“Church on Sunday”, the album’s first track, offers a sound that feels more like the rest of the record. Grace’s Amy Winehouse-inspired vocal moments shine here, revealing the new singer’s prowess, natural ability, and ambition. It’s also a catchy track.

Grace Sewell’s first record is impressive — and not the least because she’s only nineteen years old. In a lot of ways, it’s a reminder of Adelle’s earliest records (made when she was also nineteen): the inspirations are clear, but so is Grace’s future as an individual. “Hell of a Girl” is familiar, but its bridge dares to become something else. “Hope You Understand” is mixes soul, pop, and R&B influences with aplomb, but Grace’s voice is singular here.

Similarly, I’ve heard music like “Coffee” before — the coffeehouse song from so many aspiring musicians. But Grace’s effortless performance and ability to subtly build vocal elements throughout the track speaks wonders about a future where she’s less constrained by the music she’s grown up with and becomes an identity to herself. These tracks all hint at it.

But most importantly, Grace’s debut is effortless. Like Adelle and Winehouse, Grace makes it sound so easy — as if it’s easy for her. Tracks that rely almost entirely on vocal tricks — like “New Orleans” — sound as if Grace could sing them in her sleep.

As a result, FMA becomes magical. It’s an album most vocal performers dream of — a debut that captures the magic of youth and raw inspiration and influence as it’s all mixing in a bottle. Without a doubt, FMA is the beginning of something special.

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Many people said Bowie’s 2013 comeback record, The Next Day, felt like a retrospective record. Perhaps fittingly, Bowie’s final work sounds like he was looking to the future and deciding what alien sounds would infiltrate rock music next.

Not unsurprisingly — for a number of reasons — he landed on jazz. Blackstar is a beautiful record filled with gorgeous jazz overtones and some songs that just eke it — like the title track and the now-haunting Lazarus. Apparently, Bowie was listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar (like the rest of us, I guess). That’s not a joke; that’s according to what he told NPR.

But of course, Bowie was originally a sax player. It should come as no surprise that he loved jazz music, or that he would come back to it for what he ultimately knew would be his last record. It’s fascinating that the end of his career would not only see him embracing his roots, but also looking to the future.

But ultimately, what makes Bowie’s final record so special is that he’s using it to say goodbye to everybody who loved his music. He’s giving us a way to grieve. Few artists are so considerate. Few records are as beautiful, haunting, and thoughtfully made as Blackstar. I suspect we’ll be talking about this for years to come.

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What follows is a lesson in respecting the greats: offering tributes with subtle tonalities instead of full-out cover songs. The overtones are all there, and the band is still having a lot of fun, but Dan gives it just enough weight that it doesn’t feel like just a collection of singles.

In that way, the record feels like a celebration of the album as a timepiece of culture — very fitting for a band known for their bouncy and jangly records and a producer known for reviving the blues and seventies psychedelic rock. While I’m not sure that Tell Me I’m Pretty will ultimately go down as a classic among the stars, it might be Cage the Elephant’s best record.

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I will say this: Saint Cecilia is not only the best record of any sort that Foo Fighters have released since Wasting Light in 2010, it’s also a near-perfect summation of their entire career thus far, with each song representing some aspect of their developing style over the past twenty years nearly perfectly.

And that’s what makes this EP so great: not only is it totally free to download (if you’re still not streaming music like the rest of us), it’s also an incredible listen. For reference, if this wasn’t available to stream, it would be the album I’d purchase this week. I’ve already listened to it about twenty times. My wife loves it, my colleagues love it, and it’s barely had any time off since Monday.

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If you live under a rock or missed this record when it came out, Them Crooked Vultures is a supergroup consisting of John Paul Jones (from Led Zeppelin) on bass, Dave Grohl (of Nirvana/Foo Fighters) on drums, and Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss) taking care of vocals and rhythm guitar work. This was their first and (so far) only record.

What makes the record so special is its throwback vibes delivered with modern kerfuffle and sincerity. Top notch production means that John Paul Jones’ masterful bass work can actually be heard. Grohl pounds the drums like you’ve never heard him pound drums. Josh Homme is in top form. The band sounds like a Zeppelin-inspired Queens of the Stone Age most of the time, but that’s a great thing because it makes all these guys better.

Each of the songs is worth listening to, with nary a bad one in the record, but the best songs tend to be the long ones. Zeppelin was always at their best when they were free to write epic rockers, and the formula works here too. I can’t recommend this album enough; it’s one of my favourites.

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Listen to Talking to Ghosts, the opening track: it doesn’t get better like this in pop. And not only is the music stupidly catchy, but Foxes actually has something to say. And Talking to Ghosts isn’t even one of the big singles (although it could be). Youth is definitely one of the big tracks here. Wow. The first minute is interesting, but it gets absolutely great after the one-minute mark or so. Holding onto Heaven has one of the best bridges I’ve heard in eons. And White Coats has one of the best vocal melodies I’ve heard all year; Louisa Rose Allen’s voice is simply angelic.

Let Go for Tonight has a verse that builds and a chorus that simply blows up; it’s unlike almost anything else I’ve heard this year as far as power goes — think about Gaga’s most powerful moment, but add a real emotional core to it. It’s a testament to Foxes that her music can be compared to Gaga without having that pop star’s fame overtake her in conversation.

Here’s a surprise, though: I’ve talked about only the first five tracks so far. I could write about why I love each track on this record, but I don’t want to bore you. This is up there with St. Vincent for contention amongst my favourite records of the year thus far, and is simply a must-listen.

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The first half is filled with dance songs and pop-filled tracks, with Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want) being one of those stone-cold dance floor openers. True Blood is much too long for my liking, and Drake’s rapping in Cabaret rubs me the wrong way. TKO and Take Back the Night are the singles here, but Take Back the Night is by far the better track. (And it still sounds like 80s-era Michael Jackson to a tee, which I’m not complaining about.)

The real stunners of this album are arguably in the middle and towards the end. Murder is by far the best dance track on the record. Jay-Z’s rap is notable, and the song easily bests Suit & Tie from Part 1. But the next track, Drink You Away, is my absolute favourite song from the disc and one of my favourite songs of the whole year. Timberlake really lets out. This is pure rock and roll, and it begins the second half of the album — edgier, pop-infused rock. It’s simply stellar.

Amnesia is incredible, an orchestral feat. Listen to its last couple minutes — this is a Timberlake track that once apes tons of familiar artists, but makes it his own. As always, Timberlake is at his best when you can easily sing along, and the second half of The 20/20 Experience: Part 2 is Timberlake at his sing-along prime.

Only When I Walk Away has a slightly awkward chorus, but is completely memorable. And Not A Bad Thing is a great closer to this epic two-part saga. These two records are Timberlake’s most important and fantastic records, and one of the best pop records in recent memory. Do yourself a favour and check it out.

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Listen to Shuffle Your Feet. That opening track defines a record as one that’s both wise in soul and foolish at heart. The album’s a nearly-uncomfortable close look at a tormented soul, haunted by the devil and almost taunted by Jesus. It’s captivating. Devil’s Waitin’ and Ain’t No Easy Way capture their respective tones better than any modern rock band can. The whole album is one of my favourites of all time, and if it were up to me, you’d be forced to listen to every track in order. There’s also an EP with outtakes from the record called Howl Sessions that’s really hard to find, but absolutely worth taking the time to do so. It’s beautiful as well.

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