One of the most impressive aspects of the whole endeavor is the fact that a bunch of South Carolina musicians were able to spiritually transport themselves so definitively to a Southern California state of mind.

Patience (After Sebald) succeeds as beautifully evocative music to accompany the documentary, as another distinctive entry in Kirby's Caretaker discography and as an inspired blending of different works that makes its own statement.

I Will Set You Free is the sound of Adamson's liberation as a songwriter, producer, and arranger.

The Russian Wilds is Howlin Rain's most accessible recording, but enormous ambition and musical mastery of rock & roll's mighty past make it an essential one, too.

Arrow is a brave and powerful work from an artist who isn't about to give up on her vision, regardless of where it takes her.

It's not a deep, demanding album, but it is a pleasant, often charming listen.

Tennis are making some of the best pop music around in 2012, and that's plenty good enough.

Dense, powerful, wild, yet immaculately rendered, Animal Joy blends the expansive, cinematic scope of contemporaries like Other Lives and the National with the arty drama of "San Jacinto"-era Peter Gabriel.

Even when Wire focuses on their not-so-classic material, they sound great in a live environment.

It's a much more focused and intriguing follow-up that may provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the guitar-bass-drums three-piece formula.

This is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor and, for all of its melodic sheen, darker and moodier.

Anyone with a little distance from their own pain will find much to admire in the honesty and craft of the album.

The third outing from the Punch Brothers picks up right where 2010's Antifogmatic left off, offering up another quality set of offbeat sophisti-grass that blends the whirlwind musicianship of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, the spirited delivery of the Louvin Brothers, and the cinematic urban melancholy of Jeff Buckley into a sometimes impenetrable but always fascinating.

The Bats have managed to maintain a ridiculously high level of quality throughout their career, and Free All the Monsters is as good a record as they've ever made.

The whole is a portrait of a collective creative spirit that sounds as unsettled and fascinating as when the original recordings were made.

O'Brien helps them articulate their ideas, giving them definition and muscle, attributes that are appealing when the songs lack distinct hooks.

Libraries retains nearly everything that was memorable about the Love Language's debut as it improves on what McLamb accomplished before.

Intimate without being voyeuristic, and approachable without being patronizing, sparse without being cold, Barchords manages to balance all of these elements beautifully, merging plaintive folk and bluesy soul with just enough pop to make the whole thing go down smoothly.

Each track has its own kind of hushed and easy-flowing grace to it.

A calling-card track like their debut's "Enter the Ninja" is absent, making this album more an exciting celebration for established fans than an easy entry point.

These tougher remnants of the rootsy, down-home Up on the Ridge are enough to turn Home into a record that resonates longer and louder than Feel That Fire even when it shares much of the same radio-ready DNA.

It delivers the goods with its collection of summery jams while keeping nothing, not even the chord progressions, secret.

Six Cups of Rebel is chock-full of the kind of bizarre, cartoonish, sci-fi lunacy and cheekily maximalist, gonzo musical odysseys they've made their stock-in-trade.

One of the more riveting and idiosyncratic tribute albums of the past ten years.

Trailer Trash Tracys' try-anything attitude overpowers the actual songs, but that doesn't stop Ester from being a fascinating and often haunting debut that just whets the appetite for more.

Singles shows that their craftsmanship and good taste may have been their most defining quality.

An album that feels looser without ever feeling lazy.

Tramp offers plenty for listeners to enjoy as she goes.

This is a treat not just for Air fans, but aficionados of film music and science fiction, too.

Instead of trying to fit into the past, Van Halen are using their history to revive their present and they succeed surprisingly well on A Different Kind of Truth.

No One Can Ever Know reaffirms that the Twilight Sad are unafraid of challenging themselves or their listeners, and for better or worse, there's something admirable about that uncompromising attitude.

Blues Funeral, while an adventurous, strident, and complex album, will likely polarize longstanding Lanegan fans; but if they can't follow him into this new terrain, it's their problem.

In its own way, Onwards to the Wall is just as exciting as Exploding Head was, managing to sum up the band's sound and move forward at the same time.

As a vocalist, this may not be his natural forte, but he takes great care with the songs, and that palpable love is enough to make Kisses on the Bottom worth a spin or two.

