Concrete Desert is far from relaxing, but chances are you already gathered that. While it is effective, at nearly 70 minutes, it's better digested in small doses to better distinguish the multiplicity of textural, dynamic, and sonic strategies at work in individual pieces.

Channel Pressure is equally enjoyable as a painstaking period re-creation drenched in neon nostalgia and nylon nausea, and as a piece of sterling (if decidedly warped) electronic pop music in its own right.

It's a good-time record, but one intended to showcase how Mudcrutch hit harder and dig a bit deeper than they initially seemed to do.

Upon first listen, Saltbreakers feels significantly less chilly than 2005's sparse Year of Meteors, but further spins reveal a dark core that radiates warmth only intermittently.

Regardless of how his bandmates might feel, those who like their indie pop filled with soft light and tender beauty will fall in love with this album quite easily.

A vibrant return to form... thrilling and rewarding.

It's not a radical departure for Belle & Sebastian -- there are several intimate, folky numbers that would comfortably fit on their previous records. But having these tunes surrounded by songs that successfully stretch the group's sound gives The Life Pursuit an unexpected, wholly welcome vitality.

Granted, they're not fishing for another viral earworm here, but you'd think they could come up with something better -- for the lead single, no less -- than "Michael Jackson"'s feeble placeholder of a refrain.

Alvvays find a way to articulate their heart-struck, dream-like songs with deft intention and control.

As far as follow-ups go, the Julie Ruin have hit their mark squarely with this oddly hooky, and totally unique, release.

A thoroughly enjoyable LP that sounds warm and familiar upon the first play and gets stronger with each spin.

Clem Snide's fifth album holds no surprises for anyone who has heard albums one through four. End of Love is just as whip smart, goofy, and satisfying as any of them.

Forty years after his debut, I’m New Here contains the artful immediacy that distinguishes Scott-Heron’s best art. The modern production adds immeasurably to that quality, underscores his continued relevance in reflecting the times, and opens his work to a new generation of listeners while giving older ones a righteous jolt.

Real Gone is another provocative moment for Waits, one that has problems, but then, all his records do.

If any one album can be said to pick up on the surreal funk explorations of latter-day Miles Davis, Uninvisible is it.

Thought-provoking and a bit of a downer in ways Grandaddy probably didn't intend, Sumday isn't a totally empty experience, but its ambitions and results don't add up as well as might have been expected.

If there were any doubters about Lamb being the brightest, most talented singer/producer combo in electronica, What Sound is all the argument needed to the contrary.

With rugged guitar riffs and solos and Finn's half-sung, scratchy voice, the Hold Steady mostly succeed, easily recalling the classic rock of early Bruce Springsteen or the sincerity of latter-day Hüsker Dü.

An invigorating and glorious mess of undistilled Rock fury.

As could be expected, the set works best when the group focuses on material from its most recent forebears: rappers and hardcore bands.

The downside to a more refined and mature record is that some of their ramshackle charm and energy has been lost. Not enough to make the band bland, but if they take one more step toward professionalism the next record may turn out that way.

If Earthquake Glue isn't a masterpiece, it's as close as this band can be expected to get, and is the rare Guided By Voices effort that's imaginative enough for longtime loyalists and tight enough for dabblers at the same time.

Mighty Rearranger is a literate, ambitious, and sublimely vulgar exercise in how to make a mature yet utterly unfettered rock & roll album that takes chances, not prisoners, and apologizes for nothing.

On Collisions, the band wipes the sleep out of its eyes and produces a set of songs that is more inspired and vital, even if it's equally embittered and dejected.

System of a Down confound and irritate even as they rock.

Even with the band, what comes through most clearly is Votolato's voice, which is better than ever here, rough and emotive, honest to a fault.

The Broken String ups the ante considerably, reworking ten songs from the EP cycle and two new cuts into lustrous indie pop notable for its versatility, clever lyrics, and offbeat instrumentation.

Loveless treats these songs without even a trace of nostalgia, but as the living embodiment of stories that not only transfer emotion, but reveal the hidden truths of love, life, sadness, grief, and wisdom gained by experience.

An open-minded rock record that relies on a wide array of familiar signifiers but never once sounds like it could have been recorded or released any earlier than it was.

This one is solid from top to bottom.

While this album sounds like the Chieftains playing in fusion mode, it is so much more ambitious than anything they’ve attempted before. Some of the music here is contemporary, though much of it is over a century old; yet it reaches past its settings into the present day, telling of the indelibly rich meeting of two cultures oppressed by a third.

Our Cubehouse Still Rocks has no shortage of guitar firepower, and with tough six-string snarl dominating much of the album, these 16 songs have more than enough rock & roll muscle to give shape and power to Pollard's pop-flavored melodies.

