With the release of the album DS2--Dirty Sprite 2, named after his hit mixtape -- he becomes a hip-hop version of Lee "Scratch" Perry, a strange and yet in command figure standing at the center of a slick, inventive swirl of music.

Splitting this weighty and rich effort into digestible chunks, the album's physical release comes on two separate discs, making Summertime '06 an artistic triumph wrapped in conceptually fitting package.

Young still doesn't do darkness as well as light but Mobile Orchestra shows a willingness to grow and change that makes it the most complete portrait of Owl City's music yet.

Southeastern was a triumph from a talented songwriter and vocalist who stepped up to a new level; Something More Than Free shows Jason Isbell knows he just got there, and is still making use of that hard-won knowledge--it confirms his status as a major artist.

A diverse set of songs but the key to Monroe's appeal is that she seems neither showy nor calculating when she expands beyond her classic country roots. She rolls easy, luxuriating in that exquisite sound, her soft touch making the heartbreak and the humor seem equally alluring.

It is recognizably the album in its form but not quite in feel.

Works for Tomorrow stands alongside their best albums.

Born in the Echoes is an excellent mash of familiar and vanguard, the very same formula that lifts all the duo's best albums above expectations.

Those attracted to the collaboration's premise will very likely appreciate its results.

These performances mark the apotheosis of a creative journey that began at Newport two decades earlier.

Their album is all thriller, zero filler.

Magnifique doesn't show a ton of artistic growth or progression; it's more of a rebranding that tightly focuses on their strengths and passes them to the consumer like a sharp, swift punch to the brain and feet.

In the end, the street-worthy effort seems more influenced by Maybach Music than Minaj, as it forsakes the paparazzi and gossip pages for the better and continues on the path first laid out on the man's mixtapes.

While Currents would have made a decent Kevin Parker solo album, people coming to the album and expecting to hear the Tame Impala they are used to will most likely end up quite disappointed.

While a few tracks sound too similar to each other, How Does It Feel's best moments deliver pop accessibility without sacrificing any of MS MR's identity.

Instrumentals 2015 feels like a successful reinvention after such a lengthy absence, but at the same time, it could've been beamed in at any point during FSA's existence, as its elemental, bare-basics construction isn't beholden to any trends, and therefore it feels timeless.

Her earnestness is nearly as appealing as her prettiness, a quality apparent in both her voice and her surroundings.

Gold and Stone is another intriguing entry in the discography of Eternal Summers, a band who is quickly building up an impressive body of work.

Sonically, Explains is breezy, effortless, and warm as a Pacific Ocean sunset, and its laid-back vibe helps tame some of Field's more manic, pop culture-laden diatribes like "Light Brang" and "Where."

Starfire certainly isn't as game-changing as LPs like Agharta and Pangaea, the mood and spirit is that of Miles in the '70s, but with the mechanically precise rhythms one would expect from a group born in the era of acid jazz.

Olympic Mess is a gripping sound odyssey which bewilders and occasionally perturbs.

Yuck may be bereft of any edges, but it's devilishly clever sophisti-pop disguised as big- box shopping center background music.

The lyrical content, along with the album's constant energy, make this Everything Everything's most focused effort thus far, one that bundles brawny indie rock with 2010s Zeitgeist.

An extension of their ever-evolving canon, The Sovereign Self is possibly Trembling Bells' most colorful journey yet, with a wayfaring rock & roll spirit and a madcap zeal that keep it sounding fresh.

It's the sound of someone coming out the other side of personal upheaval, and even if there are a few missteps, Williams connects in a very human way, providing plenty of allure for an album that feels very much like a debut.

While the lyrics still bristle with discontent, they're less defiant and more concerned with the journey than they are the inevitable descent/ascent to oblivion.

That the band never lose themselves in the process of these myriad digressions is impressive to say the least, but what's most notable about Found in Far Away Places is how fluid the ride is.

All of Container's recordings are amazing, but this one is his most concentrated burst of energy yet, and it cements his status as one of the most exciting and inventive artists in the underground American electronic music scene, as well as one of the most successful in merging noise with techno.

Call Me Insane shows the honky tonk man can still write 'em and sing 'em as well as you could hope, and he's not slowing down a quarter-century into his career.

This possible soundtrack takes a more abstract route while offering the same love and reverence, and it's also an almost-solo album from Lauryn Hill, the driving force behind six of the album's 16 tracks.

Engaging songwriting, with lyrics mostly of the love variety here, also anchor her solidly in worthwhile territory--Work It Out is far from a sellout-type effort.

Ultimately, Years & Years are so passionately in touch with their influences, they've transformed them into something new and full of the light.

Ghost Notes is their most consistent--and consistently enjoyable--album yet.

