From start to finish, Rescue & Restore is an incredible leap for the band that should not only please the August Burns Red faithful, but opens them up to a wider audience of metal lovers.

Me Moan sounds like nothing else out there; it's completely original.

It is attractive not only for its unusual, sophisticated musical presentation and smart, poetic lyricism, but for its canny instinct as well.

A sense of excited satisfaction runs through L'Ami du Peuple, finding a still curious and motivated Kinsella a little bit older, but learning new things all the time and coming up with some of his best songs yet.

The control and variety they display throughout Long Distance Song Effects shows that Goldheart Assembly have come into their own here.

The result isn't a muddled mess but another lean and focused set, despite the involvement of several writers and producers.

Fans will be overjoyed and those unfamiliar with Letlive or even modern hardcore circa 2013 should begin with this compelling document of anger, loss, and struggle.

An excellent, unexpected, and infectious triumph.

The dusky flute and steadfast bass take care to set us back down on our feet as a bubbly synth bays like a hungry hound in the distance and twilight fades peacefully into night.

The warmth of the album comes through in the songwriting, its lyrical content, and the soft-edged production, capturing an insular sense of self-exploration as well as something more universally reaching.

Some Congo Natty regulars, including vocalists Nanci Correia and Phoebe "Iron Dread" Hibbert, give the album a proper family feel, and with all these things in place, it's just natural to explain the album's worth with an old-school exclamation like "massive."

On Big Sur, Frisell delivers an inspired musical portrayal of the land, sky, sea, and wildlife of the region with majesty, humor, and true sophistication.

Ultimately, the golden age of dream pop and shoegaze lasted roughly ten years, a blink in the eye when it comes to pop music. However, for Swim Deep with Where in the Heaven Are We, it’s almost like it never ended.

Slow Focus delivers some of their most masterful and seemingly effortless music yet.

"Phoebe" is a modified bluegrass stomp and "Sunshine" comes streaming in on breezy harmonies, while "Rock All Night" and "Watch Your Step" are anchored in roots rock, but Amelita is, at its heart, an adult pop album and it's a gorgeous one at that: it glides by easily but it digs deep.

Bareilles is such a naturally melodic songwriter that she doesn't run much of a risk of seeming insular on The Blessed Unrest and, fortunately, the feel of the album follows the contours of her melodies, so its melancholy is warm and inviting.

Despite the part-compilation/part-extras makeup, this is one of the year's more enjoyable debuts.

The Argument never seems like work, as Hart is thoroughly engaged, delivering songs that work on their own terms but purposefully add up to an intriguing, tantalizing enigma.

Bitchin' Bajas sound completely removed from the side-project stigma on these four lengthy tracks, presenting languid, textural explorations with too much focus and intensity to appear incidental or secondary.

Throughout it all, his rich, lived-in baritone, which can go from a funereal dirge to a supernatural caterwaul in a matter of seconds, delivers the goods like the world's most demented herald, but even at his most fevered, he remains such an engaging figure, that it's nearly impossible to look away from the scene of the crime, even as the blood begins pooling around the listeners' feet.

Between these two sets, fans get a chance to explore the many facets of High on Fire's sound, and no matter which side of the coin you might fall on, the Spitting Fire Live series has something for you.

It was written, performed, cut, and mixed with great care, and as such delivers Arthur's creative vision with abundant emotional power.

With this album, the Octopus Project sound as jubilant and ecstatic as peers like Deerhoof or Dirty Projectors and channel the same optimism and weird charm as the Flaming Lips, while pushing their own unique sound into warmer, more accessible places than expected.

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.

With their ever-expanding arsenal of masterfully crafted musical traditions, they prove once more to refuse to be anything less than what they are: one of the most explorative and inexhaustibly creative bands on the planet.

The album is great, in particular Shaw's uncannily Misfits-evoking performances. It's a testament to the verve of Hunx & His Punx that whatever form their muse takes, they fearlessly follow it and are even able to communicate a core of their own sonic personalities when doing so.

Tiden may be listened to passively and with great enjoyment, but to do so would be to miss its sense of invention and adventure.

While this isn't a giant leap forward or a stunning diversion from previous releases, Hood's on a roll and it's hard not to welcome the usual power and polish

While the album might not reach the heights and depths of True Widow's previous effort, it's a fantastic album in its own right that finds the band tweaking a proven formula rather than just sitting back and making the same album again and again.

You'd have to look hard to find another band making dark and noisy pop as sonically engaging and emotionally satisfying as Weekend do on Jinx.

Uunderneath that blustering, the group manage to ease back and act their age, and that detached cool exterior is why The Sun Comes Out Tonight is the most satisfying latter-day album this group has yet made.

The album flows by with the scrapbooked flair of an intricately constructed sound collage, but one whose loose ends and experimental moments are firmly rooted in Krautpop rhythms.

Nothing Can Stop Us is a triumph for the backing band, but Campbell's number has been due for years, and now that it's been pulled, it's time to wake the town and tell the people.