Peanut Butter ... might be just a little too left-field to capture the zeitgeist in the same way that Skinner did a decade previously, but it's a hypnotic and ultimately rewarding debut which, along with recent efforts from James Blake and Jamie Woon, proves that the words chill-out and challenging don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Languid, pastoral, and remarkably serene (each track segues into each other like ice melting on a spring pond), Diamond Mine is so unobtrusive that it barely registers.... A lovely collection of ambient folk songs.

Other than the annoyances listed, Don't Blame the Stars is an enjoyable, fairly well-executed album of decent Americana songs. No more, no less.

This kind of contrast between light and dark makes Leveler a wonderfully dynamic album that is musically engaging with mercifully few bass bombs. Theological differences aside, metal fans would do well to give this one a chance.

She's the rarest of things in modern country: a singer who can't help but be compelling no matter what she sings.

The soundtrack to PJ20 is not for them, it's for those who have stuck with the group through thick and thin, through any number of new drummers, and they'll certainly find much that rewards their fandom here.

Solid yet understated, it's Hannigan's obvious gift for melody, tasteful arrangements, and remarkably emotive elocution (when her voice breaks, the heart follows suit) that keeps Passenger afloat, while the world schemes and churns beneath.

While it would be an exaggeration to call his music a parody, he often seems to have his tongue in his cheek.

Winterpills' All My Lovely Goners is a rich and often quite enjoyable listen.

Recruiting a variety of guests and fellow travelers, including Eyvind Kang and Crys Cole, Oren Ambarchi continues in his vein of excellent solo releases on Touch with 2012's An Audience of One.

Fans of Anda Jaleo will immediately warm to this ten-song set.

Immaculately produced and performed, I Can See the Future is chock-full of breezy, likable retro-pop that's made for people who like their nostalgia delivered through the wonders of modern fidelity, and while it may put off, at first, those with a predilection for Mandell's darker side, it won't take but a spin or two make them see the light.

While much of Susanna's reputation may have been built on her skills as an interpreter of other people's songs, Wild Dog is a testament to the subtly haunting power of her own music.

The perfect blend of modern and classic, Loma Vista is an album with a unique vision that captures the spirit of modern alt-rock (with all the trimmings) yet is rooted in classic pop songwriting. It is an album that is honest, earnest, and entirely unpretentious.

This "less is more" approach shows off the wealth of songwriting these two have cultivated in their other projects, and makes Criminal Heaven a beautifully blissful debut that is warm, comforting, and typically Swedish in the best way possible.

The mood is thick and cloaking, and the album represents a continuing development toward the best and most captivating material of Caminiti's expansive body of work.

Awakened lives up to the reputation the AILD have built for themselves over the last decade or so of recording, showing their ability to find just the right balance between cathartic aggression and soaring melody while maintaining a velocity that seems more and more impressive.

Mark Sasso's expressive lead vocals convey the anguish and desperation of the characters they sing about while the instrumental work of Stephen Pitkin on drums and percussion, and Casey Laforet's inventive contributions on lead guitar, bass pedals, and keyboards provide subtle, cinematic coloring to the tunes.

They seem have found a sense of clarity amid the chaos at certain points.

The demonic rage of this innovative band approaching 20 years in existence is in top form on these 11 unrelenting songs.

What makes Migrant interesting is that it's finally giving him the opportunity to simply cut loose and write whatever songs come to mind, and though fans might miss the conceptual hooks of his past work, the album is solid enough to stand all on its own.

Recommended Record is a super-stylized collage of sounds, clearly put together by big music fans, and it's ambitious palette of sounds only occasionally falters.

Produced by Suicidal frontman Mike Muir, the album includes 13 tracks of the type of petulant, cathartic, thrashy hardcore the band is known for.

These songs are fun, energetic, and full of backcountry outlaw attitude.

Psychic 9-5 Club is indeed a new chapter for HTRK as they strip away nearly everything, finding unexpected strengths.

The Phantom Band's material is of a higher grade and their eclectic sonic blend only adds to this strength.

With James' voice and nearly iconic harmonic sensibility as a guide, these genres flow into, rub against, and ultimately redefine one another. His creative reach, at least at this juncture appears to be boundless.

A deep, heady trip, No Time is a step forward for Soft Walls that builds on the debut's strengths and suggests even more potential for Reeves' future solo outings.

It's a welcome return for Car that shows how fun and powerful his music is when it's focused and direct.

Every song has a brilliantly shiny chorus, chord changes that inspire deep nostalgic feels, and a snappy, tough-minded lyrical outlook that fit the era and still sounds right in 2014.

The coming-of-age and kinetic SremmLife reminds listeners that jumping into "poppa's chair" was a thrilling mix of pride and new opportunities, plus, the album doubles as a guaranteed party soundtrack.

Somewhat disorienting, MIFLSA is a messy, incredible collection of damaged pop, and shows a band that's been forming for a while stepping into its full capabilities.

Like most of the delightfully bleak Nervous, it's both dense and impossibly airy, like a storm cloud about to blow.

nd. Acorn Man also delivers a classic Billy Childish rant with "Punk Rock Enough for Me," in which he offers an impressive litany of the things that live up to his standard of cool.

