Danny Brown – Old
This is a complicated narrative to keep running but Brown is equal to the task. In his berserk originality, writerly flair, emotional impact, and old-fashioned craft, Danny Brown belongs in any conversation about the best rappers working, and he’s at the top of his game here. His rapping is abrasive and visceral, but it’s also musical, a quality he doesn’t get much credit for because of his vocal tone. Listen to the way he rolls the word sounds “fucked up” and “knuckles” on “Dubstep” off of a perfect little woodpecker-stutter of percussion. Or his subdued performance on “Lonely” featuring a fluid, airy beat by Paul White built from two Morice Benin samples. Read the full review on Pitchfork

Dr. Dog – B Room
While the old cliché claims that you can’t ever go home again, B-Room, Dr. Dog‘s first album in their new studio, makes a pretty strong case for just building a new home. Continuing to use the same collaborative process the group began to explore on Be the Void, it feels as though a place to call their own was the missing ingredient for the bandmembers. Despite it only being a year since their last release, it feels as if Dr. Dog are refreshed and reinvigorated, returning to the studio with an enthusiasm and warmth that shines through on the album. Read the full review on AllMusic

Lee Ranaldo & The Dust – Last Night on Earth
Much of last year’s Between The Times and The Tides found Ranaldo refining his sensibility for bent-toned beauties into some (mostly) straightforward, four-minute janglers. Some sinister-toned ambient roars haunted some of that album’s corners, but most of it was sweetened with some 90s pop hooks, tasteful keys purring from John Medeski, and that strangely charming lilt to Ranaldo’s voice, akin somewhat to a crackling bonfire that never rises, burns out, or extinguishes, warbling along in a sweetened middle spot. Read the full review on Tiny Mixtapes