Caroline Polachek – “Wish, I Want to Become You” (Sony/Orchard/Perpetual Novice)

As much as Caroline Polachek wants to turn into desire, as she says in the title of her second personal album, she never gets out of control. While he welcomes us to Pop Island (“Welcome to My Island”), he doesn’t go overboard with the exotic (just a few palm trees and some flamenco in Sunset). He tries to say what he wants to say with the most imaginative puns (such as the amazing “Pretty In Possible”) and references from “Zombies” to “Alice in Wonderland”, but it’s the simplicity of lyrics like this: “So many the stories we were told. safety net / But when I look for it, it’s just the hand that holds mine,” which makes it more convincing. She knows how to write pop hits that flirt with Dua Lipa (“Bunny Is A Rider”), whose tour she opened for, but that doesn’t stop her from tagging Massive Attack (“Billions”) closely on other tracks or getting into an ethereal trance with Grimes and Dido (“Fly to You”). And that’s how she allows her extraverted side to gradually penetrate into her inner being. It is this pleasant balance that makes Polachek’s record the most enjoyable to listen to in recent times. 8/10

Yo La Tengo – “This Stupid World” (Matador)

How to make noise in silence? The “quiet” brothers at Sonic Youth have been answering this question for decades, and in 2023 they’re in the best shape we’ve heard from them in a while. In essence, the live recording of “This Stupid World” gives it lo-fi grime and almost shoegaze introspection, but above all a light flow that makes more sense if you let it take over. Sad but angry, fragile yet deafeningly powerful, the New Jersey trio’s 17th album reminds us that sometimes beauty lies in repeating the familiar. And the fact that it opens with a seven-minute track called “Sinatra Drive Breakdown” makes it even more compelling. 7.5/10

Solar War – “Anarchist Gospel” (New West)

Even if Sunny War’s activities in America don’t immediately suggest that she spent her teenage years listening to X and Bad Brains, her time in punk is imprinted in her music. So does her dark past, which includes abuse, homelessness, and friends who left early. The first can be attributed to her rough voice, which dresses up soft melodies, which, in turn, anarchically, to borrow a little from the album title, jump from country to soul and from blues to folk with characteristic ease. The latter falls like a melancholy veil that hides the hope seeping through the cracks of these songs. Which, no matter how many genres are changed, carry the style of their creator. 7/10

Kelela – “Raven” (Deformation): When style is more important than content, it works best in the wee hours.

American Girls – “Bless This Mess” (4AD): Or if Madonna never crossed paths with Seymour Stein.

Young Fathers – “Heavy Heavy” (Ninja Tune): When they are not dancing exotically, they even steal the gospel church.