Rating: 9

Without having even heard his music, Action Bronson is a gigantic personality and he is capable of getting by on that fact alone. He recently finished hosting the first season of his online Vice food show, “F—, That’s Delicious,” in which he travels the world rapping, trying new foods, cooking, talking to interesting everyday people, playing basketball, hanging with celebrities like Mike Ditka and Riff Raff and generally doing whatever we wants.

Action was a respected gourmet chef in New York before he decided to pursue rapping, so the online space that combines his main interests with his infectious persona made all kinds of sense and enjoys a respectively sized audience, the most-watched episodes nearing a million views on YouTube.

The timing of “Mr. Wonderful,” Action’s debut major label release, is unfortunate because March has been a huge month in hip-hop: nobody will stop talking about Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” and releases from Earl Sweatshirt, Death Grips and others have also generated a lot of buzz. Really, March has been big for all of music: There’s new stuff from Sufjan Stevens, Tobias Jesso Jr., Madonna, Laura Marling, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie… everybody.

So it’s a shame that “Mr. Wonderful” is drowning in such a prolific month because, aside from perhaps Drake, Action Bronson has released the strongest, most idiosyncratic hip-hop album of 2015.

“Mr. Wonderful” is a perfect reflection of Action Bronson himself: He doesn’t let his hip-hop get in the way of his cooking, and in the same way, “Mr. Wonderful” doesn’t let rapping get in the way of music, an offense far too many rappers are guilty of. Modern hip-hop is arguably the most instrumentally adventurous genre in popular music today, but unlike Action Bronson, so many rappers are too hubristic and preoccupied with their own voices to let the instrumentals show their muscle.

What’s more impressive than the variety within “Mr. Wonderful” is how the tracks influenced by disparate sources cohere with each other. “Actin’ Crazy” and “Easy Rider” are sons of psychedelia, “City Boy Blues” is cut from the cloth of Carlos Santana’s Mexican blues rock, and “Terry” and “The Rising” borrow heavily from old-school R&B. There’s so much going on but it all fits together, comforting like a mosaic quilt made by your grandmother but with fewer floral graphics.

Vocals are at the forefront more often than not, but the complexity, variety and listenability of the backing tracks give them their own legs to stand on. This all goes not to detract from Action Bronson’s abilities as a rapper, because his flow and lyricism are both on point, spitting rhymes that alternate from meaningful and seemingly devoid of a meaning entirely, often in the same verse.

“Uh, all I do is eat oysters / And speak six languages in three voices,” he raps in single “Actin’ Crazy.” He often raps about food, although the latter part likely isn’t true; it’s lyrical acrobatics because it’s fun.

“You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout a thing, I got it covered / Why you think I’m out here actin’ crazy,” he continues in the song’s hook. He’s acting crazy because when people have so many musical options, having a compelling brand is important, so Action Bronson putting his wild, lovable personality on display is vital, and he knows that.

“Mr. Wonderful” also has an ideal amount of guest spots: enough to spice it up, not too much where the spices overwhelm and you forget what you’re eating. Big Body Bes, who “F—, That’s Delicious” viewers will recognize, and Chauncy Sherod lend a hand, but it’s Chance the Rapper who brings it hardest in “Baby Blue,” with the most innocently maniacal verse of all time, in which he lists what he hopes happens to a girl who has wronged him.

“I hope there’s always snow in your driveway / I hope you never get off Fridays / and you work at a Friday’s that’s always busy on Fridays,” he raps.

It’s all good fun and goes to show that it’s personality that’ll make Action Bronson stand above the pack. Building a mini media empire is a good move, because Action Bronson could get by on any part of it alone, but the depth of the music is what resonates most.

Rating: 6.5

Here’s the struggle with ambient music: it is asked to do two things that are entirely opposite each other. It needs to be engaging when it’s focused on as the center of attention, but it also needs to be able to drift into the background. As ambient pioneer Brian Eno more concisely put it, “It must be as ignorable as it is interesting.”

Inventions is a collaboration between Matthew Cooper, an ambient artist known professionally as Eluvium, and Mark T. Smith, of Texas post-rock giants Explosions in the Sky, whose music isn’t necessarily ambient but often achieves similar effects. This partnership tends to meet somewhere in the middle of both backgrounds, and their first release, a self-titled debut released last year, was a perfect marriage: 2.5 kids, dog, white picket fence, the whole deal.

“Maze of Woods,” their sophomore effort, is not as stable.

