Nostalgia (LimitedLight Blue Vinyl LP)

Mother Mother's Nostalgia is a record built and buoyed on feelings. The band, comprised of Ryan Guldemond (vocals, guitar), Molly Guldemond (vocals, synths), Jasmin Parkin (vocals, keys), Ali Siadat (drums) and Mike Young (bass), is this year celebrating 20 years together. "In creating Nostalgia, our goal was to embody a childlike creativity which often becomes elusive as we age and gather too many tricks," Ryan says, noting the importance of their emotional cohesion for this album-making process. "We evaluated every creative choice by its emotional impact-whether that was a lyric, a reverb trail or an EQ curve. If something didn't evoke a strong emotional reaction-we let it go. This approach led to work we genuinely love and take pride in."

True to form, Nostalgia is a standout entry in a discography filled with standout entries. It fosters both the spirit of creativity and total originality Mother Mother fans have come to know and love about the band, while also pushing the band's musicality, lyricism, and aesthetics to new peaks. It's heartfelt and dark, funneling and fractaling themes of alienation, existentialism, self-love and self-hate, gender roles, and spirituality through the vibrant imagery of otherworldly landscapes and mythical creatures. Designed by the band's resident creative director, Molly Guldemond, the album cover's unicorn is both thematic mascot and defining visual. "This also marks the first time since 2011's Eureka that an animal is featured on a cover, symbolizing a return to our roots, not just musically, but aesthetically," Ryan notes.