From an unexpected and addicting country debut to the buzzy second act of an established pop star, these are some of our ...

That’s why the records by those bands, along with 10 more listed here, represent the genre’s best — and heaviest — albums ...

A gifted Queens rapper (Lexa Gates), a noisy British band (Maruja), a Drake-approved emo songwriter (Julia Wolf), a lo-fi power-pop project (Sharp Pins) and more.