“Inventions,” their first album, was able to accomplish its disparate missions to great effect and it brought out the finest qualities of both performers. The sense of grand importance felt when listening to Explosions in the Sky translated to the ambient realm without error. Or perhaps Eluvium’s serene soundscapes fit snugly into a toned-down mold of post-rock’s epic scope. That’s the point: it didn’t feel as though either side compromised anything. They created something new that was adept to the point of instantly feeling familiar, even maternal in its warmth.

But a musician can’t try to make the same album over and over — except AC/DC; they do what they want. Trying too hard to repeat is artistically limiting and the end product doesn’t feel new because it isn’t. Inventions knows this, and “Maze of Woods” is different from and more ambitious than its predecessor. It’s a step away — not forward, but not necessarily back. Maybe sideways. Perhaps at a 110-degree angle.

It accomplishes Eno’s standards of ignorability and interest to varying degrees of effectiveness, the two sometimes working against each other, instead of in unison. The unusual drum rhythm, swelling synth strings and dialogue samples of album opener “Escapers” are an admirable effort in compositional variety, but are ultimately jarring, a shot in the foot at the beginning of the record.

“Springworlds,” the next track, is the best example of what this album could have been. The light twinkling guitars, sublimely low-key percussion and light haunting vocals work towards subdued excitement, not working against itself to disruptive ends. It shows perfect understanding of the balance between being the center of attention and knowing when to slip quietly into the background.

Imagine Inventions’ albums as observing two parties. The self-titled debut featured guests enjoying each other’s company, one of them making the occasional joke that got a few laughs, another recalling an actually interesting anecdote from last week’s vacation. All of the guests are aware they’re part of an event and are doing their best to serve their own interests as well as possible without defying social conventions.

At the “Maze of Woods” soiree, though, some had a bit too much to drink. They’ve lost awareness of how their actions impact others and are indulging their more disruptive instincts. They’re overreaching and putting a damper on the whole thing. “Maze of Woods” is still a party, but a few missteps, like the aforementioned “Escapers,” and “Slow Breathing Circuit,” which is missing a spark and sense of adventure, make it not as great as Inventions’ previous event.

For the most part, “Maze of Woods” is able to drift into the background and be ignored, like good ambient music should be. The problem is the relative lack of texture beyond the white noise. Or rather, there’s too much texture that gets in the way of the white noise. Instead of asking you not to think about it through carefully crafted action, “Maze of Woods” tells you to ignore it. Try to not think of a specific thing: it doesn’t work.

Rating: 8

Mumford & Sons is both a gift and a curse. They revitalized public perception of folk music and made it popular again. In the early 2010s, everybody was making folk music, which inevitably means many people were making it poorly.

It seemed every prom king with a trendy haircut stumbled into an acoustic guitar and tried to express himself, but acoustic guitar and a melody isn’t folk music: it’s a part, but not the entirety. It needs heart. Not mass-produced Hallmark heart, but real feeling, a pained poignancy or joyous jubilation that serves as the thread preventing the sweater from falling apart.

Swedish singer-songwriter José González has been around for a few years longer than Mumford & Sons, so he is in no way a part of the wave of groups riding the ripples caused by their massive impact. But he knows how to make folk that feels important, actually better than Mumford & Sons does, or at the very least, in a distinct way.

While the English four-piece use bluegrass instrumentation to produce U2-sized stadium epics, González is decidedly more scaled down, but only in perceived size. His voice is soft and instrumentation sparse, but he uses what he has efficiently.

Folk music presents an important challenge: making each song stand out despite using two or three instruments at most, while also making the tracks work in context of each other. “Vestiges & Claws,” González’s first album in eight years, is potpourri: an amalgamation of dried flower petals, dehydrated cranberries, foraged twigs and teacup pinecones that comes together for a united olfactory experience.

González has been relatively inactive the past few years, but it seems he’s been watching his rising contemporaries do their thing and absorbing the best of their elements into his own style.

“Let It Carry You” has a breezy Jack Johnson island life vibe, then treads into atmospheric indie folk territory with the harmonized vocals that close the track. “With The Ink of a Ghost” comes off as a better Joshua Radin or another one of those melancholic artists Zach Braff includes in his movie and TV soundtracks. “Every Age” is akin female-led epic indie groups like Daughter and Your Friend, but intimate in a different way, more understated and less bombastic, but as impactful.

There’s a lot here, but nothing pulls too intensely in any direction to throw it off balance. Lyrically, it’s also centered. “Every age has its turn / Every branch of the tree has to learn / Learn to grow, find its way, / Make the best of this short-lived stay,” he sings in “Every Age.”

“See the migrant birds pass by / Taking off to warmer skies / Hear them singing out their songs / Tune in, realize nothing’s wrong,” he croons in “Let It Carry You.” It’s simple and without much flourish, almost charming in its vanilla-ness.