Ultimately, Working Girl plays like Little Boots' own biopic, a cinematic feminist synth-pop manifesto set to a pulsing Giorgio Moroder-esque soundtrack.

This isn't among the most substantive Four Tet albums, but it does reward repeated casual listening.

Low on drama but high on seemingly effortless jangle pop brilliance, Calling Out feels like a long-lost classic and an exciting discovery.

If you're willing to get on board with Ezra Furman and the beautifully messy world that he celebrates here, Perpetual Motion People is a ride worth taking.

Like the films Superman 2 and Aliens, the concept LP Twelve Reasons to Die II meets, and for action junkies exceeds, the high standard set by its predecessor.

If How Far Will You Go is hit-and-miss as music, it's a remarkable document of a forgotten musical detour on the way to the sexual revolution, utterly fearless and not much like anything else of its era.

Ultimately, Between the Buried & Me, despite employing many tropes and influences, come off sounding like no one but themselves.

Best Friends have arrived fully formed on their debut, ready to take their place among the best practitioners of noisy garagey pop around.

Unpredictable and ruthlessly abstract, Pattern of Excel is possibly the most avant-garde release in Ninja Tune's long history, and may seem like a stark departure from Lee Bannon's earlier works, but it's really just a continuation of his tendency to follow his fearlessly creative spirit into uncharted territory.

Even with its relatively brief running time (44 minutes), Atheist's Cornea is an exhausting, exhilarating listen.

The album offers a fresh perspective on minimal techno, keeping things energetic and more than a little bit apprehensive.

The album works more as a selection of striking individual pieces than a coherent whole; there are moments of brilliance here, but they're inconsistent, and the album has more than its share of false endings that muddle the pacing.

Hammer of the Witches doesn't reach the heights of Dusk of Her Embrace, but it does offer proof that there is plenty of fire and creativity left in Cradle of Filth.

Among scads of other bands that specialized in hectoring vocals, droning basslines, battering drums, and scraping guitars, In Camera weren't all that distinctive, but they created quite a racket.

Dark Matter/Dark Energy is a potent reminder that Robb and his collaborators are still finding their way into the heart of darkness (which isn't too far from their hometown), and sending back compelling reports of what they've seen and heard.

Established fans will likely welcome the new developments; it's not a shift in style so much as in attitude, and her relatable introspection is in full force, just at a different stage--still searching but looking toward the light.

Portraits establishes Maribou State as an intriguing pair of sonic architects, capable of crafting intricate but not cluttered, blue but not depressing, emotive electronic pop music.

McAlinden knows how to wrap sadness, joy, heartache, and nostalgia into simple box with a ray of sunshine for a bow. Rest and be thankful, indeed.

All told, on top of Yukon Blonde's engaging songwriting, production by Tiger Talk's Colin Stewart and mixing by Tony Hoffer (OK Go, Depeche Mode, the Kooks) combine for a winning dose of sensual, high-octane, synth-psych indie grub.

An engaging debut from a band that hits a graceful midpoint between The Basement Tapes and the Gourds, not to mention delivering one of 2015's more pleasant surprises.

Not all bands have to reinvent the wheel; they just need to roll it with some passion and dedication. Fist City do that and more on Everything Is a Mess.

This is the work of an artist eager to explore new paths, and if it isn't a complete success, I Aubade confirms Perkins is still a vital and imaginative artist with a singular vision.

A bit of a grower, Jaakko Eino Kalevi is a subtly enticing album that establishes his niche within experimental pop.

Cemetery Highrise Slum is a worthy effort with a highly crafted vibe, but Creepoid's personality only shines through some of the time.

Many of the songs are sturdy, constructed to support these grand ambitions, but these individual pieces are not as consequential as the big, big picture

Fleeting likenesses notwithstanding, Bilal is a one-off, and his hip-hop soul summit with Younge, tucked inside the art of Angelbert Metoyer, is one for the ages.

Bleeder is one of the best outsider metal albums of the year.

Freedom sounds as furiously principled as this group has ever been, and it's a liberating, hard-hitting exercise in punk for smart people.

Vulnerable, seductive, and expansive, Inji is a promising reintroduction to Eastgate's music that honors his past while moving forward.

If the individual message may wind up fading like yesterday's newspapers, the music will keep The Monsanto Years burning bright.

While the reduction in lucid hooks and the uptick in wince-inducing lyrics diminish the album's appeal, the charms are hard to repel.

With equally quirky lyrics and coming in at under 30 minutes, Teen Men is a tight little ten-track parcel of kooky sweetness where head bobbing is unavoidable.

