They do a first-rate job blending humor, emotion, and energy on In the Court; it’s a tricky routine to master but they’ve done it impressively right out of the gate.

The general move away from strong, hooky choruses to a focus on expansive, intricate and percussive arrangements may challenge casual and even some longtime fans of the band's catchy, Southern garage rock twang.

For the most part, she is still able to deliver her tunes with honesty that makes you think about feelings she's conveying, not her recording budgets, as is the case with many over-processed country stars out there.

As dense as R Plus Seven was cleanly sculpted, there's a lot to unpack within Garden of Delete, including its title: a phrase that suggests the meticulous task of editing music as well as the union of creation and destruction (and shortens to G.O.D.), it's the perfect mission statement for an album that combines past and present in surprising, and surprisingly organic ways.

This album is not going to give Gojira any big pop radio hits, but it will certainly broaden their appeal outside of the death metal ghetto to more general fans of metal and hard rock.

Guyton is broadening and expanding the genre-bending sounds of 1990s country-pop, both through production that weaves in modern elements and her distinctive point of view. She does all this within the framework of pop music, managing to maintain her own strong personality within familiar settings without quite reinventing the form -- and that's quite an accomplishment for a debut album.

Our Blood, with its tattered, frayed grace, reflects Buckner's compellingly listenable, weary yet stubborn poetic journey, for answers to questions -- both past and and present, elliptical and enormous --that lie just beyond his grasp.

A brief but powerful statement, Mount Wittenberg Orca brings remarkably creative artists together for a good cause, and ends up bringing out the best in all of them in the process.

Largely acoustic with a limited amount of overdubs, Flowers feels somewhat more minimalist than the aesthetically varied Petals -- which isn't to say it's any less impressive. There is a sense that Williams is celebrating her influences.

As a whole Glowing in the Dark is a mostly solid, well-built album with enough standouts to keep it fresh without venturing too far out of the band's wheelhouse.

Concise yet ambitious, Guider finds Disappears firing on all cylinders and going far beyond Lux's promise.

Taken together, Craft delivers a fun and loose breakup album replete with colorful characters, memorable tunes, and an even more memorable vocal delivery--a noteworthy debut.

As comebacks go, that's relatively modest, but the very modesty of Accelerate is what makes it such a successful rebirth as R.E.M. no longer denies what they were or what they are, and, in doing so, they offer a glimpse of what they could be once again.

Filled with bouncy riffs, sweet harmonies, anxiety, and kindness, Jump Rope Gazers confirms that the Beths are good at slower, more reflective songs, too, though there's plenty of spark to carry listeners through.

Deer Creek Canyon is a work of modest genius that, like falling in love, manages to be simple and richly complex at the same time.

Ray Wylie Hubbard is making music that's tougher, more effective, and better crafted than most artists a third his age, and Tell the Devil I'm Gettin' There as Fast as I Can is yet another striking example of his casual brilliance.

Could It Be Different? is an exhilarating album that hits hard on the emotional front while making sure to move feet at the same time. It's a small step up from their previous works, with stronger sounding and with sharper hooks that help make it even clearer that the Spook School are one of the most exciting and important bands of their era.

The most shocking thing about the album is how consistently good it is.

A large portion of Black Metal resembles the kind of lo-fi, quantity-over-quality, solitary works of eccentrics who would have been at home in the mid- to late '80s on labels like Factory Benelux, Creation, or, well, Rough Trade.

On Orphée, Jóhannsson expresses the need to let some things and people go to let new ones in with remarkable nuance, as well as the affecting beauty fans have come to know and love.

No Age turn noise into gold on Nouns.

Such a well-built slab of indie rap that a four-year wait seems well worth it.

Measured, melancholy, and mysterious, Jones' debut as a singer/songwriter is as subtle as it is striking, skillfully marrying the sedate melancholy of Elliott Smith with the sly, darkly comic lyricism of The National.

More well-executed than his previous releases and undeniably catchy, Hollywood's Bleeding is a huge step forward for the guarded superstar, one that doesn't sacrifice the essential elements that made him such a surprise hitmaker, and pushes him even further into the pop-savvy landscape where he belongs.