González’s return is a beautiful thing for the state of folk music. It’s been stagnant since its popularization, an unfortunate side effect of the double-edged sword of notoriety. Folk got big, more people wanted it, musicians started writing to please more people, which inevitably ends up pandering to the lowest common denominator.

But not González. He hearkens back to a time when folk was more than the guy trying to impress girls into his dorm room, back when folk didn’t simply mean unplugged. Folk, or at least popular folk, has become an awful bore as of late, but people like González are doing something about it.

Maybe he sat out all these years waiting for this tide of mediocrity to pass so his genuinely worthwhile material would be able to shine through. Regardless, his reemergence is welcomed. The last vestiges of the passing tide of mediocre folk are fading, and the claws are coming back out.

Rating: 7.5

For a release from the biggest non-Kanye name in hip-hop, much of the conversation surrounding Drake’s “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” has been about semantics and clarification.

It was released with a few days ago with no advance notice, a move that’s no longer innovative since it’s been done to near-death, but it’s still an unexpected surprise. It’s been called a mixtape, commercial mixtape, album and EP by Drake’s various labels, the media and Drake himself, the latter of whom prefers “mixtape.” Some impassioned fan already went and had the cover tattooed on the back of his neck.

An artist of Drake’s caliber dropping something of this magnitude creates waves, the waning ripples of which have yet to reach the shore — the tattoo ink has barely even dried — so let’s clarify a couple things: Drake is a vital musical figure. His grip on culture is gargantuan, but Drake’s importance doesn’t mean that everything he produces is of undeniable value.

The openness with which he discusses emotional vulnerability is important. His atmospheric electronic production style is important. “Take Care” is important. “Nothing Was the Same” is important. “Views From the 6,” his upcoming album, might also be important. “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is good, better than a lot of albums/mixtapes/whatevers that have come out in 2015 so far, but it’s not important.

The biggest enemy of future success is past success; every new Drake release isn’t competing with whatever else is happening at the time. It’s going up against his own discography; the biggest drawback of phenomenal accomplishment is that you become your own measuring stick. There’s no “Started From The Bottom” or “Hold On, We’re Going Home” on this mixtape, and that’s going to hurt perception of it.

But imagine context doesn’t exist and this mixtape is better off for it. Drake is hip-hop, but he’s inevitably pop as well. Pop is monster singles, and without them, pop doesn’t sell because it doesn’t actually exist, which is fine because this isn’t really pop. This mixtape might not even be about itself.

A surprise release is usually carried out to serve itself. It gets the artist back in the news and boosts sales of an album that’s truly new, a raw piece of audio that hasn’t yet been subjected to previews, build-ups, break-downs, features, think pieces, retrospectives, reactions, listicles and all that media noise. It’s free of societal bias: listen and decide what you think.

But what Drake might be doing here is a bait-and-switch, a watch-this-hand-while-I’m-really-doing-something-with-that-hand. “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” gives the world something to think about while waiting for the new Drake album aside from the new Drake album itself so it’s not old before it’s even had the chance to ripen.

Even if it might be a pawn in Drake’s study of album release methods, the bait is tasty, albeit not gourmet. The lack of single-worthy material leaves this mixtape a middling, cohesive album. The most singalong moment is the hook of the strongest track, “Energy,” which touches on the common Drake theme of having haters who are looking to jack his swag. The instrumental, like most of the rest that populate “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” is minimalistic with electronic flourishes that pushes the record away from being a lull and towards having consistent vibe.

If Tribe Called Quest brought jazz to hip-hop and Kanye’s most recent material introduced raw industrial music to the mix, then Drake might be the pioneer of ambient hip-hop — apologies to cLOUDDEAD, who made some top rate ambient hip-hop in the early 2000s, but not as accessibly as Drake is doing now. But it’s all context, which got Drake to where he is but might not serve his latest mixtape, a decent release in its own right, as well as it should.

Kevin Hart, who has for one reason or another, become an unofficial representative of the NBA, won his fourth All-Star Celebrity Game MVP award on Friday — maybe that’s part of the reason. Regardless, the diminutive actor has cast a shadow under which other basketball-loving celebrities exist, one of whom’s passion has been well documented for the better part of this decade.

Win Butler, lead singer of Canadian indie rock group Arcade Fire, is the best basketball fan in music.

This weekend, he was one of the most productive performers in the All-Star Celebrity Game, the forward who stands at 6-foot-4 scoring eight points and pulling down 12 rebounds as he led his team to a 59-51 win. His game was prime no-frills basketball: he made cuts in good spots, crashed the boards and even avoided confrontation when Hart embellished contact to get an over-the-back foul call. Butler’s not there to make a scene: his characteristically low-key and sarcastic personality doesn’t really allow it — or maybe not.

