A successful exploration of dance music both subtle and sharp.

n. As with the best music of this kind, Sonnet rewards paying rapt attention to its minute changes as well as its wider sweep. Either way of listening reveals it as a beautiful, affecting exploration of form and freedom.

Throughout, The Silence doesn't rush, it slowly emerges; it doesn't bludgeon the listener with cluttered instrumentation or sonics, but it is seductively heavy due to spaciousness in the mix, warmth, and colorful imaginative textures.

This three-disc package is an essential document for fans; it reveals almost all of Everett's dimensions as a songwriter, and how tight and fluid the Eels are. Everett's humor balances the sometimes harrowing narratives in his tunes. All told, most of these interpretations are essential.

Song for song, this is some of Speedy Ortiz's best work yet.

Whether or not Bop English will outshine the continued efforts of his main vehicle, White Denim, remains to be seen, but as far as debuts go, Constant Bop is first-rate.

This album is a potent reminder of the virtues this band had from the start, seasoned with the experiences of almost 15 years, and it's a welcome and satisfying return to form.

Tense, thrilling, and a bit frightening, Dark Energy is simply one of the most compelling debut albums of 2015.

Third albums are often career-killers, exposing a band's lack of ideas. No worries here, though; Surf City sound like they still have another few years of greatness left in them.

It never feels like Simonetti and Wight are dabbling on The Past We Leave Behind; instead, the changes they explore just add to the feeling that as they say goodbye to what was, they're saying hello to a promising future.

The performances are strident and lean, suggesting the players are every bit as invested in delivering the best reading of Ludwig-Leone's complex and often gorgeous songs as he was inspired in creating them.

No Control shows it's a better and more fitting choice for the band than one might expect, and it's arguably their best work to date.

Free from any sort of major-label constraints, the band sounds both invigorated and restless, and while deciphering their skewed Danish pop sensibilities can often prove challenging, it's well worth the effort, as the results can just as often be breathtaking.

Pokey LaFarge delivers something old and new on Something in the Water, and no matter how much he reaches to the past for inspiration and influence, he's able to make his music sound fresh and alive, and this is his strongest studio set to date.

Subtle, yet curiously persuasive, No News From Home is as unassuming as it is alluring.

Deep in the Iris honors emotional states that aren't easy to express--musically or otherwise--and brings a clarity to them that make it some of the band's most empathetic music.

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.

The hard-driving, barely-holding-on-to-the-wheel songs are the main draw here, though, and the band delivers so many of them it's hard not to be breathless by the end of the album.

Scott could probably keep releasing this same kind of crazy, funhouse psych pop record forever and it wouldn't get tired, especially if he keeps writing songs this catchy and keeps giving subtle tweaks here and there.

Hospital Handshakes offers tarnished but steely hope forged from an extended period in a personal and spiritual wilderness. Its determination marks the end of this transition (and trilogy) and exposes a new and open road that will likely serve as instructive to the listener as it did the songwriter.

Presented with genuine humility, these relatively simple songs are nonetheless brimming with moral authority.

Their message is most vibrant on the most danceable songs, such as "Dark Night" and "Easy to Get." It all adds up to a potent reminder that when it comes to life and music, you can't have a future without a past; on Why Make Sense?, Hot Chip explore both in confident and exciting ways.

Perhaps Musique de Film Imaginé is intended as a résumé item for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but if it is, it's a fine sample of Anton Newcombe's work, and anyone who thinks Take It from the Man! or Strung Out in Heaven represented the limits of his abilities will encounter a pleasant surprise with this album.

If Metz's debut was unnerving in its most powerful moments, II is the rock equivalent of Wes Craven's Last House on the Left; just keep telling yourself, "It's only an album ... only an album .... only an album ..."

Throughout Perfect Abandon's nine vocal songs, Brosseau's unhurried delivery transports the listener from her own world into his seamlessly.

Ultimately, The Longest River is a brave album in which Chaney presents her music without filters, and reveals herself as a major talent who embraces the past and present with confidence and remarkable skill. In short, she really is that good.

The only disappointment here is that the album is basically only five songs, so here's hoping it's just a taste of more to come.

On California Nights, they made a risky choice and it pays off in a big way. They come off assured and confident, fully in control of the songs and the sound in a way they never have before.