There isn't much on is that My Morning Jacket couldn't have done on their own, but having a neutral observer on board certainly appears to have helped them up their game as a recording act, and it's one of the most purely satisfying albums they've delivered since they changed their game with Z.

It's a variation on the JBs' dubbed-out compound of synth pop and post-disco, and it suits Lanza's voice to enticing effect.

His last two albums also reflected his ongoing growth as an artist, but Supper's settled but intriguing warmth is an even bigger step forward.

Pawn is immediately grabbing, and instead of fading upon further plays, it reveals more with each listen, whether it's a lyrical turn of phrase or an unexpected twist in the arrangement.

Byrne leaves behind all the international rhythms that have dominated his solo work and turned in an album of moody, subtle beauty.... This is one of the strongest albums of his solo career.

Even though Permission to Land isn't quite as metal as its singles suggested it might be, the album is surprisingly good, especially considering how bad the band's '80s metal revival could have been.

Get ready for the hardcore fan backlash but Greater Wrong Of The Right at least makes up for The Process and with stunning structure from Key it beats most of the current industrial music competition.

The album is as streamlined as a mix set.

the two carve up each track like master craftsman, finding the perfect middle ground between the sparse, reverb-laden landscapes of the Great Lake Swimmers and the orchestral, aching beauty of Hem.

June. Though half of Real Estate was already released by the band as singles and EPs, that just adds to the album’s instantly familiar feel--which is a large part of this unassuming debut album’s appeal.

Cat's Eyes is an intriguing album of heartbroken, shadowy pop that transcends its influences when it aims directly for the heart.

Hagar's Song finds Lloyd and Moran at their most naturally curious and deeply attentive best, offering a conversation so intimate the listener may occasionally feel she is eavesdropping.

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

It's a joy to behold.

It takes real nerve to pull something like this off, but Nutini's swagger is easily matched by the quality of the material and his inspired performance.

The result of hearing Ishi in full is a desolate, somewhat submerged feeling, with both the sounds of space travel and the light years of loneliness and isolation coming through in the album's many layers of gentle noise and spiraling synth leads.

If the individual components occasionally drift or sit still, the overall construction of the soundtrack has momentum, warmly wandering from a 14-year-old tentatively plucking away on his acoustic guitar to a singer/songwriter who never quite seems as confident in his art as perhaps he should.

It never gets boring, it moves quickly, and it often hits lofty heights where the melodies, music, voices, and beats all combine as one to do what the best dance music does: Transport the listener to a sweaty, uplifted dancefloor packed with like-minded revelers.

As grim and hopeless as the album may seem, it's ultimately about escaping day-to-day reality and entering a state of transcendence. It's startling and uncomfortable, but it's highly compelling.

On The World's Best American Band, White Reaper knock it out of the park, drive over it in a noisy Mustang, and deliver nothing but a good time.

His personal embrace of the political galvanizes the album, which has a sense of purpose lacking on his debut, but what's truly startling upon first listen is how Booker's broadened his palette considerably.

While Year clearly felt like a devastating reflection on loss and abandonment, Echoing Green is an album of rebirth, new possibilities, and optimism. There are still shades of lingering doubt and distant regret, but overall, it demonstrates a renewed sense of hope.

Wintres Woma envelops you like a warm wool blanket on a dark, snowbound evening. Elkington has a woody, naturalistic voice that fits well with his introspective style. However, it's his adept fingerpicking, lithe fretboard skills, and inventive harmonic structures that impress the most here.

The entire EP is haunting, surreal, and undeniably beautiful.

A late-summer bonfire of an album, Expect the Best proves once again that when it comes to hazy introspection and reflection, few bands are better at it than Widowspeak.

While likely of interest mostly to dedicated fans due to the eclectic nature of the recordings, it may also pique the curiosity of those less familiar with Olsen's growing, distinctive catalog.

Foxwarren remains both off-kilter and irresistibly comforting, like the feeling of the pull of sleep.

The focal point of the EP is the jaw-dropping "I Need You," a nearly ten-minute epic blending the type of lush, dreamy synths she's been known for with rough, forceful breakbeats, as well as her first vocal performance since her transition. ... The EP's other two songs aren't quite as emotional, but they're still highly enjoyable house tracks.