He played varsity in high school, but found less and less time to devote to his sport as Arcade Fire began to take off in the early 2000s, but managed to steal the basketball of some poor guy named Chris H. in 2007, who wrote a blog post titled “Win Butler needs to give my basketball back,” about Butler’s angry reaction to being asked to vacate a court that ended with Butler leaving the facility with Chris H.’s ball in tow.

Butler later came up with a way to indulge his passion for a more virtuous cause: since 2011, Butler has hosted the annual “Pop vs. Jock,” a charity basketball game that features other indie rockers and even professionals, like Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs, with whom Butler has become friendly.

During halftime of the 2011 “Pop vs. Jock,” he got Bonner, a passionate fan of indie music, to sing a rendition of “I’m a Little Teapot” with Butler’s wife and Arcade Fire member Régine Chassagne accompanying on organ. Around that time, Butler and Bonner faced off in a three-point contest, and the musician actually emerged victorious.

“I’m demoralized,” Bonner said with more than a hint of sarcasm. “I’m seriously contemplating giving up the game.”

Butler’s mean streak continued to flare in early 2014. He was down in Australia for Big Day Out, one of the country’s biggest music festivals. He rolled up to some public basketball courts for some pick-up ball, and as told to Australian radio station Triple J by Sherif Hassan, who played with Butler that day, the Arcade Fire frontman was all competition.

“All I heard was Win going off about how the rules are rubbish down here, and throwing balls around and chucking a bit of a hissy fit,” Hassan said.

He also said that Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was present and actually broke Hassan’s nose, but made up for it by getting everybody backstage passes to the festival. But, as Grantland writer Amos Barshad pointed out, “Ament did his part! He made, um, amends! But where was Win, the guy whose (dare I say) violent distaste for Australian-rules basketball — throwing balls! chucking hissy fits! — was quite clearly directly responsible for creating the dangerously out-of-control environment that led to poor Sherif’s nose being smashed in? […] Probably off stealing Sherif’s basketball.”

Fast-forward to this past weekend, and Butler seems more composed under the brighter spotlight. Maybe he’s campaigning for the title of indie rock’s ambassador to basketball, in which case, there’s no room for ball thievery and hissy fits. Leave the rock and roll on stage and keep pulling down rebounds, big fella.

Rating: 8

Parquet Courts are the finest example of what “the American Dream” would mean if the idea was initially thought of in modern times, as the green haze of legalization sweeps the country and possibilities for the millennial generation alternately seem limitless and unceasingly hampered by the debt and foreboding economic future they are burdened with.

Four stoner-hipsters from Brooklyn formed a punk band in 2010. They don’t try that hard, or at least their aesthetic is effortless. Not effortless in the way that Larry Bird’s jump shot was, but more in the way most of Adult Swim’s programming comes off: high quality but low fidelity, a cohesive core with fringed edges, cutoff shorts upcycled from thrift store jeans.

After putting out two albums, they made their network television debut on Fallon’s “Late Night” in January of this year, wearing unglamorous clothing and wielding cheap guitars and cheaper haircuts. They performed “Stoned and Starving,” from 2012’s “Light Up Gold.” The song features lackadaisical lyrics that include, “I was debating Swedish Fish / Roasted peanuts or licorice / I was so stoned and starving.”

At the very end of the performance, as Fallon plugs their album and upcoming gigs, bassist Sean Yeaton put his arm around the host, who looks to his right, mistakenly thinking the touch was from lead singer Andrew Savage. Then Yeaton swings big, as it appears he goes in for a butt grab, but guitarist Austin Brown taps Yeaton’s shoulder and nonverbally advises him to maybe think this one over again before giving a peace sign to the audience. Yeaton, smile still on, offers a weak wave to the crowd.

Such is indicative of the band’s apparent mission statement. Their brief but acclaimed career seems like one big instance of the group getting away with something, and nobody’s caught on to their shenanigans yet. They push boundaries, but not too far. They’ll go for a shoulder and almost forget a derriere might be uncouth, but pull the hand back before contact has been made. They actively strive to sound lazy, but put in enough work to avoid coming off as uninspired.

Even their name has become part of the gag. Parquet Courts is likely a reference to the famed playing surface of the old Boston Garden, on which Bird and his Celtics have participated in some of sports history’s biggest moments, but for no obvious reason beyond “just because,” they sometimes go by Parkay Quarts, as they do on their latest release, “Content Nausea.”

Is the name variation whimsical nonsense, or does it refer to two-pint containers of branded margarine? Maybe it’s a prophetic drug-fueled concept that ended up making sense once their heads cleared. It’s tough to tell whether a savvy unseen figure is at the controls, or if you’ll just find four bros sharing a nearly-finished joint when you pull the curtain aside.

