It shows that the sky [i]s the limit for the band and as long as they make records as carefree and positively joyful as this they will always be worth checking out.

While still haunted and yearning in nature, tracks like "How It Starts" and the especially Halloween-y "A Steady Mind" are driving, melodic, playlist-friendly offerings that provide rhythmic pick-me-ups without stepping outside the confines of the album's blue-tinted universe.

A few of the album's tracks are somewhat formless and not distinctive enough to make a lasting impression, but overall, SIGN is one of the more approachable Autechre releases in quite some time, and an easier starting (or reentry) point for listeners who aren't committed enough to plunge into their headier works.

There's also an unexpected flow to the album, with the more robust, high-energy tracks appearing earlier and the more subdued, introspective ones coming later; all of which beautifully reflects the ebb and flow of life. The Million Masks of God captures this flow, taking you on a theatrical journey that's often as moving and poignant as it is aurally engaging.

He can clearly make a piano do just about anything he wants it to, and Solo is a project that puts the thought that went into its construction right up in your face, but it's never breathtaking in the way a truly great solo piano performance can be.

The Sleepwalking Society is a stunner; a jazz-pop record with brilliant R&B and folk undertones woven throughout.

Overall, Colours is a joyful and inventive record which suggests Scott may have finally found his forte.

It's obvious he's grown and matured as both a songwriter and a producer, and this is the finest moment in his catalog thus far.

Bring Me the Horizon have been working slowly but surely to refine their sound for years now, and with Sempiternal, it feels like their patience and hard work are finally beginning to pay dividends.

The experience of listening to the album is a harrowing one, but the bevy of unexpected shifts, sidesteps, and complete submission into patches of noise makes it one of the more adventurous metal records of its type, and speaks to the long-fought amounts of work and thought the Body have put into their ever brutal, ever forward-looking sound.

This is a debut by default and not an all-encompassing coming out party, but Skull and Popcaan are simpatico on Where We Come From, so love it for what it is.

With There's a Blue Bird in My Heart, Parker circles to embrace his electric guitar and crafty songwriting again with excellent results.

So although introspection may be on full display, it feels more like a celebration of life--a post-realization that it's a mix of highs and lows.

It's clear that she feels strongly about the words she is singing, and she inhabits every song fully. The music, words, and voice come together on Le Kov like fragments of the past put back together and made into a satisfying new whole that works as a lovely tribute to Cornish culture, while also solidifying Gwenno's place as an important artist.

Carla Bozulich is a vital and fearless artist, and Quieter demonstrates that her muse can adapt to whatever fate throws her; this is fascinating music that merits your attention.

As arranged by Good and Ferry, these are all wry and romantic productions that evoke the smoky ambiance of Babylon Berlin's Weimar Republic-era setting. Elsewhere, Ferry transforms the new wave sophistication of "While My Heart Is Still Beating" off 1982's Avalon into a slinky, half-lidded crawl, and similarly mutates the pop exotica of his 1985 title track "Boys and Girls" into a slow-burn flamenco fever dream.

In all respects, Sundara Karma have come out with a winner, mining choice bits from rock's mighty canon and fusing their own quirks and imagination to a complex but engaging set of songs.

Against all odds, Weller has delivered a live album as quietly adventurous and resonant as the studio album it supports.

The fragmented patchwork nature of the album can at times make it difficult to separate the songs from the sonics, but adventurous listeners willing to get past this will find that Yves Jarvis hides beautifully soul-bearing sentiments just beneath his veneer of blurry tape manipulation and impressionistic production.

Despite this contemporary flair, what keeps Help Us Stranger lively is how the Raconteurs blend and mix barbed pop and blues skronk so their classicism seems fresh, not stale.

Finley's singing radiates with hard-won experience and gratitude, and his producer succeeds in reflecting that spiritual power and emotional honesty without self-reference or artifice.

Try It... You Might Like It! is a stellar second effort from GA-20. They get the spirit and the sound right here in delivering enough sweaty, raucous, grooves to fuel a rent party all night long.

