It's exactly what a second album should be, and it's rare that any band delivers as well as Evans the Death do here.

It's a lovely and deeply creative record that came so late in his career that it appeared to have already been relegated to history.

Downcast and spectral even by the standards of Lanegan's less-than-sunny body of work, Straight Songs of Sorrow is psychodrama as much as it is entertainment. That also makes it one of the most nakedly compelling albums Lanegan has given us, and anyone who has been interested in his music or his life will find it darkly mesmerizing.

Where Revealer occasionally spilled into showy musical prowess, Ace finds balance and takes Cunningham's art to the next level.

The Analord series... proved that James was still capable of brilliance -- not just scattered brilliance, but consistently excellent and occasionally stupendous work.

Together, the ten pieces combine to create a surprisingly cohesive whole.

After is a minor triumph that makes it clear Lady Lamb is going to be around for a while, and may give you new hope for those kids making arty noise in their basement down the block.

Clarke's songs are founded in seductive pop melodies with a rootsy undertow, and he, his studio band, and his production team have crafted an album that comes from the heart and emotionally connects with rare skill, in both music and lyrics. Having a down day? Cut Worms may be just what you need.

More dynamic and sonically defined than Divide and Dissolve's earlier albums, Systemic is easily their most successful work thus far.

It’s an album worthy of its co-signs from the Boygenius camp but one that stands solidly on the merits of its own uncompromising creation.

Its pop-R&B foundation is a little slicker, still tricked out with the occasional trap-styled production techniques -- probing bass, rattling percussion -- twisted just enough to not sound overdone.

Lovegaze demonstrates Hunter's range from soundscape weaver to art-pop maverick, and her music is never less than bewildering.

Presents more of the same disconcerting, cacophonous, yet strangely melodic and catchy music that always seems to find frontman John Congleton on the verge of going absolutely insane.

Elegant from the first minute to its 70th, Ojalá is an essential album for fans of Raymonde-affiliated projects like Snowbird and This Mortal Coil, and is among his and the year-in-indie's most exquisite works.

Onion is mature and contemplative compared to Shannon & the Clams' earlier efforts, but it's music that comes from a place of celebration and love, and these songs will make you dance and sing along--and that's what this band has always done best.

It's anyone's guess where Loveless will go from here, but she's already made an album that's genuinely dazzling, and Somewhere Else sounds like a real contender for best album of 2014.

Martsch has evolved into a survivor; while others may have flashed early and burned out, he's kept plugging away and with When the Wind Forgets Your Name he and Built to Spill have delivered a late career stunner that easily equals their best work.

Whether autobiographical or a thought exercise, Honey is evocative and often relatable, if in turn inevitably alienating and mercurial.

Both introspective and commanding, Halo on the Inside charts a path between the club and the cosmos.

While something is almost always askew, on average, the album feels a little broader and brighter than Painted Shut. Thankfully, it does so without sacrificing lyrical impact or smoothing out Hop Along's distinctive, compelling sound.

Coxon's ambitions on Love Travels at Illegal Speeds may not be grand -- he has simply made a punky pop album (which is different than punk-pop) -- but his execution is exceptional, which makes this a very appealing album.

50 years on from Fairport Convention's debut LP, 13 Rivers is striking music from a musician who remains fresh, contemporary, and peerless.

Though the communion and self-awareness Sadier envisions seemed almost impossible at the time of Rooting for Love's release, that's precisely why the album feels so vital.

Though it comes a decade after the last entry to Dirty Three's ongoing story, Love Changes Everything picks up, as each new chapter of the group's story does, as if no time has passed at all, and the trio keeps flowing naturally forward.

Sinister Grift is a significant chapter in the Panda Bear story if only for how it finds Lennox shedding some of the stubborn uneasiness that’s so long been part of his music. While still mainly the product of a solitary mind, the album is perhaps the least lonely Panda Bear has sounded to date.

