You don't need me to tell you how great ROBYN's new album, HONEY, is. You have the entire internet for that. Instead, let me draw your attention to the mysterious and wonderful depths of JULIA HOLTER's fifth album, AVIARY, also released Friday. I'm at a bit of a loss to describe, with words, an album that sounds like an abstract painting, awash in colors and moods and dazzling brushstrokes that aren't means to an end so much as they're ends in themselves. From the kaleidoscopic, orchestrated collisions of the gorgeous opening track, "TURN THE LIGHT ON," to the slow-building mantra that is "I SHALL LOVE 2," to the art-rock flirtations of "WHETHER" and "LES JEUX TO YOU," it's an album that bombards you with shapes as shapes, sensations as sensations, sounds as sounds. Holter's palette is full with pianos, synths, strings, voices and percussion, and over the course of an epic 90 minutes you might find yourself wondering if you're basically listening to a song cycle about that palette. And 30 or 40 minutes in, you may also find yourself wondering if there's any subject in the world more worth writing a song cycle about. This interview with the RINGER's LINDSAY ZOLADZ provides some insight into an album that, Holter suggests, is "not about communication. It’s not about language. Even when there’s words—the words are just music." But as with any great piece of art, sit with it long enough, absorb its timbres and textures, and the album will provide all the insight you need. You'll also feel feelings and hear hooks everywhere... The VERGE's DANI DEAHL and NILAY PATEL tear apart the terms and conditions of SOUNDCLOUD's PREMIER program—which is designed to let indie artists monetize their tracks without label or distribution help—and wonder if streaming services are effectively replacing predatory label contracts with predatory contracts of their own. SoundCloud defends its terms, which include an unusually broad release of potential legal claims against the company, but also tells the site, "We are always looking for ways to simplify our agreements for the benefit of our creator community, and will take the opportunity here to avoid future confusion." Stay tuned... LED ZEPPELIN vs. ROLLING STONE... The late JOHNNY HALLYDAY is the DRAKE of France. But bigger... RIP SONNY FORTUNE, TODD YOUTH and JOHN REYNOLDS.