This collection ultimately serves as a chronology of an incredibly important band as it phases through the good, bad, and ugly of an unprecedented run of magical songs in every era.

Boman and Talabot seem to have enjoyed themselves coming up with these gritty, off-the-cuff tracks, and The Night Land is easily enjoyable without being too safe or conventional.

Aside from that final somber moment, the rest of the LP is an absolute blast, yet another collection of reliable singalongs to "Oi!" your cares away.

Written in Chalk is a welcome return by one of American music's great--if under-recognized--duos.

Love Remains is a striking debut, one that speaks to how we listen to and remember music we love, and the impact it makes on everything else we hear.

His spectral voice moves within billowing clouds of elliptical melody, many of which are painted using much brighter colors than their melancholic librettos would suggest, resulting in something that's very much like the anachronistic cult anthology television show that helped to inspire them.

The combination of open heart and open road -- there's no other place the stomping "Black Widow" would sound better -- makes Denim & Diamonds a remarkable record.

The Next Day neither enhances nor diminishes anything that came before, it's merely a sweet coda to a towering career.

Ultimately, Mirror is another Lloyd triumph. It may not shake the rafters with its kinetics, but it does dazzle with the utterly symbiotic interplay between leader and sidemen.

New Multitudes, on the other hand, aims for a darker and more introspective tone, and when Farrar takes center stage, he unwittingly reveals his Achilles' Heel--no matter who he works with, he insists on dominating the musical conversation, and when his co-writer has been dead since 1967, there's not much hope for any real balance.

Banga is an event; it's not only provocative and expansive lyrically, but abundantly enjoyable musically.

Stewarding them into their next phase is producer Joe Reinhart (Joyce Manor, Hop Along) whose outside influence helped streamline their powerful sound into a surprisingly cohesive album, given the album's unusual sequence.

Easily Conway's most impressive work to date, God Don't Make Mistakes is a culmination of everything he's experienced and achieved so far, and a bridge to the next phase of his life.

It frequently upends expectations while confirming Clark's broad talent and imagination, and if this doesn't convince you he's a major artist, nothing will.

The very nature of the group's hyperbolic and perpetually exploding design means they're still inherently polarizing, love-it-or-hate-it kind of music. For those who love it, 10,000 Gecs offers more -- so much more, always more -- to love.

If there's a complaint about Never Were the Way She Was, it's that it's too brief. These pieces last only as long as they hold interest for the players, though they all create a real desire for more in the listener--which is no complaint at all.

Tirtha is a triumph; it is a high-water mark in hearing the constantly evolving discussion between jazz and Indian music.

Tramp offers plenty for listeners to enjoy as she goes.

This understated makeover casts Speak Now not as the final Taylor country record but as the first pop album from the singer/songwriter, a revision that offers its own gentle revisions.

All the unearthed Stones material is strong--particularly the pair of acoustic numbers, "Prodigal Son" and "You Gotta Move"--but in comparison to what made it onto the LP, they do sound like outtakes (to be fair, the LP did have some minor overdubs whereas these five cuts seem to be unadorned with additions), and they're also overshadowed by the absolutely terrific opening sets.

Longtime fans will be pleased, and folks who only know Newman from his film scores will be startled at the depth of the man's body of work, even on a collection with a couple of (relative) ringers.

The Suicide-meets-Can growl that opens "Green and Blue," for instance, may be a familiar element in other revivals, but Cronin puts enough of a hooky spin on the feedback rampage to help make it stand out as the album's first down-the-line success.

It's a varied yet unified set with lots of high points.

In 2013, it takes a certain level of bravery to make R&B this open-hearted, joyous, and musical. U.K. acts like 4hero, New Sector Movements, and Bugz in the Attic were doing it in the early 2000s, but none of them put it together quite like this, in one concentrated shot, with the songwriting on the same high level as the productions and arrangements. This crew is elite.

Alafia is a serious album, and its musical complexity, its rich lyric structures, dynamic textures, and complex rhythmic palette serve to reflect on the bitter fruit of conflict, yet make it Touré's most compelling musical statement to date.

Common Ground isn't "The Return of the Alvin Brothers" so much as a joyous continuation of the mission they launched when the Blasters first hit the stage in 1979, and if they're a little older and craggier in 2014, they clearly know how to make this stuff rock, and this is a modest triumph for one of roots rock's most fascinating partnerships.

Mostly though, the record is pure, creepy uneasy listening, a well-thought-out and executed deconstruction of their sound.

Undying Color was clearly the beginning of a new phase for Mind Over Mirrors, but its follow-up feels more complete, and hopefully anticipates something even more dazzling.