Either truth could explain the inclusion of “These Boots,” a cover of the song most famously recorded by Nancy Sinatra in 1966, then later by Jessica Simpson for the soundtrack of the “The Dukes of Hazzard” movie in 2005. The proposition of recording the track for release may have started with “Dude, how funny would it be if we…,” but novelty aside, the cover is competent and even adds a new dimension to the tune.

As is classic Parquet Courts/Parkay Quarts, Savage’s vocals are in constant danger of falling behind the already relaxed pace of the band, who stay in rhythm but can distort any sense of time. Tracks that run for less than a couple minutes can seem to go on forever, while long cuts like the six-minute “Uncast Shadow Of A Southern Myth” seem to be over an hour too quickly.

In the chaos of a record that throws its line all over the pond, the group manages to reel in cohesion. The album will hit shelves tomorrow, but early reviews are positive for the 35-minute release that was recorded on a four-track tape recorder. Who knows whether they opted to use this antiquated recording technology because it provides a vintage, appealingly low-fi sound that modern equipment can’t achieve, or because they had one laying around and it was easier than getting off the couch.

Four years ago, four red-eyed Brooklynites figured they may as well start a band and see what happens. Today, the indie blogosphere awaits their fourth full length album, the follow-up to one from earlier in 2014, “Sunbathing Animal,” which reached No. 55 on the Billboard charts. Despite lyrics like, “Storm chasin’ hippies at a discount mall / Megaphone Muppet poster on the wall,” these guys have pulled wool over eyes and made it.

Good on you, Parquet Courts, Parkay Quarts or whatever you want to be called: you’re the new American Dream.

Score: 8.5

Rivers Cuomo and his band of grungy men have been in the fight for a long time, but since their stellar 1994 self-titled debut album and sophomore-slump-turned-underappreciated-classic “Pinkerton,” the group has done more falling into punches than rolling with them.

After landing at the top of the world with the 2001 smash hit “Island In The Sun,” Weezer has been engaged in a largely uphill battle against irrelevance. The clumsy 2005 single “Beverly Hills” and a failed grasp at attention in the form of 2008’s “Hurley” album, named after the “Lost” character whose mug is perplexingly featured on the cover, were likely the dying breaths of a veteran band tired of grasping at what they could no longer reach.

In 2012, it seemed Weezer was ready to pack their bags and sail off into the sunset, figuratively and literally, when they announced the Weezer Cruise, a small rock festival that took place aboard a Carnival cruise ship en route to Cozumel from Miami.

But here’s the thing: the lineup was actually good. The Antlers, Dinosaur Jr., Wavves and other culturally pertinent groups joined Weezer on the high seas. Could this mean that Weezer Cruise was more than a nautical greatest hits tour? Was Weezer trying to become relevant by association?

Possibly. They were playing new songs and… they were good. In the months leading up to their latest album, “Everything Will Be Alright In The End,” they released sneak peeks that, for the first time in a long time, made optimism an appropriate reaction to a new Weezer release.

Then the album was made available for free streaming about a week ago. People beyond “Blue Album” enthusiasts just coming to after being comatose since 1994 were excited. The record is a worthwhile addition to a lengthy discography, an awaited peak that caps off a long, deep valley.

They swallowed their pride. Instead of trying to break new ground and push artistic boundaries, they took another lap on a well-worn track and got back to a sweater-like comfort.

Cuomo did little to hide this mindset. In fact, lead single “Back To The Shack” is basically a mission statement, aesthetically and lyrically. Cuomo sings the opening lines: “Sorry guys, I didn’t realize that I needed you so much / I thought I’d get a new audience, I forgot that disco sucks / I ended up with nobody and I started feeling dumb / Maybe I should play the lead guitar and Pat should play the drums.”

In an age of ambiguous, vague lyricism, it’s not possible to be more direct than that. Except it is, as the first half of the chorus goes, “Take me back, back to the shack / Back to the start with the lightning strap / Kick in the door, more hardcore / Rockin’ out like it’s ’94.” Cuomo borrowed the doc’s DeLorean and went back to grab the sludgy guitars, anthemic solos, poppy hooks and youthful vibrancy that mid-20’s Rivers so readily flaunted.

Perhaps, though, Weezer isn’t going back to the future as much as they are going forward to the past. The three-part suite that closes the album, collectively known as “The Futurescape Trilogy,” is almost a direct tribute to the rousing and uplifting “Only in Dreams,” the closing track of their debut, with bits of the 2008 multi-movement adventure “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)” thrown in.