Those who don't share his sense of humor or fondness for quick-shifting sounds may be left scratching their heads while listening to Enthusiast, but listeners who are ready for anything will enjoy the wild ride the album offers.

Haines is still a force of nature, more Uriah Heep than David Copperfield, and his sharp-tongued critiques, especially of his chosen field, though tempered with moments of sentimentality, remain as volatile as ever.

All this makes Nothing Violates This Nature seem like an exhausting listen, and it really is, but when it comes to unfiltered anger and catharsis, accept no substitutes.

In Vagrant Stanzas' 52 minutes, Simpson has taken us not only though the music of the British Isles and America, but through his own history, directly, honestly, and poetically.

Box these sounds whichever way you want to, but they are all Shooter Jennings, and as music, The Other Life is all killer, no filler.

BE feels familiar--the group is stuck in the back-half of the '60s, naturally loving the post-Pepper pomp of the Beatles but happy to crib from the Zombies ("Second Bite of the Apple" opens with a riff adapted from "Time of the Season") or any other number of half-remembered, half-forgotten psychedelic oldies--but isn't musty, thanks in part to Sitek's colorful, layered production.

The bottom line is Bakersfield smokes from top to bottom; a fitting tribute, it is one of, if not the, best country album of 2013.

PDA sets up a dreamily weird and heartfelt mood from the beginning and drives it deeper into the listener's consciousness with each song that follows.

II is the kind of crafted album you just don’t expect from a supergroup or side project as it matches, and maybe even tops, the work of its individual parties.

Big and bold the whole way through and with nary a stumble, Something Else is another triumph from Tech.

["She Said No" is] a minor blip on an otherwise excellent album by two guys who have discovered the transformative power that can be derived from collaboration.

While The Living Infinite is certainly a whole lot of record, it's filled with enough vigor and creativity that it doesn't feel as though it's dragging along.

It is interesting to look at the epic, ambitious group by their attempts to cross over, and while not all singles were as worthy as the album cuts, this alternative view has some massive high points.

Though this makes for a different kind of listening experience than fans might be used to, it's one that's ultimately pretty satisfying, feeling like it's not just manifesting the will and desire of the Polyphonic Spree's fans, but also reflecting the mission of brightness and hope that the band has been on for over a decade now.

Swisher may not be as immediate as Blondes was, but these ambitious, accomplished tracks offer ample proof that restraint can be exciting.

All told, Prince Avalanche is a beautifully subtle and introspective score that highlights the strong points of its composers while serving the needs of the film it was written for.

Tides End is so smooth that some of its nuances may be lost at first, but before it slips away, it takes listeners on a deceptively breezy and surprisingly affecting journey through moments that can't last.

The versatility and strength of The Blind Hole will be impressive to anyone versed in hardcore's various hyper-splintered genres, mainly due to the band's ease when it comes to seamlessly combining so many different heavy styles.

Of Copeland's experiments with more traditional beat-making, it's easily the best, most accessible work and still manages to be more stunningly weird than the majority of everything else out there.

While Norma Jean were no doubt exhausted by the creative process that went into Wrongdoers, fans will be happy to reap the rewards of their hard work and the perseverance of a band that still holds true to the spirit of metalcore.

It sounds fully colored in and unless you're a big fan of cold and lifeless, it's a huge step forward for Washed Out.

Crocodiles have never been content to stick to one sound and ride it into the ground; they always seem to be searching for the perfect way to transmit their brand of noise and pop. They just might have found it here.

Music for Objects is a fine listen, offering CFCF fans the restrained, smart music they crave.

Ultimately, with Last of the Great Pretenders, Nathanson turns his memories of the city by the bay into a universally relatable metaphor for coming of age, reminding us how a place can hold sway over your identity long after you've moved on.

An amazing journey from the outer limits to street level with a wormhole in the middle, Back on the Planet is stellar.

Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action is a welcome return, fusing a crowd-pleasing sound with some of Franz Ferdinand's most interesting songwriting. Track for track, it may very well be the group's most satisfying album yet.

Push Any Button is what Sam Phillips fans have come to rely on over her course of her career: a perfectly crafted album that overflows with melodic hooks, musical grace, lyrical insight, and emotional depth.

A full, concentrated album of ballads may seem startling even for die-hard fans, not just because the new full-on singer/songwriter mode is such a departure, but also because of how beautifully weary and evocative his songs tend to be when he allows a glimpse at his unplugged intimate side.

Pure Bathing Culture borrows only the best elements from the Twins, then adds more than enough of their own style and vision to make Moon Tides a dreamy triumph that is both a great debut album and a tantalizing promise for the future.

This stretch of songs is the liveliest collection Travis has cut since the '90s, and it's heartening to hear them reconnect with some of the wilder aspects that informed their earliest records.

Sometimes some things need to perish for others to flourish, and these songs show that Standell-Preston, Smith, and Tufts evolved into a group that can not just survive, but thrive in the face of hard times.