Far removed from the developments of the Teklife collective and other figures of the scene, DJ Nate stands out just as much as he did at the beginning of the decade.

In opting for a ruminative approach, Parry has crafted more of a guided meditation than a cosmopolitan fun house, resulting in a collection of songs that often feel less tangible than those that populated its antecedent. Still, it's an ambitious work that is undeniably widescreen, but far removed from the grandiose chamber rock of his meal-ticket band. It celebrates family, self, friendship, and the existential pain and wonder of life.

Mini Mansions are remarkably witty, and the way they combine their cleverness with newfound emotional depth makes Guy Walks into a Bar… their most satisfying album yet.

On Black Love & War, they channel love for one another and their people, vexation in the face of escalating tyranny, and seemingly inextinguishable positivity into some of their most determined and stimulating funk.

Stott's music is disorienting and sickly, but it's also undeniably full of life, and It Should Be Us is just as fascinating as one would expect.

Show Pony is his declaration that if he's offered the spotlight, he'll claim it as the place he deserves to be, and on the basis of the talent and audacity shown here, only a narrow-minded fool would bet against him.

These 13 has little to do with Mathus and Bird recalling past glories, and much more to do with the beauty and mysteries of the music of the American South. Anyone who wonders why they love this stuff so much need only listen to this splendid album to find all the answers.

The most diverse RP Boo release to date, Established! finds the innovative producer stepping back and observing the big picture, and reflecting on his place in the lineage of dance music.

An album that's trying to move forward and ultimately relieved things are ending, Tell Me That It's Over may not find Wallows any luckier at love, but they're a little older, a little wiser, just as catchy, and more sonically adventurous.

While frequently poignant, If I Never Know You Like This Again feels like a post-catharsis moment of hanging out, talking into the late hours, and making music with friends.

Entering Heaven Alive feels of a piece with White's previous work, yet the ideas are synthesized and executed in fresh, inventive ways, suggesting that the ungainly Boarding House Reach was indeed a transitionary album to allow him to do music that's as relaxed and vibrant as this.

Just as rewarding as the deeper dives into Garson's discography, Journey to the Moon and Beyond's breadth makes it a tremendously entertaining time capsule and a must-listen for his aficionados.

The feel of Ebo Taylor Jazz Is Dead 022 is loose, free, and joyous, and highlights this generous spirit with excellent songs and virtuosic musicianship.

While the album covers a wide range of heavy sounds, Blackwater Holylight designed the album so some of these intensities bleed into each others while some intentionally upset the balance. It’s a perfectly architected expression of uncertainty and stress, one that only occasionally offers a reminder of hope somewhere in the distance.

This record, and Light Verse, show that he is still searching, still working hard, and still able to imbue his albums with the same deep feeling and unstinting beauty that he has from the beginning.

The Big To-Do is a subtle but genuine step forward from 2008's Brighter Than Creation's Dark, but while that album dug deep into the darker undercurrents of its songs, The Big To-Do resembles Bruce Springsteen's The River in that its stories of folks under punishing circumstances are married to music that tries to find some sort of grace and honor in the struggle without dulling the lyrical impact.

Ultraviolet represents a further refinement of the new direction they've been heading in, making it not only the bands most accessible work to date, but also their most purposefully written and solidly constructed, putting it in the running for the best album of their career.

A collection of songs and finds Grant at his loosest, funniest, and most heartbreaking.

It showcases both sides of the trio's prowess: Rangda's ability to improvise dynamically and also to compose compelling, creating mysterious tunes that cross genres with ease and acumen.

The surfaces of this album may seem less bold than the albums that immediately preceded it, but All I Intended to Be is the work of a consummate artist who is still reaching out to new places even when she points to her creative history.

Just Because doesn't break down any walls in its bid for pop/rock superiority, but with voices this pure and earworms this painless it doesn't have to, as the Gruskas have crafted a timeless-sounding collection of songs with contemporary tools, and most importantly, they've done it with finesse.

As a whole, Culture of Volume is an intense and fascinating album, one that leaves sequel-like anticipation for what else East India Youth may have in store.

At times, Hollingworth and Walton's freewheeling experimentation gets a little too chaotic, but I, Gemini is an adventurous debut filled with moments of surprising beauty and humor.