Together, “I. The Wasteland,” “II. Anonymous” and “III. Return to Ithaka” is Weezer at as creative, entertaining, and listenable a level as they’ve ever been, which is an accolade for a group with a career as filled with pinnacles as theirs has been, and a refreshing surprise for a band that hasn’t been worthy of praise this high in over a decade.

Weezer is back. They had to go back to come back, but it seems that, finally, time is once again on their side.

With October comes fall, with fall comes the end of the year, and with the end of the year comes “Top Albums of 2014” lists. It would be premature to compile such a list now, since there is some decent stuff that’s yet to surface and plenty to look forward to this fall and early winter. Dates of note include:

Oct. 7 – Caribou, Flying Lotus, Minus the Bear

The sixth album by Canadian electro-maestro Caribou, “Our Love,” is already streaming and has shown a continued dedication to dreamy synth explorations. Flying Lotus’ “You’re Dead!” has leaked and is available to hear now as well, and it too carries on experimental traditions of its creator. “Lost Loves,” a compilation EP of rare and unreleased tracks from experimental-math-rockers Minus the Bear has yet to surface, but will likely also likely be an eclectic collection.

Oct. 14 – Foxygen

Massive. Twenty-five tracks that span 82 minutes make up “…And Star Power,” which seems to be a continuation, at least in title, of their 2013 release, “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic.” All signs point to an ambitious fourth album for the duo.

Nov. 10 – Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd

Two old hats are set to return in mid-November, albeit two different types of headwear coming off different recent histories. David Grohl and company have been restless: Foo Fighters released “Endless Light” in 2011 and supported it on tour until 2012, when they immediately began work on “Sonic Highways,” and since 2011, Grohl directed the well-received documentary “Sound City” and released the accompanying, Grammy-winning soundtrack “Sound City: Real to Reel;” worked in various capacities for bands that include Cage the Elephant, RDGLDGRN, Zac Brown Band, and Ghost; and hosted “Chelsea Lately” for a week of episodes.

Inversely, Pink Floyd has been virtually silent since the release of their most recent album, 1994’s “The Division Bell.” With Pink Floyd, being both a veteran band without relevant new material in a long time and a band known for trailblazing, it’s tough to say what kind of album “The Endless River” will be. It could be expansive, or it could be a tired release, the band’s 15th.

Nov. 17 – TV on the Radio, One Direction

Genre-hopping art rockers TV on the Radio will soon be back with their second release of the decade, which is preceded by a race car-centric video featuring the talents of Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman, and Karen Gillan, of “Dr. Who” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” fame.

One Direction too. It’s called “Four.”

Nov. 28 – Wu-Tang Clan

No, it’s not the one-copy-only “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” but a new release from the famed rap collective, claimed by many to be the best with “Wu” in their name of all time, is still worth getting worked up over. “A Better Tomorrow” doesn’t have a definitive release date, but sources including Metacritic have the date as Nov. 28.

Dec. 2 – Yung Lean

The Swedish rapper who rose to prominence when he was 16, calls his crew the Sad Boys, wears bucket hats, raps about playing “Mario Kart” and drinking Arizona iced tea… the rest of this sentence isn’t necessary. Get “Unknown Memory,” out Dec. 2.

Although the political rally in the Collins Center for the Arts (CCA) on Friday afternoon was in support of Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign, the candidate himself admitted he may not have been the primary focus of the event.

“I’m sure a lot of you came here to see someone else this evening,” Michaud said, referring to the appearance of first lady Michelle Obama, who Michaud referred to as someone “who knows a thing or two about change,” at the rally in support of his campaign.

However, as the attendees in the filled CCA began loudly chanting Michaud’s campaign slogan, “We Like Mike,” it became clear the event truly was about Michaud and his plans on approaching the issues Maine currently faces, should he be elected into office.

“Right now, Maine is at the crossroads,” Michaud said. “Too many people are out of work, working too hard or too little. Too many students are saddled with too much debt. Too many bridges are crumbling. Too many entrepreneurs have incredible ideas, but not enough capital or access to the tools and connectivity that they need to grow. Too many schools are underfunded and/or understaffed.”

Taking a stab at current Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Michaud added, “Our current governor will never, never be able to fix these problems because he’s too divisive, too wedded to his ideology and too unwilling to listen to anyone who has the audacity to disagree with him.”

Michaud also expressed how he believes LePage’s interests do not coincide with those of a flourishing Maine.

“Maine is full of so much opportunity, but we are being held back by one man,” Michaud said. “What Maine needs right now is a real leader who shares Maine values, our values.”