With almost tangible textures and a striking mood of isolation and singularity, Fever Ray is a truly strange but riveting album.

This is vibrant, moody music that showcases a band growing ever stronger with each risk and dare they take.

With Contra, Vampire Weekend make Auto-Tune and real live guitars, Mexican drinks, Jamaican riffs and Upper West Side strings belong together, and this exciting lack of boundaries offers more possibilities than anyone could have expected.

Get Behind Me Satan may confuse and even push away some White Stripes fans, but the more the band pushes itself, the better.

While it's not quite the revelation that That's Not What I Heard was, Movement is still a dramatic album that shows that the Gossip is a powerful group continuing to define and redefine their music.

23rd Street Lullaby is a wise, grown-up record, yet it is guided by an untamed, wily heart.

Listening to the record makes you feel like it was 1993 again, in a good way. In a melodic, honest and jangly kind of way. In a way that makes you think "nobody makes records like this anymore".

Flow demonstrates that industrial music remains potent and vital in the early 2000s, and that one of its greatest pioneers is still one of its greatest innovators.

The best album of the year in the hip-hop underground.

Admirably random samples dug up from underground sources like '70s Italian prog-rockers Goblin, combined with a reckless abandon and an adherence to melodic hooks, makes Cross one of the most interesting electro-crossovers since Ratatat, and the guys in Justice do an excellent job building on Daft Punk's innovative foundation.

You might not trust Thee Oh Sees to give you a ride home after a gig, but if you're looking for a seriously buzzy rave-up, Help certainly delivers the goods.

One of Hart's sharpest decisions is to keep everything short--17 songs over the course of 45 minutes, which if not quite Ramones level is still pretty brisk--while ensuring each piece has its own individual character.

The slocore tag Picastro received early on in some corners has a vague relevance, but on a song like "Pig & Sucker," the sense of compelling, unsettled strangeness is much greater than most bands could pull off.

It's when they stomp their feet on that middle ground that their eponymous debut kicks up the most sand, and with a little more nuance, their future endeavors could leave some pretty hefty footprints.

Each of the the album's ten tracks is naked, open, and bleeding, yet rousing at the same time. The lyrics don't hide behind Stern's infectious, blast-and-burn 21st century rock; they are buoyed by them.

Last is not the sort of music you'll want to play at a party on a Friday night, but if you're looking for the proper accompaniment as you ponder life's twists and turns on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the Unthanks will give you all the deeply shaded wisdom you could use.

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.

Anyone open-minded enough to approach the project without any expectations will be quickly swept off into the spacious perennial twilight created by these two master craftsmen.

Here, he has crafted them into something startlingly new, although that '70s spirit of pimp-hand-up-top, bell-bottoms-down-below is intact the whole way.

It's part punk, part grunge, part riot grrrl, all slamming together in the mosh pit and exploding into a fist-pumping fury you won't soon want to forget.

Considering all the shrewd alliances and its polished attack, Settle seems like it was designed to be 2013's acceptable dance album. That said, any purist who denies its pleasures is a crank.

Undefeated is a revealing set of songs that spins gold from life's big and little ups and downs.

Last Dance is a necessary addendum to Jasmine; it fleshes out the confident, mature, amiable, and eloquent speech in the canonical language these two jazz masters share.

Manipulator is a reminder that Ty Segall knows his rock & roll, but he knows a lot more than just that, and this '70s-inspired madness results in one of Segall's best and most pleasurable efforts to date.

Devilish and delicious, the album can be precious to a fault, as following all the Queen-sized arrangements and all the Adam Lambert-esque sass isn't an everyday thing for most.

What sets Romano apart is the natural, ineffable blue mood of his sad songs, which hit the heart dead-on without ever sounding forced, as well as his impressive studio techniques, all of which are on display on Romano's fourth solo album, 2015's If I've Only One Time Askin'.

Empire is hardly an ideal introduction to Unwound's singular musical world-view, but for fans looking for a writ-large celebration of this band's remarkable final act, this set is a luxury and a necessity at once.

