Following Brutalism (2017) and Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), two releases that garnered global critical acclaim, IDLES return with their highly anticipated third album – Ultra Mono. Sonically constructed to capture the feeling of a hip-hop record (including production contribution from Kenny Beats), the album doubles down on the vitriolic sneer and blunt social commentary of their past work. Not far beneath the surface of their self-admitted sloganeering lies a deeply complex and brutally relevant album that chews up clichés and spits them out as high art for the masses. This is momentary acceptance of the self. This is Ultra Mono.

Are You Gonna Go My Way is the third studio album by American singer Lenny Kravitz, released on March 9, 1993 by Virgin Records. It was recorded at Waterfront Studios, Hoboken, New Jersey by Henry Hirsch. It became Kravitz's first top 20 album on the United States Billboard 200, and his first number one album in both Australia and the United Kingdom, achieving worldwide success that helped to establish his popularity as a performer. The album had a good reception by fans and music critics and it is still considered one of Kravitz's best works. Musically, it contained songs inspired by classic rock artists such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, Sly and Robbie, and Prince.

This album purports to be an attempt at recursion by the creator of The X-Files, Chris Carter – songs inspired by the show that he hopes will provide further inspiration for the show (just as Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand" did for the "Ascension" episode.) Contributions here include Mark Snow, with the title music, the Foo Fighters with a grand rendition of Gary Numan's "Down in the Park" (Numan's songs would fit this show perfectly), Sheryl Crow, Frank Black, Filter (who abandon their roaring faux-NIN sound for moody acoustic guitars), Meat Puppets, Elvis Costello with Brian Eno and even Screamin' Jay Hawkins. While not perfect, the album makes a nice alternative compilation, one that has that blue-light glow of twisted mystery X-ficianados have come to enjoy.

Elastica's debut album may cop a riff here and there from Wire or the Stranglers, yet no more than Led Zeppelin did with Willie Dixon or the Beach Boys with Chuck Berry. The key is context. Elastica can make the rigid artiness of Wire into a rocking, sexy single with more hooks than anything on Pink Flag ("Connection") or rework the Stranglers' "No More Heroes" into a more universal anthem that loses none of its punkiness ("Waking Up"). But what makes Elastica such an intoxicating record is not only the way the 16 songs speed by in 40 minutes, but that they're nearly all classics. The riffs are angular like early Adam & the Ants, the melodies tease like Blondie, and the entire band is as tough as the Clash, yet they never seem anything less than contemporary.

Post Orgasmic Chill is the third studio album by British rock band Skunk Anansie, first released in 1999. Two album covers exist: the European version with the band lounging in an oceanside apartment, and the American version with the band standing on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It was a complete departure from their previous two albums, which had elements of punk rock and alternative rock by moving to a new harder sound with elements of hard rock and alternative metal. The album title resembles the title of the 13th song, a Japanese bonus track called Post Orgasmic Sleep. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Let Love Rule is the debut studio album of American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on September 6, 1989 by Virgin Records. Then-wife Lisa Bonet wrote the lyrics to "Fear" and co-wrote the lyrics on the song "Rosemary"; other than that the album is virtually a one-man Kravitz show, as he wrote and produced all the songs and played nearly all the instruments. Let Love Rule reached number 61 on the Billboard 200, while it peaked at number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The video for the lead single "Let Love Rule" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.

In the winter of 2019, Bob Mould bucked the era’s despair with his most melodic, upbeat album in ages, Sunshine Rock. Cut to spring of 2020, and he has this to say: “We’re really in deep now.”

The Very Very Best of Crowded House is a compilation album featuring 19 singles from the period spanning Crowded House's first six studio albums.