The album succeeds in creating a calm state of mind, but it never dwells in one place for too long, sounding more excited than it might seem on the surface.

With Aghori Mhori Mei, Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins have made an album for those grown-up kids, their fans; a rock & roll pyre lit with myth and memory.

For its lack of rush-inducing highs and novel sounds, the album is immensely pleasurable, with fleet keyboard vamps and percussive effects that stab and flick ricocheting off pliant, bounding basslines.

Calcination is a harrowing, emotionally draining 51 minutes; it can’t be judged on anything but its essences lyrically and musically, making it an abundantly successful endeavor.

The sonic touches Hagg adds to her songs only makes them better. The combination of their gifts has resulted in something pretty special, possibly the best work either of them has done to date, and hopefully something that will continue.

It tends to be more atmospheric and less energized than the output of Dâm-Funk, but the inspiration of Ancheta's labelmate is unmistakable through all the lively keyboard work, chunky basslines that prance and prod, and adroit drum programming.

It’s that excitement and the sincerity of Wauters’ creative mission that gives MVD LUV its inherent sweetness and makes it more than just another album of happy-go-lucky folk-pop numbers.

If one is looking for the more adventurous and off-kilter band of their earlier days, steer clear. If it’s introspective, somewhat epic country rock balladry one desires, then Blu Wav might be just the thing. It's certainly the band's most focused record to date and if that seems a little unexciting, the emotional payoff will make it worthwhile in the end.

Black Velvet is a collection of odds and ends and not a proper album, and sometimes it sounds that way as it moves from track to track. But it is full of the heart, soul, and spirit that Charles Bradley summoned every time he stood before a microphone, and this is a moving reminder of how much he gave us, and how much we have lost.

"Electronica that falls somewhere between rock and dance" is probably the best way to sum up Freeland's Cope.

While their detachment makes the Chap a unique group and perhaps something of an acquired taste, We Are Nobody delivers some of their finest songs yet.

Nearly everything on this typically fine set of work, sound like future fan favorites and live staples.

One of his most accomplished efforts since his Chess/Impulse! heyday.

The tactile crackle and hiss underscoring the calm piano makes this all Hampson's work, as excellent and remarkable as always.

Summer Bones, the band's fourth studio long-player and first outing for Pure Noise Records, effectively seals the deal, offering up an 11-track set of slickly produced, earworm-heavy, festival-ready singalongs shot through with enough good old-fashioned punk/hardcore spirit to make the transition easy for old-schoolers looking for a respite from breakdown town.

Credit Broyles' mastery with six strings and a reverb pedal or Frobos' snarky, keening vocals. Give Mitchell a hand for pushing the songs forward with just the right balance of muscle and restraint. Most of all, just be glad these guys all quit their musical day jobs and formed Omni, because they made one heck of a good post-punk-pop album together.

It's still troubling that one of America's best songwriters seems to have lost the desire to pen new material, but For Better, or Worse shows John Prine hasn't lost his spirit as a performer.

Damaged Bug isn't just a great side project; it's almost as good as Dwyer's main gig, and Bunker Funk is one tiny tweak better than Cold Hot Plumbs.

The performances on Acoustic Classics II don't supplant the original recordings, but they do offer compelling alternate versions of some of the gems from his songbook, and this is a simple but satisfying addition to Thompson's recorded catalog.

This is a fantastic, highly creative set which maintains the recognizable Ekoplekz sound while still sounding new and different.

Tenderness sounds bigger, bolder, and more sensual than Blue Hawaii's previous work, thanks to the duo's embrace of house, disco, and '90s dance music.

The spacious nature of Sequence makes it a challenging listen even for those versed in experimental approaches. At times the band's long-winded emptiness is as easy to lose focus on as it is to be mesmerized by. Patient listening, however, reveals a tightly focused and deliberately crafted work by a band pushing their art forward at an aggressive pace.

It's fun to hear them spend time with the psych-pop of "She's a Rainbow" and get into the murk with "Dancing with Mr. D"--but it's not quite enough to justify a purchase for fans who already have these hits elsewhere. But for those who somehow don't have this music or are looking for a basic overview of the Stones' reign on album rock, MTV and beyond, this does the job.