In subtle ways, this album ties together all of the various disciplines Gunn has previously explored, from American primitive guitar playing to jazz, folk, indie rock, and drone music. Yet it is also something entirely new with a unique sound that is a joy to spend time with.

IRL doesn't truly feel like a return or even a follow-up. Still, she immediately set this album apart from Love and Compromise by previewing it with the fluid and bumping "Terms and Conditions," a shrewd collaboration with RAYE that is unequivocal about its "rules in place" for a potential lover.

The Crying Out of Things is a powerful high point in the Body's massive discography.

Even grappling with mortality, De La Soul retain their eternal warmth and optimism on Cabin in the Sky, crafting a fun, jubilant set of tracks as they process deeper shades of reflection, thoughtfulness, and ultimately, acceptance.

Though the songs here aren't quite as immediately infectious as Clean, its combination of deceptively warm surfaces, alluring melodies, and subtly distorted textures reward repeat listens with that sense of discovery.

The album's a cathartic self-study, executed without drama, during a time of major personal upheaval, and it will truly resonate with anyone who's ever found themselves at the end of a relationship.

Well over a decade after the release of Eluvium's brilliant 2003 debut, Lambent Material, Cooper continues to sound inspired and inventive.

Apollo XXI, his first album, is a little more refined, advancing his lazing, heartfelt mix of soul and funk with minimal varnish and no evident fuss.

Nothing here indicates they won't continue to rank among progressive music's leading explorers, well beyond those temporal musical fashions discussed earlier.

Donnelly never wavers in her directness or honesty, but doesn't equate strong statements with volume. Instead, her well-constructed and sometimes weightless songs crush their enemies with a knowing smile and a gentle fist.

Musically and emotionally, this is one of Deerhunter's most powerful--and delicate--albums.

This collection ultimately serves as a chronology of an incredibly important band as it phases through the good, bad, and ugly of an unprecedented run of magical songs in every era.

Boman and Talabot seem to have enjoyed themselves coming up with these gritty, off-the-cuff tracks, and The Night Land is easily enjoyable without being too safe or conventional.

Aside from that final somber moment, the rest of the LP is an absolute blast, yet another collection of reliable singalongs to "Oi!" your cares away.

Written in Chalk is a welcome return by one of American music's great--if under-recognized--duos.

Love Remains is a striking debut, one that speaks to how we listen to and remember music we love, and the impact it makes on everything else we hear.

His spectral voice moves within billowing clouds of elliptical melody, many of which are painted using much brighter colors than their melancholic librettos would suggest, resulting in something that's very much like the anachronistic cult anthology television show that helped to inspire them.

The combination of open heart and open road -- there's no other place the stomping "Black Widow" would sound better -- makes Denim & Diamonds a remarkable record.

The Next Day neither enhances nor diminishes anything that came before, it's merely a sweet coda to a towering career.

Ultimately, Mirror is another Lloyd triumph. It may not shake the rafters with its kinetics, but it does dazzle with the utterly symbiotic interplay between leader and sidemen.

New Multitudes, on the other hand, aims for a darker and more introspective tone, and when Farrar takes center stage, he unwittingly reveals his Achilles' Heel--no matter who he works with, he insists on dominating the musical conversation, and when his co-writer has been dead since 1967, there's not much hope for any real balance.

Banga is an event; it's not only provocative and expansive lyrically, but abundantly enjoyable musically.

Stewarding them into their next phase is producer Joe Reinhart (Joyce Manor, Hop Along) whose outside influence helped streamline their powerful sound into a surprisingly cohesive album, given the album's unusual sequence.

Easily Conway's most impressive work to date, God Don't Make Mistakes is a culmination of everything he's experienced and achieved so far, and a bridge to the next phase of his life.

It frequently upends expectations while confirming Clark's broad talent and imagination, and if this doesn't convince you he's a major artist, nothing will.

The very nature of the group's hyperbolic and perpetually exploding design means they're still inherently polarizing, love-it-or-hate-it kind of music. For those who love it, 10,000 Gecs offers more -- so much more, always more -- to love.

If there's a complaint about Never Were the Way She Was, it's that it's too brief. These pieces last only as long as they hold interest for the players, though they all create a real desire for more in the listener--which is no complaint at all.

