It's hard to know where to start in praising her: she has a voice as clear and carefully modulated as that of a young Alison Krauss; her songs are rooted in tradition but full of sly and subtle complications that will take any careful listener by delighted surprise, and her mandolin playing is a thrilling combination of sparkling precision and jazzy abandon.

Utilizing a pit band that includes percussion, melodica, pump organ, bassoon, cello, glockenspiel, tuba, and sousaphone, Regifted Light is largely instrumental, allowing listeners the pleasure of hearing Dee's artfully constructed melodies and arrangements, as well as her truly impressive ivory work, without the arguable distraction of her divisive, thespian-bred voice.

At the age of 64, Emmylou Harris has made an album as fresh and distinctive as any in her catalog, and Hard Bargain is a reminder that her evolution into a songwriter is one of the most pleasant surprises in a career that's produced rewarding music for nearly 40 years.

I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive's lone downer is Burnett's unnecessarily heavy-handed production. That said, Earle's vocals front and center in a brilliant song cycle transcend it.

Lundgren and crew may have lost some of the buzz they initially had when the band first started, but they've gained grace and emotional strength in return. That's a pretty good trade, and for the fans who have stuck with them, it makes Forever Today their most satisfying record to date.

Talahomi Way's details can speak louder than its actual songs, but this isn't a criticism: here, O'Hagan and crew use those details to make an album that is equally pastoral and meticulous, and listening to it is like visiting a perfectly arranged topiary garden.

Just two-and-a-half hours and 34 tracks (including two hidden bonuses at the end of the third disc) of solid rhyming and beatmaking, most of them excellent, some of them brilliant, a handful of them merely good. That's quite a batting average.

An intimate and emotive affair which manages to pursue a slightly mellower direction while still retaining their trademark oddball sensibilities.

On Helplessness Blues, he's just as interested in the landscape of the human heart. Still, it's the music that stands out, and the band's acoustic folk/chamber pop combo makes every song sound like a grand tribute to back-to-the-land living.

In Your Dreams winds up capturing the essence of Stevie Nicks, which -- as her previous three decades of solo albums prove -- is no easy feat.

The resulting I Am Very Far, which was produced by Sheff, feels both transitory and triumphant, successfully integrating the Austin, Texas-based collective's penchant for lovelorn, indie Americana with the wild abandon of 21st century pop music's increasingly blurry genre borders.

The remarkable thing is, for as proudly new wave as Move Like This is, it doesn't feel desperate or cautious: it's as bright, infectious, and tuneful as the Cars at their prime.

Tindersticks' fans will simply have to own this package as it offers an equal but different dimension of their pop persona.

James Farm offers real compositional depth and spirited, sophisticated improvisation, making for a deeply satisfying listen and a promising debut.

This is Quik in top form and pointed at the future, ignoring all fads and focused on what is real.

Throughout, Wells' arrangements are excellently matched with Moffat's lyrics and performances song for song.

Harvey's music has never been more self-assured than it is here, and this album marks the dawn of a new era for him as an artist.

Sonny Smith will never be Buddy Holly, but if Buddy were around, he'd recognize a kindred spirit. So would Rick Nelson, Bobby Fuller, or Marshall Crenshaw (who isn't dead but still...), or anyone else who made simple but powerful pop music with brains, guts, and hooks sharp enough to cut glass. Hit After Hit is that good.

This album is indeed a key turning point for the unit, and easily the most fully realized project in their catalog.

Jones' story is compelling listening, but more than that, it's a backbone-slipping monster of a dance record.

Celebration, Florida is a brave step forward for the Felice Brothers, but one taken with care and confidence, and it's a powerful achievement from a talented and genuinely important band.

Nash Kato and Eddie "King" Roeser are taking everything dead seriously, playing for the sake of music itself, giving Rock & Roll Submarine an unexpected soul and heart that makes it a rousing comeback.

Good proof that tranquil moments are just as powerful as deafening ones.

Layus still sings them like they're gospel verses, channeling enough sincerity and bold self-assurance to make up for the fact that he's the umpteenth person to compare his love to an ocean. This is the band's best album to date. Looks like the third time's the charm, boys.

This powerful debut was a long time in the making, but Past Life Martyred Saints will win Andersen new fans as well as thrill longtime ones.

Cosmic Lieder isn't heavy or indulgent; it's deeply focused, curiously open-ended, and deeply satisfying.

The knack for adding that sudden feeling of positive release is perhaps best summed up by the title of another song with a similar touch: "Rising."

WhoMadeWho have been accomplished, even inspired, in the past, but here they emerge on a whole new level, displaying a subtle command of tension and release and an assured, seamless blending of rock and electronics, suffused with unfeigned emotionalism, which calls to mind the confidence and mastery of marquee acts like LCD Soundsystem and Radiohead.