[An] immersive hour-long dream sequence.

If this isn't quite up to the standards of his '80s high-water marks like Night and Day and Big World, it comes close enough that longtime fans will find plenty to enjoy, and some bits that will challenge them.

The entire album pushes and pulls in such a manner, which is completely exhausting but ultimately cathartic.

It's a thoughtful and neatly crafted album whose detailed framework feels like the right fit for Bachmann's rugged, world-weary meditations.

Packed with breezy, witty, should-be hits, Bonito Generation is a winning mix of subversive art and genuine heart.

The 13-track time machine does not relent or disappoint, making Don't Smoke Rock a standout for hip-hop fans in need of quality nourishment.

This record works as an apt elegy to the band, and despite never again managing to reach the high-water mark Piano Magic achieved with Low Birth Weight, Closure remains a fine final flourish.

[An] inviting album. The sky could be the limit.

IV is strong stuff, but if you wonder if Part Chimp have lost their touch after half-a-decade out of the game, this music provides a conclusive answer: not even a tiny bit.

The album's potent mix of soul-searching lyrics and spaced-out sonics lends itself to deep thought and accompanied stargazing.

Play What They Want is a powerful, necessary expansion of Man Forever's vision, and easily their most engaging work.

Tonally, she counters urgency with some tenderness, and her voice only seems to be getting better with time. It's a compelling entry in her catalog, one with a solid base of songs that will stand up to any nonsense.

A reflection of a young band trying out all its possibilities, Visions of a Life is more scattered than My Love Is Cool, but its best songs hint at even more potential.

It stands with their best work--some songs would no doubt end up on a greatest-hits collection--and in that regard is some of the best pop music anyone could hope to hear in 2018 or any time after.

The masterful way Wasser balances challenging moments like these with more familiar fare makes Damned Devotion one of the most complete, and daring, portraits of her artistry.

By the Way I Forgive You is a different beast than its predecessor, a record with more texture, shade, and ambiguity: it is clearly the work of a maturing artist and it's all the richer for it.

As promising as Von Hausswolff's earlier records are, this one towers over them and above it in terms of musical imagination and emotional impact. It's not an easy or gentle listen, but it is unforgettable and constantly rewarding.

Mien's experiments are sometimes a little too formless, but the album's standouts prove they weren't keeping all their best ideas for their main bands.

The Dock of the Bay Sessions is hardly essential for loyal Otis Redding fans, but as a compact summation of his final recordings, it's a fine collection that flows with the coherence of a "real" LP, and if you're looking for an album with "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," this is a good way to go.

Automata II can be listened to on its own, but it holds much greater power when taken together with its predecessor. It is easily the more musically adventurous of the two recordings, making it an indispensable part of Between the Buried and Me's provocative catalog.

Equal parts mesmerizing and challenging, Rockhounds has a truly unique allure.

Once the shock of the bigger, bolder sound fades, Chains Are Broken reveals itself as a perhaps inevitable maturation for the Devil Makes Three, one that broadens their horizons while retaining their vigor, humor, and heart.

A relentless return to form, This Behavior finds Adult. at their most forceful and consistent as they enter their third decade.

T.I. is joined by a long list of high-profile guests, including Sam Hook on the gospel-kissed "Seasons"; Young Thug and Swizz Beatz on the moving "The Weekend"; and Anderson .Paak on the booming R&B-trap hybrid "At Least I Know." Triumphant album highlight "More & More" with Jeezy harkens back to T.I.'s 2000s sound, a booming, bass-heavy anthem that recalls his early hit "What You Know" and P$C's "I'm a King."

Through it all, Krgovich applies his years of clever pop acumen to the situation at hand, sounding reliably like himself, but allowing his present circumstances to propel him somewhere new in life and song.