Boxed In's approach isn't exactly new, but it's not nearly as confined as their name suggests--they've delivered a winning debut that's often more consistent than the work of their better-known contemporaries.

On their second LP for Epitaph, San Diego-based hardcore act Retox continue to whittle away any extraneous trimmings, delivering a needle-sharp set that is brutal, fast, and rigidly concise.

For all its sonic investigation and ellipticity, Skullsplitter is an intimate, even readily accessible offering that is quite human in its unhurried exposition of emotional depth and vulnerability.

Ultimately, this short EP is an extension of Cheatahs' ambition as they seek to establish themselves as a musical force in their own right.

It's been a long time coming, to the point when it seemed it might never happen, but Soft Connections announces the reappearance of a major talent, one whom all fans of indie pop owe it to themselves to discover or rediscover.

Third albums are often career-killers, exposing a band's lack of ideas. No worries here, though; Surf City sound like they still have another few years of greatness left in them.

Banditos are one of the most promising roots music discoveries in quite some time, and this album is a genuinely impressive introduction.

Power in the Blood's stylistic adventure and restless aesthetic spirit are indeed Sainte-Marie's hallmarks. But on their own, musical and sonic diversity do not a fine album make. It takes good songs and inspired performances to balance the equation, and this album has them all.

Easily the band's finest work yet, Illegals' little quirks and huge emotions have what it takes to sweep listeners off their feet.

A lovely, stimulating debut album, Contrepoint is a beautifully written love letter to musical history and creativity.

This is not just a nostalgic look back at a classic album, but Merchant fully inhabiting the material in the present tense. The depth in these recordings makes it a welcome companion to Tigerlily.

Combined with schizophrenic production (Evian Christ, Boody, Balam Acab, Lunice) that leaps from horny trap to frantic electroclash, Riot Boi overwhelms with twists, turns, and surprises, all of which are exhilarating.

While each disc stands on its own, it's the sum total that makes this a career-defining work.

It captures the best aspects of their past, while sounding like dream pop perfection in the present and promising more good things for the future.

The succession of guest artists is so long that it becomes disruptive. Jeremih nonetheless delivers enough slightly quavering, somewhat vulnerable sounding NC-17 and X-rated lines to keep ears perked.

A record that exists out of time but feels fresh in how it evokes portions of our collective past.

If Turin Brakes' world-view has changed little over the years, their embrace of the craft of record-making has only improved, and Lost Property is an impressive document of their skills in the recording studio.

The overwhelming stillness of Promise demands attention but ultimately rewards it: it's an album that comforts the unease that arrives in moments of solitude, whether they arrive in the dead of night or in the chill of the morning.

While Mitchell has his stamp on both this album and the Ricked Wicky material, Of Course You Are is also one of the most musically ambitious albums Pollard has released under his various monikers in quite some time.

There's plenty here to enjoy at a high volume, and at twice the length of their debut, Bloodsweat practically comes off as a double album.

On his volume of !K7's DJ-Kicks series, Damon Riddick, aka Dām-Funk, affably replicates the spirit of his weekly Funkmosphere club night.

U is quite an accomplished full-length debut from a talented producer.

Several shorter, fragmentary cuts provide glimpses of indescribable studio happenings that can't be replicated. Titles like "Copy of Crazy" and "The Monkey in the Machine" hint at the playful, slightly chaotic nature of these sessions.

Rhyton sound like they could easily play for hours on end and not get tired, and possibly not even come close to reaching their peak, but they rein in their impulses in order to keep things focused and explore more ideas in the album format, and it works pretty well.

From start to finish, Trick is arresting, with enough sonic surprises to excite and perplex listeners freed from the restrictions of genre boundaries.

As its title suggests, there's an eldritch purity to Older Terrors' combination of post-rock, shoegaze, and metal that makes it some of Esben & the Witch's most ambitious and captivating music.

Ruins is an undeniably heavy bit of business, and if given time to work its magic, it will both infect and inspire.

There's a palpable sense of real listening, of generously shared creativity. Ultimately, it's that synergistic spark that makes Thile and Mehldau's collaboration sound less like a one-off experiment and more like the start of a lasting partnership.

As impressionistic as the smeary sounds can be, it's an album that rests on its sturdy songs and Lane's powerful performance, two elements that keep Highway Queen as engaging on repeated listens as it is on its first.

Occasionally, Genders' musical adaptations verge on becoming overly fussy, but for the most part, the contributions of each partner are pleasantly transformed by this strange affair.

Produced by Guy Picciotto of Fugazi in tandem with engineer Greg Norman, Cost of Living is a tougher and leaner effort than Full Communism, with the group's abundant energy even more tightly focused.

With a couple more killer songs and rougher production, it will all come together eventually. Until then, this is a fine place to mark Leo's welcome comeback.