Of Montreal grow less accessible with Paralytic Stalks, but it's respectable how unconcerned Barnes seems with anything besides staying true to his freakily fractured vision.

What Happened to the La Las kicks off the new partnership with a mix of heady Southern rock and rootsy, festival-friendly funk.

Satan Is Real is music crafted by true believers sharing their faith, and its power goes beyond Christian doctrine into something at once deeply personal and truly universal, and the result is the Louvin Brothers' masterpiece.

Even though the album has a transitional feeling, Foxy Shazam still manage to make their sonic renovation a fun ride, and The Church of Rock and Roll is an entertaining stop on the musical journey.

A tremendously heartfelt celebration of music as a force for transformation, togetherness, love, and personal expression.

Overall, Clay Class gives the feeling of bridges being built and dots being connected.

While The Hangman Tree's left-field approach won't be for everyone, it's hard not to admire its ambition and refreshing sunny disposition.

cta is Hit the Lights' ultimate bid for mainstream acceptance and also the quintet's strongest album to date.

Rad Times Xpress IV is some of Herrema's most cohesive music with any of her projects, and Black Bananas pull off the neat trick of sounding quintessential and like a rebirth at the same time.

Les Voyages de l'Âme is a great record; self- defining and alluringly elusive.

Turns out Odd Future benefits greatly from this duo anchoring their wild universe, as Purple Naked Ladies is one of the collective's more sensual and sensible releases to date.

Old Ideas is a very good Cohen album; it may be great, but only time reveals that when it comes to his work.

Overall, there is a fine balance of sounds, feelings, and textures on the album, enough to make Hospitality both a vindication of promise already displayed by the band and hope for further greatness.

A brave and uncompromising debut, Always Want is an always intriguing listen which appears to have fulfilled the potential of her fairy tale beginnings.

For the most part, Out of Frequency is a joyous and effortlessly vivacious slice of Scandinavian pop which yet again brings a refreshing, childlike quality to the '60s retro table.

This album comes to the listener as a gift wrapped in tattered paper, making it all the more precious to receive.

If Ringo 2012 is slighter than the lighter-than-air 2010 Y Not, it still has enough good cheer to bring a smile to longtime Beatles lovers.

Despite the lo-fi nature of the source tape, which was made in an ad hoc manner by a local friend, the sparse setting--just acoustic guitar and banjo--gives Dalton's distinctive voice plenty of room to do its thing.

As with much of their late-career output, Old Mad Joy begs for a few spins before it reveals its charms.

More cinematic, melodic, and mellow than their usual experimental indie pop output.

It's all very definitely Walkabouts in its sound -- with some glorious lyrics from Chris Eckman

The Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years may not be the most cheerful record you'll hear all year, but it's one which proves that a curmudgeonly middle age demeanor isn't a barrier to producing triumphant indie pop.

The result is an album that manages to sound both elegant and organic, like classical music made by people living off the land.

Vanity Is Forever maintains this same general feeling throughout its 12 songs, often feeling as if it's set in a coffee house on an easygoing ocean liner being filmed for a video in 1984.

Familiar they may be, but some credit has to go to De Backer for managing to weave these eclectic retro sounds into a cohesive affair.

These jaunty experiments are some of Hagerty's most insular work in a while, but that doesn't make Wilson Semiconductors any less enjoyable.

There is a chasm that separates "Video Games" from the other material and performances on the album, which aims for exactly the same target--sultry, sexy, wasted--but with none of the same lyrical grace, emotional power, or sympathetic productions.

Keep Your Dreams is, for the most part, a breath of fresh air suggesting that two pairs of Aussie DJ hands are certainly better than one.

There is not a single weak track on this album. It's an unusually moving and haunting document from one of the unsung heroes of American (and, oddly enough, Jamaican) roots music.

The band's free-form style of playing is every bit as anti-musical and explosive as '70s no wave, making for a savage listen.

As rewarding as his earlier slow-paced drones are, so is his incremental development as an artist with each subsequent album, I Love You being one more step along the way.

While this mixed bag of sounds ensures Wonderland is a far more intriguing affair than most superstar DJ's crossover efforts, it also means Aoki may struggle to reel in the same mainstream audience that its guest list suggests he desires.

The wealth of hook-heavy pop wonders alone makes Feel the Sound a fantastic record, but the sure-footed air of confidence and self-assurance that carries the record is what truly cements Imperial Teen as more of an institution than a band.

