Label: Proper

Pet Shop Boys resume their exceptional late-period run with Hotspot, their third in a series of high quality collaborations with producer/engineer Stuart Price. Recorded at Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios, the acclaimed duo's 14th album finds them firmly in their element, delivering crisp electro-pop invocations, wry dance bangers, and melodic gems both sunny and stormy. Still more or less in the self-described "electronic purist" mode of 2013's Electric and 2016's Super, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe make a few allowances here, particularly on the melancholic standout, "Beneath the Heather," which features some crafty psych-inspired guitar work from Suede guitarist Bernard Butler.

Snowy White is one of a handful of classic blues-orientated British electric guitar players - musicians whose sound, technique and style has echoed the originality of the blues with the excitement of contemporary rock. He has developed his own style of 'English' blues, a combination of clear, clean blues phrases and harder-edged riffs that are a recognisable feature of his very personal songs. In the Autumn of 1976 he was invited to tour America and Europe with Pink Floyd as their first augmenting musician, a gig which took up most of his time throughout 1977. In 1979, Peter Green decided to head for the studio once more and invited Snowy and his band along to jam.

The follow-up to 2017's loose and versatile Gathering, Fever Breaks sees the lauded Idaho-bred singer/songwriter teaming up with producer and Americana wunderkind Jason Isbell and delivering a taut ten-track set backed by Isbell and his formidable 400 Unit. Less prone to stylistic detours than previous outings, Fever Breaks is a straight-up band album, with Ritter and company administering some serious muscle on cuts like "Old Black Magic" and "Losing Battles," the latter of which gives off a distinct Crazy Horse vibe. Dylanesque opener "Ground Don't Want Me" takes a similar approach, but retains a modicum of heartland folksiness, bringing it more in line with Ritter's earlier works.

"You don't like our music cuz it ain't up on the radio," Beak>'s Geoff Barrow sings on >>> with something approaching pride. This contrarian attitude defines the band's third album: Barrow and company could have easily made another album of sinister motorik-driven instrumentals like >>, but this time, they blow up their music. Since Beak> haven't released a full-length in six years and now include Moon Gangs' Will Young among their ranks, some evolution was inevitable. Even so, >>> reveals some drastic changes. The lock grooves that powered Beak>'s first two albums are almost entirely absent, freeing them to double down on their distinctively murky, eerie moods and express them in new ways.

Luck and Strange is David Gilmour's fifth solo record and only his third of the 21st century. The Pink Floyd guitarist clearly understands his life's privilege; he has made some of rock's most memorable music, toured its biggest stages, and been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He could easily coast along for the duration of his career. Instead, he has continued to tour, collaborated widely, advocated for numerous just causes, and donated the money from selling his home and guitars to charity. If he wants to make just one album per decade, he's earned the right.

Urgency has been Pearl Jam's calling card since their inception, which is why it was a jolt to hear the band sound so settled on 2013's Lightning Bolt. Maybe it's the times, maybe it's the choice to switch producers – the group swapped their longtime collaborator Brendan O'Brien for Josh Evans, who co-produced the album with the band – but Gigaton hits with the strength of a full-force gale. Weather is a galvanizing concern on Gigaton, with Pearl Jam structuring their 11th album around the looming climate change crisis.

The cover art of War in My Mind, Beth Hart's first solo album since 2016's Fire on the Floor, finds the singer/songwriter sitting at a piano with a storm cloud looming in the horizon. It's a good visual summation of the record. Working with producer Rob Cavallo, Hart plumbs deep into her soul, coming up with a collection of searching ballads and clear-eyed blues. Hart doesn't avoid good times – "Try a Little Harder" conjures a bit of funky gospel, "Sugar Shack" pulsates to a sensual electronic throb – but this is an album where a title as seemingly lascivious as "Rub Me for Luck" is a roiling bit of minor-key blues. The darkly introspective tone is there from the start.