These songs aren’t just lovelorn poetry or odes of heartbreak; they’re full stories, five-minute films, expansive novels written in staves, rests, and music notes for the rest of us to bleed to.

While he may not hit the mark every time, he hits far more often than his misses. And when he hits, he hits hard, as some of the best songs on this mixtape are among the best rap tracks so far this year.

This is the kind of record where everyone will have different favorite song, where what someone calls dull or overlong or indulgent will resonate perfectly with someone else, depending on that listener’s past musical tastes and experiences.

Time just feels far too fabricated, far too forced and well far too late.

It is my firm belief that The Greatest Generation has no real precedent in this community.

Tape Deck Heart may not be quite as good as the phenomenal England Keep My Bones, but it’s a quality release with excellent lasting value that will be a mainstay on album of the year lists in 2013.

Having complete freedom and reign with this record, Eisley was able to take its musical element to richer and grander heights.

Most importantly, the album extends the reaches of their previous effort and makes an even bigger dent.

Random Access Memories is teeming with life, and the multitude of genres presented as well as the production choices of the duo help the album deliver on its promise.

Wake Up starts with six successive titanic efforts is commendable but also somewhat disappointing. On the second half of the LP, the formula remains the same.

This is a truly magnificent record, and I think it’s going to end up being the album for which we remember Vampire Weekend.

It's a record of favorites, but not one where you feel compelled to skip songs to get to them.

While it’s certainly not what anyone thought a new Deerhunter album would sound like three years removed from the world of Halcyon Digest, the band certainly succeeds in their goal of crafting “nocturnal garage, and the album’s high points--namely “Monomania,” “Punk,” “The Missing” and “T.H.M.”--are some of the best songs the group has ever recorded.

There is a lot to like on This Is How The Wind Shifts, as Silverstein accomplishes the tricky balancing act of progressing your craft while retaining that sound that made the band into what it is today.

For the most part, Young New England is embarrassingly lost in itself, a superfluous output that floats along at a frustratingly slow pace and lacks even a slight resemblance of direction.

While the disc is certainly enjoyable in its own write, Terror doesn’t seem to be out to re-invent the wheel--but perhaps refine the vehicle they drive it on.

The Terror is a frightening trip, a fantastically cohesive album, and one that could have benefited greatly from a bit more editing and perhaps a little better track sequencing.

Night Visions is a disc laden with buoyant choruses, arena-ready swagger and armfuls of dance floor attitude.

There aren't many artists recording today who make songwriting seem more natural and effortless than Kurt Vile.

You’ll sing along because it’s catchy, but you’ll push repeat because the lyrics are so personal.

Produced by Shaun Lopez (Far, Deftones), the sound and shape of each Renacer is clean and spacious.

As loud as What You Don''t See seems at first blush, it's really quite thoughtful.

For the most part, Ghost on Ghost is a good record that disappoints because we know its creator is capable of something more powerful.

While Migrant is Casey Crescenzo’s most accessible record ever, it’s also his most honest and real Dear Hunter LP yet.

It’s the sound of a young band coming into their own unique musical niche and making the record they’ve been reaching for since they first hit the scene in 2009.

Overall, the Recover EP is a perfect stepping stone in Chvrches’ brick road.

Wolf is still packed with signs of potential, and at this point it would be just as foolish to write Tyler off as it would be to call him one of the best in the game.

The result is the most actualized version of Fall Out Boy we've ever heard, an undeniable portrait of who Fall Out Boy is today, in 2013