Any decent music? We review the reviews. You get the final word

Brandi Carlile  Returning To Myself

Carlile’s eighth album does the difficult work of cracking open the soul to let flow her vulnerability. The songs succeed in their tasks: bringing her into a fresh creative moment where she flourishes A.V. Club

Brandi Carlile  Returning To Myself

There's a fine story-telling country song (No One Knows Us); a dramatic rocker (Church & State) - and songs whose piano and multiple harmonies feel like church (You Without Me; Joni). But it never sounds less than gorgeous. Print edition only Mojo

Brandi Carlile  Returning To Myself

On Returning to Myself the esteemed singer-songwriter turns inward Rolling Stone

Brandi Carlile  Returning To Myself

With its comparatively restrained approach only reasserting Carlile's gifts as a confident, compassionate, and sympathetic communicator, Returning to Myself offers an equally compelling edition of the musician that may appeal to new, less country-inclined fans All Music

Brandi Carlile  Returning To Myself

Carlile’s eighth album does the difficult work of cracking open the soul to let flow her vulnerability. The songs succeed in their tasks: bringing her into a fresh creative moment where she flourishes Paste Magazine

Skullcrusher  And Your Song is Like a Circle

Whilst not always hitting compositionally and emotionally, the sharper structure and snappier performances tend to capture the weight that Skullcrusher is pulling from Northern Transmissions

Demi Lovato  It’s Not That Deep

Lovato’s 10th record shudders its way to the bathroom and makes time amid the intense beats and strobe lights for self-exploration. “It’s not that deep unless you want it to be,” she sings. It’s good to be flexible Northern Transmissions

Tortoise  TOUCH

Thirty years in, Tortoise are still searching, still listening, still following the sound wherever it leads Northern Transmissions

The Last Dinner Party  From The Pyre

Scenery and bombast are still on the menu for the Last Dinner Party’s second course Spectrum Culture

Dave  The Boy Who Played the Harp

Returning with his first album in four years, the arena-filling UK rapper is still such a smart, sharp lyricist as he explores a series of existential crises The Guardian

Dave  The Boy Who Played the Harp

This is a staggeringly powerful record. Continually evading easy descriptors, Dave pushes his art to higher levels Clash

Demi Lovato  It’s Not That Deep

Whether she’s sticking her neck out into newer territory or playing faithful to her roots, one thing’s clear: Lovato’s at her best when it comes easy Clash

Tortoise  TOUCH

Touch reflects the curiosity that has driven Tortoise since the beginning -- and still drives them all these years later All Music

Lily Allen  West End Girl

A hard-hitting pop exposition, it frequently feels daring, while also providing an endless supply of hooks. ‘West End Girl’ finds Lily Allen at the centre of a romantic implosion, making imposing shapes out of the rubble Clash

The Antlers   Blight

The group’s seventh album simmers with dread about environmental catastrophe, which is addressed both sincerely and tediously Pitchfork