Whereas Fyah relied on jazz and funk as twin lines of harmonic and rhythmic inquiry, Intra-I multiplies their import by strategically locating them inside a far deeper, wider mix to create an original music that looks squarely at the future.

Hitchcock has settled into a sort of seasoned eccentricity, and this economical, late career gem proves that he's still got plenty of Madcap Laughs left in the hopper.

This is beautiful, heart-wrenching music that no one with a heart and a soul can walk away from without feeling its impact.

The End, So Far may not be a home run, but it proves that the band are still in it to win it, even if they're playing the long game.

It's not a return to form, a return to pop, or really a return of any kind, just a continuation of the band's blissfully weird frames of mind and a record that includes some of their strongest songs in years.

Invisible Hour is a beautiful, haunting collection of songs that only Joe Henry could create, and whether you're familiar with his work of not, you're likely to find something that will impress you on this album.

Deforming Lobes feels like Ty Segall's answer to the MC5's epochal Kick Out The Jams, and if it lacks that great album's sense of lysergic experimentalism, the Freedom Band's ability to graft garage punk noise onto a sonic onslaught worthy of Blue Cheer more than compensates. Play this one loud.

Despite its panoply of styles and personnel, the album remains consistently interesting while still adhering to the Afro-fusion vibe that is his hallmark.

What makes it a better, richer work is how it simultaneously holds every side of White, existing at the crossroads where modernity, tradition, hard work, and inspiration all meet.

Fresh and surprisingly accessible despite its quirks, Visions is bewitching.

Initially, the noise is the allure, but subsequent spins reveal these songs are as tightly constructed as those Howard writes for Alabama Shakes and, in some respects, maybe even a little sturdier.

As per usual, it's Hannigan's otherworldly voice that provides the anchor, effortlessly shifting from smoky lows to crystalline highs like a precision sports car on a twisty mountain test drive.

Music for People in Trouble is rooted in empathy, and even at its most cynical--the woebegone "No One Believes in Love Anymore" comes to mind--the warmth of its core radiates outward.

Bright Sunny South doesn't stray too far from Amidon's previous work, but still suggests his development in its gorgeous production, increasingly deft arrangements, and a general sense of greater confidence and vision throughout the record.

As with his debut, City Music feels very much like a postcard to New York, though this time Morby arrives with some accumulated miles to help support his wizened tone.

While it sounds less like a single-minded effort from Chasney than it does a high-spirited collective freakout from a reconfigured Comets on Fire, Chasney is still at the core of all the songs, transmitting his freaky visions in the guise of one face-melting power jam after another.

By cutting away some of the fat and finding new ways to deliver their trademark roar, the members of Korn manage to offer a strong and lean album that maintains their place as innovators in a genre with few leaders

At base, Contino is a reasonably entertaining and sometimes quite compelling combination of slower dance aesthetics translated into rock & roll terms and sounds. It just isn't the end of the world, that's all.

The production is still huge and full, although audiophiles may be disturbed by the overdriven acoustic guitars on certain songs that give an unnerving sensation of blown speaker cones. It's a forgivable stylistic decision, and doesn't detract much from the overall solidarity of the disc.

Party Intellectuals is easily Ribot's most fun album to date and one of his best.

Megafaun are just as taken by quietly tortured dark-night-of-the-soul whisperings, lo-fi oddities, and shards of feedback shade as they are of banjos and summertime evenings, giving Gather, Form and Fly a bit of an unsettled edge at various points.

While some listeners might find the Projectors' rather knowing idiosyncracy off-putting and smug, there are songs here that suggest the band has finally found the formula that finely balances its well-meaning musical intellectualism with actual pop songs.

While it may be a shade less inspired than The Tao of the Dead, this is a solid, rugged album that underscores ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's position as trailblazers and torchbearers when it comes to mixing passion and politics.

This is just one of those albums that works great either as a stoney throwback or a party-starter.

The dusky flute and steadfast bass take care to set us back down on our feet as a bubbly synth bays like a hungry hound in the distance and twilight fades peacefully into night.

A smart and resourceful exercise in pop that works on several levels, Springtime Carnivore is an impressive calling card from an artist who clearly has interesting things up her sleeve.

Undoubtedly, these re-workings are a deliberate gesture to signal the 20-year gap that now finds our heroes in middle-age. ... Being the filmmaker that he is, Danny Boyle was never going to allow the music to be entirely nostalgic, and one of his most inspired contemporary picks is Fat White Family.

There's a very singular character to Girlpool's music, and it's a pleasure to be able to dip into the remarkable world they have created.