I Hate Music is just as fresh and powerful as Majesty Shredding, with the same hook-driven songs, fiery performances, and stunning vocals from Mac McCaughan.

There’s a real familiarity at play here, especially with all of the classic rock underpinnings, that makes it awfully difficult to refrain from just listing the artists that so obviously made an impact on the group, but their Bad Company-by-way-of Big Star (see what I mean?) aesthetic is so easy and engaging.

While Versions may be too tasteful-seeming for die-hard fans of early Zola Jesus, the album's undeniable beauty reveals another accomplished facet to Danilova's music.

Dig Thy Savage Soul is everything a Barrence Whitfield & the Savages fan could hope for and more; it may even reel in followers of the Dirtbombs, Andre Williams, and the Detroit Cobras.

We Knew may be a less immersive listening experience than Kudos was, but it makes up for that by sounding better and having better songs.

A compact, lyrically diverse debut, Rebellious Soul makes it plain that K. Michelle should be supported enough to reverse her albums-to-mixtapes ratio.

Doris is unsettled, messy, and takes a bit to sort, but there are codes to crack and rich rewards to reap, so enter with an open mind and prepare to leave exhausted.

Ultimately, whether it's Tubb's honky tonk twang, or the twang of Mayer's own heart, the sound of Paradise Valley rings true.

A spacious, yet measured and surprisingly inspirational, midtempo dirge.

The rapper is an excellent tour guide through this warped landscape of thrills and chills, and even if Rocky remains the A$AP Mob's most obvious and outgoing choice, there's an argument to be made that the more interesting one is Ferg, a Trap Lord if there ever was one.

Between the airless coldness of lunar ambience and the waving freak flag of their most high-power jams, White Hills' voice becomes more defined and more deliberate on this set of songs.

It showcases the strength of an 11-piece band willing to experiment as they assimilate inspirations--from Stax, Muscle Shoals, Motown, Delaney & Bonnie, blues, and jazz--and incorporate their various experiences into a new whole.

This is Saginaw's most colorful and accomplished release, and it indicates a vast range of individualistic possibilities for his next move.

Equal parts manic fun, party-friendly silliness, and unexpectedly real emotional content, I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams is powerful and light at the same time. The technical playing and nods to the best of heavy metal culture never get so tongue-in-cheek that the greatness of the songs gets buried under posturing.

At its core, Krule is showing all sides of his U.K. environment, and the multiple genres laced into the sparse backdrop are held together by an overlying somber grey fog. Peel that back and you have one of the most vital debuts of the year.

e. This all-or-nothing approach makes Deep Trip an exhilarating listen that's just as capable of amping listeners up with its vital punk energy as it is freaking them out with its surging undercurrent of mind-altering sludge, making for yet another feather in the cap of Sacred Bones and their ever-growing lineup of head trip-inducing bands.

A striking, satisfying album that balances the boldness of a debut with the experience Rocketnumbernine has gained since You Reflect Me.

For fans, this is more than a curiosity, it's an indispensable addition to the catalog.

Aerotropolis, her second album, adds even more references to the mix and leaves her fine debut in the dust.

Era is another solid album; with the laser-like focus Disappears have, it's hard to imagine them delivering anything less.

This is a finely realized album, with a wonderful, you-can-hear-a-pin-drop sound to it, and Fulks' songs are some of the best he's written, showing once again that he has no intention of being anybody's fool.

While Parrish just about eliminates himself from the equation, this mix will appeal the most to fans of his work who know the funk, disco, and house stuff well enough but haven't traced back far enough to fully absorb an earlier, eternally vibrant form.

Warm Blanket is a tiny masterpiece of unassuming modern pop that you'll overlook at your own risk.

Caligula club music and nothing but, Stay Trippy is a pimp party of the highest order.

Pain Is Beauty isn't quite as cohesive as Wolfe's earlier albums. Regardless, it's exciting to hear her try so many new things and do them so well.

Not so much a grower as a slow-burning future classic, Forever points to even more exciting things from Holograms as they continue to challenge themselves and expand their vision.

Late for Nothing finds the band not missing a step despite losing an integral member, as LaPlante ably fills the rather formidable vacancy left by Cameron.

Sheff's willingness to strike a balance between his roots rock past and his personal past should please longtime fans and newbies alike, even if they spend the majority of the ride wondering why the tour bus never actually stops at the Silver Gymnasium.

Though the party is dialed back and more restrained than on previous efforts, it's no less wild and maybe even more enjoyable as a result.

Cuts like "The City," "Chocolate," and "Sex" drive and climb like the best anthemic '80s stadium rock, roiling a host of influences into a single distinct sound that, the moment it hits your ears, becomes timeless.

Great things happen all over The Roaring 20s, an album where the cool kids become the smart kids while losing none of their baller status.

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

Love in the Future is among Legend's best work, made for couples who are into one another for the long term while feeling a little daring and crazy.

Stitches' ten quietly lustrous tracks dutifully reflect the arid Southwest vistas from which they were sprung.