While it's not all good, there are some sublime moments within the album's ramshackle bulk, and its blast of free-range creativity is in itself something to celebrate.

If you've ever dug the cool but fiery retro sound of Los Straitjackets, What's So Funny... will once again remind you of their brilliant chops and sense of fun, while Nick Lowe fans will definitely want to give a listen to this homage to one of rock's best living songwriters.

Longtime fans will find plenty of grist for the mill, but for the uninitiated, Haines will likely remain a singular but elusive character, which is probably exactly the way he likes it.

Even if Piteous Gate was more abrasive overall, Hesaitix ends up being more challenging, never giving away any easy answers and causing the listener to listen deeper.

From This Place integrates and illuminates most of Metheny's musical personas. His compositions allow this stellar collective to roam through them with their many strengths. They ultimately provide fans an abundance of listening pleasure. Even in a catalog filled with so many gems, From This Place shines brightly.

Despite its overtly metaphysical esthetic, Holy Smokes Future Jokes goes down fairly easy, as the band conjure up melodies that swaddle Earley's heady yet homespun lyrics in the golden hues of breezy west coast pop and country-folk.

The enthusiasm of the execution helps keep The Power and the Glory from sounding like an exercise in nostalgia, as do Mantione's earnest, unguarded songs: this is music that exists entirely in its own moment, not as part of the past.

Fans of Wilson's earlier records might struggle a bit with Eat the Worm's many directions, but before long, the album, despite its sense of adventure, slots easily into his restless, immersive, utterly imaginative catalog.

All That Was East Is West of Me Now confirms that as an artist, he's not wasting the days he has left on the trivial, and the craft and the emotional power of this music is strong enough that we can all hope he might have another 10 or 20 years of music this good left in him.

Bob and weave as he might, Harcourt never fails to land an emotional punch on El Magnifico.

A standout amid his own catalog, Te Whare Tīwekaweka is a unique and emotional piece of work that is quite affecting even without knowing the language.

Gina Birch has always been a brave and clear-minded voice as a writer, musician, and artist, and Trouble leaves no doubt that she's rabble-rousing for the right reasons, and making compelling music at the same time.

While not a low in their catalog by any means, No Geography is also not their strongest or most memorable work to date. It's best not to call it a comeback, just another ample addition to their decades-long discography.

Full Upon Her Burning Lips is sumptuous, a return to basics informed by Earth's decade-and-a-half period of discovery. The album's impeccable balance of those poles places it among the band's finest recorded offerings.

The nine tunes on Piano Nights walk a line between the haunted beauty of Dolores and the more austere, glacial darkness of earlier recordings.

They've always existed in their own space, and Trouble is yet another fine example of their fascinating art.

More Life is another overly serious, musically uninteresting effort.

The record gets better when the sci-fi murk lifts and a song comes into focus, which happens more often on the second half, when Simpson relaxes enough to offer up a bit of good ZZ Top funk ("Best Clockmaker on Mars") and a blues shuffle ("Mercury in Retrograde"). But songs aren't the point of Sound & Fury. As the title makes plain, it's all about the sound and fury, noise that grabs hard and eventually softens its grip.

Strongly recommended to all adventurous dub fans.

["Grow"] is worth the price of admission alone, but the rest of this brief set is such an unexpected surprise that it's worth the nearly half-hour investment. There seems to be nothing that Willow can't do as she adds rock to her résumé with ease.

Found Light is recognizably the work of Laura Veirs, but with a freedom and sense of creative possibility that hasn't always been part of her music in the past. It's an engaging new chapter in the career of a gifted songwriter.

Swanlights, the fourth full-length by Antony and the Johnsons, reveals that 2009's The Crying Light was a stepping stone that furthered his sophistication as a songwriter, arranger, and singer.

Without many spikes in volume or energy level, these murmuring songs generate an undeniably powerful radiance, breaking down doors creatively despite their understated trappings.

Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is as restrained in its own way as it is vibrant; just over 30 minutes long, it shows that Houghton knows how to leave listeners wanting more.

Vega Intl. Night School is just as immersive as Neon Indian's previous work and even more impressionistic, with a flamboyance that makes it a captivating standout within his own work as well as his contemporaries'.

Wavering Radiant works as a single piece of music rather than a series of songs, and it is cohesively played by an ensemble that is more interested in the dark majesty of metal than its potential for expressing anger.

Wenu Wenu cleans up Souleyman's music just enough to place it in an expanded musical and sonic context that creates a new frontier without sacrificing its power.

As it stands, it's a hard album to get your head around and it's a hard album to fully embrace.