Tirtha is a triumph; it is a high-water mark in hearing the constantly evolving discussion between jazz and Indian music.

Tramp offers plenty for listeners to enjoy as she goes.

This understated makeover casts Speak Now not as the final Taylor country record but as the first pop album from the singer/songwriter, a revision that offers its own gentle revisions.

All the unearthed Stones material is strong--particularly the pair of acoustic numbers, "Prodigal Son" and "You Gotta Move"--but in comparison to what made it onto the LP, they do sound like outtakes (to be fair, the LP did have some minor overdubs whereas these five cuts seem to be unadorned with additions), and they're also overshadowed by the absolutely terrific opening sets.

Longtime fans will be pleased, and folks who only know Newman from his film scores will be startled at the depth of the man's body of work, even on a collection with a couple of (relative) ringers.

The Suicide-meets-Can growl that opens "Green and Blue," for instance, may be a familiar element in other revivals, but Cronin puts enough of a hooky spin on the feedback rampage to help make it stand out as the album's first down-the-line success.

It's a varied yet unified set with lots of high points.

In 2013, it takes a certain level of bravery to make R&B this open-hearted, joyous, and musical. U.K. acts like 4hero, New Sector Movements, and Bugz in the Attic were doing it in the early 2000s, but none of them put it together quite like this, in one concentrated shot, with the songwriting on the same high level as the productions and arrangements. This crew is elite.

Alafia is a serious album, and its musical complexity, its rich lyric structures, dynamic textures, and complex rhythmic palette serve to reflect on the bitter fruit of conflict, yet make it Touré's most compelling musical statement to date.

Common Ground isn't "The Return of the Alvin Brothers" so much as a joyous continuation of the mission they launched when the Blasters first hit the stage in 1979, and if they're a little older and craggier in 2014, they clearly know how to make this stuff rock, and this is a modest triumph for one of roots rock's most fascinating partnerships.

Mostly though, the record is pure, creepy uneasy listening, a well-thought-out and executed deconstruction of their sound.

Undying Color was clearly the beginning of a new phase for Mind Over Mirrors, but its follow-up feels more complete, and hopefully anticipates something even more dazzling.

The extensively detailed liner notes feature interviews with the musicians as well as plenty of gorgeous photos, but the music itself is the main attraction, and it all sounds uniformly incredible.

The label-defiant marvel again switches up her supporting co-producers and cooks up another half-hour of authoritative progressive pop.

Chaotic roll-out notwithstanding, the album is sure-footed and attests to the artist's high standing among the crowd mining pre-disco R&B, jazz, and pop. Celeste and her fellow songwriters and producers -- led by main collaborators Jamie Hartman and Josh Crocker -- have all the knowing, tasteful moves down pat and exhibit some tricks of their own.

Cave-In have crafted a dense (over 70-minutes long) and rewarding work that's both mindful of the past and focused on the horizon.

They expanded upon their crate-digging aesthetic, blending disco, funk, new wave, and hip-hop sounds into their own hooky, dance-ready aesthetic. Volcano is no exception and finds the duo moving through the late '80s house grooves of "Holding On," the '70s soul of "Dominoes," and clubby tropicalia of "Every Night."

What gives it resonance is that the album's bones are constructed from the same elements that have made him one of the most interesting singer/songwriters of the punk generation: he's toned down his snarl and cynicism, retaining a D.I.Y. spirit while also honing his powers of observation. All of these come into play in surprising, inventive ways on Leisureland, making it one of his most distinctive records.

This sprawling, cumbersome, and often psychedelic effort feels like a glorious clearing house for the diverse and deep rapper, offering giant, cinematic, and challenging efforts.

Though the songs here would have fit in with the best of their earlier phases, they manage to inject deeper subtleties and emotional crosscurrents than even their best work from the '90s without getting too soft in the process.

Along with her pop hooks, what makes Straus' music so indelible on Cheap Queen is her strong sense of self. As King Princess, Straus is both the chilled-out R&B loverman and genderqueer lesbian songwriter, a tangible combination that's anything but cheap, and always real.