"Goth" was a much maligned '80s genre, often deserved thanks to overtly gloomy pretentiousness, but just as often artistic, dark, bracing music. In addition to those outfits that still keep it going, this double CD is smart enough to include some of the long forgotten, unsung English practitioners who left behind stunning moments, folks such as UK Decay (see their brilliant singles and 1981 LP For Madmen Only), Theatre of Hate (too bad no "Westworld" or "Nero" here), Play Dead (thought no one remembered them!) and even Southern Death Cult (who became internationally famous a few years later when they changed their name from Death Cult to the Cult). One imagines Cleopatra couldn't get the rights to include such seminal bands as the Cure or Sisters of Mercy, but those groups don't need this kind of introduction, and the omission of the March Violets aside, this is an intelligently selected guide.

Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of tough jungle rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots and militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. During their long and productive career Asian Dub Foundation have shared the stage with the likes of Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys and Primal Scream also collaborating on record with the likes of Radiohead, Sinead O’ Connor, Iggy Popand Chuck D.

Ten is the debut studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 209 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. On March 24, 2009, Ten was reissued in four editions (Legacy, Deluxe, Vinyl, and Super Deluxe). It was the first reissue in a planned re-release of Pearl Jam's entire catalogue that led up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011. The extras on the four editions include a remastering and remix of the entire album by producer Brendan O'Brien, re-designed packaging, six bonus tracks ("Brother", "Just a Girl", "Breath and a Scream", "State of Love and Trust", "2,000 Mile Blues", and "Evil Little Goat"), a DVD of the band's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged (including a bonus performance of "Oceans", which along with "Rockin' in the Free World" was originally excluded from the broadcast version).

The closest the Red Hot Chili Peppers ever came to straight funk, Freaky Styley is the quirkiest, loosest, and most playful album in their long and winding catalog. It's also one of the best, if least heard…

2005 released 2nd solo album from the son of CSN's Stephen Stills & French superstar Veronique Sanson. Stills explores the ties between the 2 cultures that nurtured his life- French songs and American rock. "My French culture has always been a part of my life but it was time for me to do something with it." The album is bilingual, with Stills singing for the first time in his mother tongue: French. "This allowed me to discover another side of myself," explains Chris, "recalling another culture in my art.". He composed the English material and collaborated for the French songs with native songwriters & composers: Philippe Djian who wrote the lyrics for 2 songs composed by Stephan Eicher ("La fin du monde" & "Demon"), Jean-Louis Murat ("Kitty Catty"), while ex-Alain Bashung lyricist Boris Bergman wrote "DeuxiŠme Chance". Ryan Adams lent a helping hand on "For You". Finally, "Fool for Love" was written by Chris, the album's producer Hod David and the phenomenal producer, Ethan Johns.

On June 6, 2014, Dave Matthews Band returned to the state of Maine for the first time since 1997. With an acoustic set to open the show, fans got a taste of classic DMB tunes in stripped down arrangements. An intimate Oh and Bartender kick off the evening with Dave and Tim. By the end of set 1 it’s all hands on deck for an acoustically joyful Tripping Billies, gearing the crowd up for the electric second set. This show from the Summer of 2014 touches upon all eras of the DMB catalog from the radio hit, Crush, to the hard hitting Drive In, Drive Out.

Smothered by the indulgence of his rock star ranking, Jack White steps into the eccentricities of the supergroup, and at first glance, this seems to be a band where White's imposing presence could overshadow the rest. Not the case with these Raconteurs. Teaming with fellow Detroit songwriter Brendan Benson and Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, the rhythm section from Cincinnati band the Greenhornes, White exhales a bit, deferring enough to his mates to make Broken Boy Soldiers play like a team effort. Following the Benson blueprint, "Steady as She Goes," which opens as a slice of 1960's radio pop, the record steers away from pigeonholing the rest of the way. White's in a Middle Eastern mood for the title track as he pulls off a wicked Robert Plant howl, while Lawrence and Keeler excel on the chorus-strong "Intimate Secretary" and the optimistic acoustic rocker "Yellow Sun." Like so many all-star bands before them, The Raconteurs could be one and done. But don't place the blame on this fertile and genuine debut.