When Koze finally gets around to mixing in some house tracks, they're midtempo and bittersweet rather than high-energy floor fillers, and uniformly excellent, particularly Frank & Tony's sublime "Bring the Sun. One wonders how astonishing the mix would be if it had consisted entirely of tracks like this, but the variety is refreshing, and Koze's adventurous spirit is always admirable.

While Dancing at the Blue Lagoon brings Cayucas' shortcomings to the fore, more often than not it's more blandly pleasant than irritating, serving up a watered-down tropical drink of an album that just doesn't connect the way Bigfoot did.

A surprising amount of funky electro helps separate this groovemaster from the competition.

Everybody Is Going to Heaven is a bold statement full of creative ideas, but it's not without its growing pains.

In the end, the infamous LP isn't the album of the year, but it isn't an artistic flop either, just a pleasing effort from a punchline-dealing party gangsta who knows the power of a good hook.

Producers Wheezy and London on da Track handle most the beats on this freaky and fantastic release.

Ask a Yelawolf regular for a listener's guide then split apart this purposeful beast accordingly.

Odd that "Beautiful Now" goes from horny ("I see what you're wearing/There's nothing beneath it") to Maroon 5-esque (the cloying "ba, ba, ba-ba, bah!" chorus), but otherwise the slick and skillful True Colors is built for fans of Zedd's music rather than his social media followers.

Even though Vieux Loup is markedly different from its predecessors in the Acorn's catalog, it feels like a natural, graceful evolution, and is an elegantly understated, resonant listening experience.

Any Prurient release is a demanding listen, but Frozen Niagara Falls is one of his most surprising and rewarding works.

File this one next to C-Murder's Truest $#!@ I Ever Said as it's a gripping prison album that is embracing freedom upon its release, but know that this is a much more polished effort.

This may be Prinz and Horn's most minimalist music yet, but it's also some of their most rewarding.

Consider it the slow and softer Major Lazer album that's built for headphone listening, but most of all, consider it.

Drenched in Auto-Tune and more frustrated than a ringtone rapper should be, Lil Durk turns in a surprisingly down effort with Remember My Name.

The lack of urgency is also welcome, with Alternative Light Source slowly unfurling as the most natural and comfortable Leftfield album to date.

What they lack in adolescent kick they more than compensate with savvy, smarts, and muscle, sounding like passionate survivors who are happy to fight for what they love in an era that takes such spirit for granted.

That bifurcated sentiment is best laid out on prime cuts like "1999," "Too Late," "These Arms," and the luxurious title cut, all of which ooze atmosphere and vulnerability, but are denied oblivion by the grounding force of Grossi's remarkable voice.

Even if My Love Is Cool sacrifices some of Wolf Alice's earlier fury, the album is all the stronger for it.

As with the album's first two cuts, it incorporates several movements, yet it's hip-hop much more than techno and never fades into the background like a fusty Mo' Wax scrap.

Bones is inventive, unsettling, imposing, and utterly arresting.

The news (good or bad) is that Tweedy helped Thompson make just the sort of album that's made him one of our greatest legacy artists, and it's an example of why Thompson is still worth hearing 43 years into a career that shows no signs of stopping.

It carefully builds--creatively and emotionally--on everything Baird had accomplished so far and ascends to another level entirely.

Feels Like gets high marks for craft but barely merits a passing grade for fresh thinking.

Politically charged punk rock can be an exhausting and overtly self-righteous affair in the wrong hands, but Oberst and company temper their outrage with unadulterated melodic might, resulting in that rare protest album that rewards both the condemners and the condemned.

It's all a pleasing time warp without turbulence, one with songs built more to evoke the past than to last in one's memory.

Holistic in breadth and deep in vision, it provides a way into this music for many, and challenges the cultural conversation about jazz without compromising or pandering.

As it moves from reflective to engaging and back again, In Colour covers the entire spectrum of Jamie xx's music, delivering flashes of brilliance along the way.

This set is welcoming, open, and warm: it invites fans of all of his musical pursuits along for the ride.

You're Going to Make It is convincing proof that Mates of State are far from that less-than-thrilling fate [of playing the oldies circuit].

Ahe stumbles when she gets lighter, particularly on "Family Is Family," where it seems like she can't wait to be rid of those leeches--but it's hardly enough to prevent the album from being a rich, enchanting collection of stories, confessions, and the occasional joke.

Tamia does not to attempt to hit those high notes that Williams and few others have been able to reach, but she gets the feeling across. It's a fine finish to her best album yet.

If the title suggests a concept that isn't quite there, the music speaks for itself, and what it says is eloquent and deeply pleasing.

Year of the Hare is best recommended to fans who already have a grasp of Fucked Up's more esoteric moments--beginners should try 2011's David Comes to Life or 2014's Glass Boys--but this is still smart, lively, and thoroughly individual music from one of the most free-thinking bands to emerge from the punk rock underground.