Heaux Tales doesn't have the heft of Fearless, Love Me Back, or Reality Show, but few contemporary R&B LPs twice its length are as substantive.

The trio were always capable of more than mere spaced-out jams, but these four tracks organize all the bliss, curiosity, darkness, and contemplation Bitchin Bajas have shown in the past into something deeply considered and perfectly designed.

The Weight of These Wings isn't produced like a country-pop album, so it demands attention and rewards close listening. It is by no means tight, but its excess is also its asset because immersion reveals different pleasures with every spin.

Both fierce and fragile, Hiss Spun presents an artist in compelling control of the entire scope of her expression.

This is Crowell at his best: focused, balanced, clever, at times profound. It's a welcome return to form.

Sadier's wish to equalize personal and economic relationships feels even more noble given the political climate in which the album was released, and Find Me Finding You is some of the warmest-sounding music yet from an unfailingly idealistic artist.

Cherry's songs here are deeply meditative, often implying or directly expressing sorrow regarding planetary afflictions rooted in fear.

Some tracks work better than others, but the album ends on an impressive note with the open, ringing distortion of "Or Head On."

The majority of the album places Actress closer to the superbly creative, evocative, and mind-altering terrain inhabited by Oneohtrix Point Never, with detectable traces of early-'80s Roedelius and Moebius, as well as Autechre.

Her calm, hushed, clear singing only emphasizes the emotional torment the songs trace. The result is an album on a par with her best work.

At its best, though, this album is like having a beautiful girl hit you repeatedly over the head with a baseball bat.

One of the best rap LPs of the year.

Ultimately, Young Enough outshines a promising debut, delivering a steady mix of summery earworms and angst.

Memory isn't just their best record, it makes good on all the promise they displayed early on and will hopefully shut their critics up once and for all.

All this adds up to an album well-suited for moments of introspection, moments when a listener is searching for sustenance and reassurance somewhere outside of themselves.

With a title partly inspired by a surrealist collage by Eileen Agar and partly by the Biblical Jacob's Ladder, it was produced by Tom Carmichael, Porridge Radio drummer Sam Yardley, and singer and songwriter Dana Margolin, who continues to evoke artists like Sarah Mary Chadwick and Torres here with her raw and passionate vulnerability.

Spellling & the Mystery School demonstrates how some of Cabral's best songs have taken on lives of their own since they were first written.

Born of D.I.Y. punk culture, Waxahatchee's fuzzy, introspective pop stands out due to the fearless honesty of the songs, and Crutchfield's refusal to dumb down her emotional currents or underestimate her audience. Ivy Tripp is another excellent and remarkably bold chapter of this exciting, unflinching sound.

All the strings and brass not only accentuate the songs, highlighting the jazzy changes of "Soul Searchers" or the light swing of "Gravity," they help frame this measured song cycle, directing attention to how Weller isn't wallowing, he's meditating upon love, loss, and hope as he enters his sixties.

Jumping from dusty folk to booming R&B might feel jarring, but Webster's versatile personality is the core of Atlanta Millionaires Club, and the entire album flows through its changes as naturally and pleasantly as a cool breeze in the depths of summer.

One listen to Tears of the Valedictorian confirms the group's uncanny talent for creating manic, beautiful and upsetting songs that seem to exist wholly for themselves.

This collection is full of fine music that merits attention, but as a career summary, it falls short of the mark.

Though Loose Future lacks a bit of the grand-scale drama of Honest Life and Old Flowers, it's full of well-crafted songs performed with the skill and passion they deserve, and it's another worthy album from a songwriter who only gets better as she matures.

Despite being from different albums, the songs all work together remarkably well, giving the album the kind of natural flow that one expects from an album, never giving away the fact that the songs are all from different EPs.

More Faithful is a masterpiece for headphones, and more enjoyable with every listen at high, open air volumes, easily offering the best songwriting and aural presentation the band has mustered yet.

More than just a worthy successor to Upstepping, Shelley's on Zenn-La reconfigures both modern classical and electronic dance music, producing a wholly original work which knows no boundaries.

There is no better place to spend 45 minutes than in Lay It Down's dreamy, sensual, gritty, and tender sound world.