It's a lean, potent work, and even if it's not one of Low's most superficially pleasant collections of songs, it's certainly among their most necessary ones.

Gore is a triumphant reminder that a veteran act can continue to grow and still remain relevant.

There's still a kind of inconsistency in the development of Through the Windowpane, an inconsistency that can't quite work itself out in sweeping strings and vaguely dissonant chords, and unfortunately, this diminishes the power of what the album really could be.

It's a return to form and just what fans of Cliff's early work could ask for, but it's vital too, putting it on the man's top shelf, somewhere in the vicinity of The Harder They Come soundtrack and Wonderful World, Beautiful People.

The album rolls along with a meditative, confident feeling, morphing into a bright dream-like celebration in its many various peaks.

For all the conflict imagery, War & Leisure is often brightly colored, even upbeat.

Overall, though, these songs are meant to exist in a complete volume, tied together gracefully with a sweetness that belies their complexity.

It is apparent that The Ghost of Orion was born in the aftermath of strife, strain, and fear; but these are balanced by gratitude, endurance, and even benevolence; the conflicting tensions exist with no attempt to alleviate them, and all of these qualities are among the many reasons My Dying Bride has, for more than three decades, reigned at the pinnacle of doom metal.

While The Gods We Can Touch is ultimately a pop record, it only expands upon AURORA's already mystical bearing.

Remaining in the same musical neighborhood as his debut, its sentiments were inspired by looking back at that transient time just before young adulthood, in his case in the early 2000s. ... That lesson in experience and optimism shines through dreamy guitar atmospheres on much of the record, including opener "Corncob."

Like Everyday Robots, there's an existential loneliness thrumming throughout The Magic Whip, but there's also camaraderie, a sense that companionship can pull you through, and that's especially true of Albarn and Coxon, who prove once again to be the other's ideal collaborator, refining, expanding, and sharpening their ideas, turning a potential throwaway to something quietly resonant.

Unlike a lot of bands that seem to reunite just to cash in or repeat the past, the Coral came back with a renewed focus and a new sound. That's impressive in itself, and resulted in one of the band's best albums to date.

His hopped-up hipster everyman with a bruised heart style is perfect for the band's small-club intensity, and the album leaps out of the speakers with an intense power that makes it more than just a commemoration of their 2010 tour; it's a vital addition to their already near-perfect catalog.

Recommending this album seems too light a course of action; requiring it may be more apt. Consider Hold on Now, Youngster...highly required, then.

Anyone who thought maybe the band's moment had passed will be pleasantly surprised to hear that Beach Fossils are back and better than ever.

The Plot Against Common Sense shows that Future of the Left are still fighting the good fight, even if the ranks have changed a bit.

Profoundly authentic, nostalgic, and graceful throughout, The Horizon Just Laughed does nothing less than reaffirm that Jurado is one of the best songwriters in the business.

Quite simply, there are precious few indie songwriters who can impress as easily as Andy Shauf, and Neon Skyline is the work of an artist delivering on their significant promise.

Even as Quelle Chris' music grows more challenging, it's still highly compelling, and his lyrics are filled with sharp, powerful observations about life, death, success, and failure.

Even though they lighten the mood ever so slightly with "Lip Sync," a collage of detached vocals and lurching blasts that's the closest they've come to a pop song, every moment angeltape announces Drahla as a band worthy of far more attention.

Many listeners may find themselves drawn in by the authentic retro indie style and musical similarities to bands like Bettie Serveert and Helium, but the daring, experimental mystique and whip-smart pop melodies ultimately make Major Arcana grow infectious with repeated listens.

This is another step into the sonic and lyric terrain plowed on Retribution, but one in which SF's aggressive, thrashing abandon, musical sophistication, and melodies co-exist in near perfect balance.

En Yay Sah is easily the most auspicious--and original--debut album of 2012.

If you say you've heard a better adult pop record this year, you are lying.

Accomplished, varied, and rather easygoing, though not gripping, indie pop/rock.

Marshall?s sparest album yet, The Covers Album uses guitar and piano as the only foils for her malleable, emotional voice.

There were some signs prior to this 2008 archival release that this particular gig was pretty good--some of the cuts surfaced on the posthumous live 1999 comp "From Here to Eternity" and the video to 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' came from this gig--but all the decades of disastrous myths help turn Live at Shea Stadium into a pleasant surprise.

There are not a lot of bands who do what Protomartyr does, and even if there were, the skill and fury of their music would still set them apart, and Consolation is a brief but potent reminder that they're a force to be reckoned with.