes the wait for Frank Ocean’s new album much easier to take.

This release represents new growth in the forest.

Getting up to get down with the Raleigh fount of funk.

Unlike the Smith Westerns’ (relatively) upbeat catalog, “New Misery” is a quietly apocalyptic album.

This is chamber pop, filled out by saxophone, organ, fragile guitar, and backup singers.

On “Plaza,” Quilt doesn’t tread water or waste time.

“It Calls on Me” is laid back and dreamy, even flat-out cheerful in places.

Two decades in, the jazz-informed Chicagoans keep innovating.

At the end of “Without a Head,” Soda’s six-song debut, you may still be waiting for its big moment.

Unfortunately, the second half of “right on!” is so atmospheric that it slips into the background, and the album ends with a whimper.

Clichés are clichés for a reason, so where’s the space between a fake love song and a real one? On 69 Love Songs, it’s often clear, but the places where it isn’t make this an essential set of throwaway love songs.

“Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl” details the history of Sleater-Kinney. Even more than that, it’s a moving personal story.

All of these soothing vibes and laid-back tracks make the LP feel as breezy as relaxing on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

By the time closing song “First Eight” rolls around, “metal” starts to sound a lot like “mellow.”

East London’s sharpest post-punks just want you to dance with their sophomore album “Why Choose.”

Its only blatant agenda involves making you dance, and Shopping’s excellent sophomore album “Why Choose” is full of potential singles.

Rebelling against the jocks and their Nirvana records with the heavier-than-heaven Olympia power trio.

“Subjective Concepts,” the first album from hardcore trio Strange Wilds, makes it abundantly clear that the band was formed in Washington.

Play “White Reaper Does It Again” while driving. Play it at a party. Play it to start a party.