The drumming that helps ground it all is elastic and malleable, making this follow-up a more successful and well-rounded album that seems to be just the beginning of something really good.

As distant whirs and an understated funk beat get accentuated by a classic '80s electronic handclap, the title track from Dillon's debut album almost sounds like a collation of a variety of styles from across years and locations.

It's an impressively timeless debut that suggests Howard should have no problem standing out from the overpopulated nu-folk crowd.

Invitation documents Dominant Legs' sound as it jells into something they can call their own; even when it isn't strikingly original, it's always enjoyable.

Gangrene is dirty, underground hip-hop excellence as expected, but Vodka & Ayahuasca takes it to another level, or realm.

When Human Again ditches the feel-good stuff and goes straight into drama-queen territory, though, it feels like we're finally getting to watch Michaelson come to grips with her broken heart, realizing that the only way to make things better is to fix the damn thing herself.

Like the title suggests, Stars burns bright and fast.

Strange Weekend is a very impressive debut album, full of craft, emotion, and songs that you'll want to listen to again and again.

City of Vultures is a solid first offering suggesting that Dickinson Jr. is capable of stepping out of his father's shadows in the future.

Bangarang is a disappointingly formulaic affair which hints for the first time that the wheels may soon slowly begin to fall off.

Most of the artists here perform a similar trick, choosing love songs over protests, keeping things intimate instead of anthemic. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule, but the scales on Chimes of Freedom are tipped toward pretty stripped-down sincerity.

Compared to most releases of its kind, Nostalgia, Ultra is plotted with care, not slapped together with haste.

Every track on this album is excellent in its own way.

The pleasant sheen of these song shines just enough to distract us from how deceptively scattered an affair the album truly is.

Gibson's reedy voice lacks power, especially when she forces the Ella Fitzgerald affectations, but when she dials back the theatrics and exposes the talented singer/songwriter within, as she does on the sweet and soulful "Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed," the results are downright magical.

MU.ZZ.LE sounds like outtakes from the last LP--that is, short underwater dub/downtempo emotronica cast-offs--except it is darker.

For the most part, The Lion's Roar is a mesmerizing listen that--alongside recent releases from the likes of the Tallest Man on Earth and Anna Ternheim--suggests the Swedish folk scene is currently hitting something of a purple patch.

Anyone expecting the bar rock bravado of the Hold Steady is probably going to be disappointed by Clear Heart Full Eyes' subdued vibe, but anyone looking for more of Craig Finn's sprawling tales will feel right at home.

Something is a different beast: wilder than its predecessor, stronger in the songwriting department, and totally, wonderfully weird.

If the intended result for fans is just hearing the combination of Davies' arch lyrics with Matthews' majestic arrangements and occasional breathy backing vocals, then it's mission accomplished.

Ultimately, U&I's brashness is more intriguing than confounding, with a freshness that reaffirms Leila as a thoughtful and challenging producer.

Attack on Memory is another fine snapshot of a band that is growing and playing as fast as they can.

On their seventh outing, Resolution, Lamb of God prove once again that the right ratio of barnstorming riffs and relentless intensity is all you need to make a solid album.

This album expands the very definition of musical collaboration.

Emotional Traffic is McGraw's most ambitious offering to date--the credits list is enormous and the range of styles on display is wide. That said, its balance is impeccable.

It's certainly pleasant either as nostalgia or as high-end lifestyle music.

100 Proof is the album where Kellie Pickler stops being a TV star and turns into a genuine recording artist: it's an album that's not just good when graded on a curve, but good by any measure.

Utilizing his filmic experience, their debut full-length album, Save Your Season, is a lushly cinematic affair drenched in reverb-laden psychedelics, shimmering shoegazing hooks, and floaty ethereal synths, but it's Hollie's detached yet fragile vocals that set this apart from his usual instrumental chillout fare... a valiant and occasionally compelling first effort.

Stade 2 has its moments, but its overall lack of invention suggests that Mr. Oizo is perhaps now channeling his creative streak elsewhere.

Both Ways... fuses folk, indie rock, electronica, and avant-garde pop with unusual percussion including bottle tops, plants, and saucepans.

Baby feels more like a leftover relic from the '90s than the game-changer the genre needs.