Lattimore's tranquil and introspective playing guides the duo's meditations to some of the same cosmic zones as her solo work. The combination of the two personalities results in a beautifully troubled unfurling, one that offers quiet comfort in its moments of both darkness and light.

The stylistic shifts can be a tad neck-snapping, especially when the vibe goes from acid rock sock hop ("Masquerades") to space age instrumental synth pop ("Cymatic"), but Los Coast always feel in control of the vehicle, which appears to be of multiple vintages.

Along with its generous set list and powerful performances, the attention to details like these makes Live at Troxy another riveting expression of Dreijer's passionate commitment to their work.

Turn to Clear View isn’t as ear-opening as other dates Armon-Jones had a big role in this year -- namely, Ezra Collective's You Can't Steal My Joy and Binker Golding's completely unhinged Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers. That said, it's a fitting addendum to the sound explored on Starting Today and well worth repeated listening.

Although Unlocked concludes almost as soon as it starts, Curry and Kenny pack so much into this short release that repeat listens are a must and, indeed, a pleasure.

The Family Songbook sounds pleasingly simple on the surface, though closer inspection confirms this is an album of tremendous craft that achieves its effects in a way that camouflages the effort that went into its creation, allowing us to simply appreciate the beauty.

There is nothing subtle about 100% Yes. Despite the anger and activism in the lyrics, this set is saturated with the energy of hope.

Keleketla! is a powerful combination of activism and musical exploration, bonding the sounds of several locations and eras in order to express messages of joy, optimism, and revolution.

Love Is the King is his very personal reaction to an increasingly difficult time in America's history, and while he doesn't pretend to have answers, this music is his own kind of therapy, recognizing his emotions and working through them before they devour him, and he makes both the process and the challenges well worth hearing.

It's an album that demands close attention to catch its myriad details, but contradictorily lulls the listener into a state of distraction with its hypnotic pulse and deceptively calm exterior. As a result, the hidden textures and purposefully clashing tones of Fading might not reveal themselves upon first listen, but an album this dense and intentionally drawn just gets better each time it's revisited.

This would be an impressive first salvo from a new artist, and coming from a seasoned veteran, it's a truly welcome sign that her creative well isn't about to run dry.

Consistently entertaining with a few flashes of brilliance, Book kicks off the band's fifth decade of music-making with substance and style.

"Teeth Out, Pt. II" is even more purgatorial, proving that Miller and Kuperus don't need beats to sound formidable. It all makes Becoming Undone one of Adult.'s most harrowing albums -- and all the more impressive because of it.

Densely packed with historical references and acute lyrical imagery, Aethiopes requires numerous listens and extensive research to fully comprehend, yet even on cursory listens, the album's scope, detail, and creativity are highly impressive.

Repetition and rumination are frequent throughout Choosing, as Jamieson ultimately makes a message of the album's economical title. While this lends itself to a certain amount of musical stagnancy, some changes of pace unfold along the way in the form of the catchy "Runner," which begins with spare electric guitar and voice but progresses at a tuneful, accelerating gallop.

It's an intelligent, compassionate, heartfelt album from a man who knows how to make them, and we should all be as grateful as Joe Henry that he's around to sing these songs.

It's the band's most dynamic, full-bodied recording to date, and a clear improvement over their somewhat rusty-sounding early releases, moving between lulling spaciousness and cathartic violence.

Star Eaters Delight is less of a uniform statement than Acquainted with Night was, but this collection of versatile songs acts as a tour of different neighborhoods in the beautifully smeary nocturnal dream world Neale began building on her last album.

Baxter Dury deserves to be considered fully free of his father's shadow. Maybe after releasing this subtly brilliant and pleasingly scathing album, he'll finally believe it too.

Hunger for a Way Out was such a strikingly rough diamond that Good Living Is Coming for You couldn't have the same element of surprise, but the refinements Sweeping Promises have made only reinforce how consistent and distinctive their music is -- and how much more it has to offer.

More than just a bright spot in their career, Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs is a beacon of romantic punk defiance.