Obama, who also appeared at the Strand Theater in Boston, Mass. on Friday morning to support Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate and current State Attorney General Martha Coakley, praised Michaud as a “decent,” “honest” and “hard-working man” who “understands what families here in Maine are going through.”

After reviewing statistics relevant to what her husband President Barack Obama has accomplished during his time in office — like the 10 million new private sector jobs that have been created in the United States since 2010 and the near-halving of the national unemployment rate, from 10 percent to 5.9 percent, since 2009 — first lady Obama expressed faith in Michaud’s ability to have a similar impact on Maine.

“This is the kind of change that can happen if we elect leaders who share our values, who listen to our voices, and that’s what this election is all about,” Obama said. “It’s about whether we’re going to elect leaders who can fight for our families and for the kind of world we want to leave for our kids and grandkids.

“That’s the kind of leadership people here in Maine deserve, and that’s why we need to elect Mike Michaud as governor of this state,” she continued.

One of the main issues Michaud addressed was health care, asking the crowd to stand with him and “protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards spoke at the rally in support of Michaud, and said how she has seen “the dangerous results of politicians putting their own personal political agenda ahead of the rights of women to access health care that they need.”

After lauding the work done by Planned Parenthood and announcing that the teen pregnancy rate is currently the lowest it’s been in decades, Richards added, “There is no way we should turn back on all that progress now, and that’s why we need a new governor in Maine.”

According to Michaud, there are 70,000 Mainers, 3,000 of whom are veterans, who have been denied access to health care by LePage. He went on to say that increasing health care access is both the “morally right” and “fiscally responsible” thing to do because it will save the state money, strengthen hospitals and bring thousands of new jobs to the state.

“Seventy thousand of our friends and family and neighbors can’t afford another four more years [of] worrying about whether or not the next illness will spell financial ruins for that family,” Michaud said. “I need you to stand with me so that we can extend access to health care for these Mainers.”

Michaud also expressed a desire to raise the minimum wage in Maine, saying: “Mainers who work full time should earn enough money to put food on the table and work their way out of poverty.”

Obama expressed her belief in Michaud’s ability to effectively address the issue, saying, “If you think people who work 40 or 50 hours a week shouldn’t have to live in poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth, […] you need to step up and get everyone you know out to vote.”

Michaud said Maine needs to “cut the cost of college tuition so that students, like many of you out there this evening, can actually make a living, so you don’t get crushed with student debt.”

Obama also focused on education and the economy today’s politicians will leave for young people, saying that children who work hard “should have every opportunity to get a good education, build a decent life for themselves and a better life for their own kids.”

“That’s the American dream we all believe in,” Obama said. “And that’s what this election here in Maine is all about.”

Like Michaud, Obama urged attendees to acknowledge the importance of political awareness and voting, citing the 2010 Maine gubernatorial race that was decided by “about 9,800 votes,” which equals “about eight votes per precinct,” according to Obama.

“I bet every single one of you knows eight people who can get to the polls, right?” Obama said. “You know those folks. You know them. They say, ‘Why should I vote? What does it matter?’ Well, it made a difference in [the previous] election for governor in 2010.”

Michaud expressed urgency, saying how there is limited time left before the election, which will take place on Nov. 4, to get the word out about his campaign.

“There are only 32 days left in this election,” Michaud said. “That’s 32 days to knock on doors. Thirty-two days to make telephone calls. Thirty-two days to make sure that every Mainer across the state stands up to the anger and divisiveness of the last four years and come together for a real positive change this November.”

Obama summarized her support for Michaud at the conclusion of her speech: “Here’s what I know: as first lady of the United States, I’ve learned that […] if we take all our energy and passion and caring and good intention and we pour it into this election, and we bring others along with us, then I know that we can keep on making that change we believe in. I know that we can elect Mike Michaud as governor of Maine.”

University of Maine President Susan Hunter and Democratic Second Congressional District candidate Emily Cain also spoke at the rally. University of Maine acapella group UMaine Steiners also performed a medley and the national anthem.

Although the political rally in the Collins Center for the Arts on Friday afternoon was in support of Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign, the candidate himself admitted he may not have been the primary focus of the event.

“I’m sure a lot of you came here to see someone else this evening,” Michaud said, referring to the appearance of First Lady Michelle Obama, whom Michaud referred to as someone “who knows a thing or two about change,” at the rally in support of his campaign.

However, as the attendees in the filled CCA began loudly chanting Michaud’s campaign slogan, “We Like Mike,” it becameclear the event truly was about Michaud and his plans on approaching the issues Maine currently faces, should he be elected into office.

“Right now, Maine is at the crossroads,” Michaud said. “Too many people are out of work, working too hard or too little. Too many students are saddled with too much debt. Too many bridges are crumbling. Too many entrepreneurs have incredible ideas, but not enough capital or access to the tools and connectivity that they need to grow. Too many schools are underfunded or understaffed.”

Taking a stab at current Maine governor Paul LePage, Michaud added, “Our current governor will never, never be able to fix these problems because he’s too divisive, too wedded to his ideology and too unwilling to listen to anyone who has the audacity to disagree with him.”

Michaud also expressed how he believes LePage’s interests do not coincide with those of a flourishing Maine.

“Maine is full of so much opportunity, but we are being held back by one man,” Michaud said. “What Maine needs right now is a real leader who shares Maine values, our values.”

Obama, who also appeared at the Strand Theater in Boston, Mass. on Friday morning to support Mass. gubernatorial candidate and current state attorney general Martha Coakley, praised Michaud as a “decent,” “honest” and “hard-working man” who “understands what families here in Maine are going through.”

After reviewing statistics relevant to what her husband President Barack Obama has accomplished during his time in office — like the 10 million new private sector jobs that have been created in the United States since 2010 and the near-halving of the national unemployment rate, from 10 percent to 5.9 percent, since 2009 — Obama expressed faith in Michaud’s ability to have a similar impact on Maine.

“This is the kind of change that can happen if we elect leaders who share our values, who listen to our voices, and that’s what this election is all about,” Obama said. “It’s about whether we’re going to elect leaders who can fight for our families and for the kind of world we want to leave for our kids and grandkids.

“That’s the kind of leadership people here in Maine deserve, and that’s why we need to elect Mike Michaud as governor of this state.”

One of the main issues Michaud addressed was health care, asking the crowd to stand with him and “protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards spoke at the rally in support of Michaud, and said how she has seen “the dangerous results of politicians putting their own personal political agenda ahead of the rights of women to access health care that they need.”

After lauding the work done by Planned Parenthood and announcing that the teen pregnancy rate is currently the lowest it’s been in decades, Richards added, “There is no way we should turn back on all that progress now, and that’s why we need a new governor in Maine.”

According to Michaud, there are 70,000 Mainers, 3,000 of whom are veterans, who have been denied access to health care by LePage. He went on to say that increasing health care access is both the “morally right” and “fiscally responsible” thing to do because it will save the state money, strengthen hospitals and bring thousands of new jobs to the state.

“Seventy thousand of our friends and family and neighbors can’t afford another four more years [of] worrying about whether or not the next illness will spell financial ruins for that family,” Michaud said. “I need you to stand with me so that we can extend access to health care for these Mainers.”

Michaud also expressed a desire to raise the minimum wage in Maine, saying: “Mainers who work full time should earn enough money to put food on the table and work their way out of poverty.”

Obama expressed her belief in Michaud’s ability to effectively address the issue, saying, “If you think people who work 40 or 50 hours a week shouldn’t have to live in poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth, […] you need to step up and get everyone you know out to vote.”

Michaud said Maine needs to “cut the cost of college tuition so that students, like many of you out there this evening, can actually make a living, so you don’t get crushed with student debt.”

Obama also focused on education and the economy today’s politicians will leave for young people, saying that children who work hard “should have every opportunity to get a good education, build a decent life for themselves and a better life for their own kids.”

“That’s the American dream we all believe in,” Obama said. “And that’s what this election here in Maine is all about.”

Like Michaud, Obama urged attendees to acknowledge the importance of political awareness and voting, citing the 2010 Maine gubernatorial race that was decided by “about 9,800 votes,” which equals “about eight votes per precinct,” according to Obama.

“I bet every single one of you knows eight people who can get to the polls, right?” Obama said. “You know those folks. You know them. They say, ‘Why should I vote? What does it matter?’ Well, it made a difference in [the previous] election for governor in 2010.”

Michaud expressed urgency, saying how there is limited time left before the election, which will take place on Nov. 4, to get the word out about his campaign.

“There are only 32 days left in this election,” Michaud said. “That’s 32 days to knock on doors. 32 days to make telephone calls. 32 days to make sure that every Mainer across the state stands up to the anger and divisiveness of the last four years and come together for a real positive change this November.”

Obama summarized her support for Michaud at the conclusion of her speech: “Here’s what I know: as first lady of the United States, I’ve learned that […] if we take all our energy and passion and caring and good intention and we pour it into this election, and we bring others along with us, then I know that we can keep on making that change we believe in. I know that we can elect Mike Michaud as governor of Maine.”

University of Maine President Susan Hunter and Democratic Second Congressional District candidate Emily Cain also spoke at the rally. University of Maine a capella group UMaine Steiners also performed a medley and the national anthem.