There are no outright clunkers in the mix, but a light trim would have further distilled the power of this excellent sophomore release.

When he indulges in a wash of Vox organ and a rush of 12-string guitars, or when he updates Curtis Mayfield on "Phoenix," they play like transmissions from the past on an album that is focused on the now, and the willful, harmonious collisions of history and the future give Saturn's Pattern its kick, while the warm thrum of the grooves gives it its soul.

Millencolin are no doubt a tad older and wiser, but even bereft of any of that context, True Brew manages to sound refreshingly vital, which is more than can be said about many of their contemporaries.

Based on Weird Sister, Joanna Gruesome didn't seem like the kind of band to bow to pressure or to fall down on the job. The intense and quite wonderful Peanut Butter is bracing proof of that fact.

Rituals oozes dread, but ultimately it's that contrast between finery and paranoia that makes it so vital.

Solo work, if he can keep making records this special, should be where he focuses his prodigious talents.

Building on the strong foundation of their last album, Anxiety's Kiss adds even more sonic and emotional variety to Coliseum's sound, and is easily their most interesting album to date.

The album is a true meeting of mood, melody, and sound that any of the bands Death and Vanilla so clearly take inspiration from would be proud to call one of theirs.

Throughout, It's All Just Pretend is infectious, warm, and bright, offering positive but not airheaded guitar tunes for a melodic, feel-good fix.

Just as Holly Herndon's debut album Movement had abundant layers in its title alone, its follow-up Platform is just as nuanced in how it combines political, technological and structural and ideological concepts into a single word.

Sol Invictus is their best and most compelling work since Angel Dust, and the rare reunion album that truly adds to the strength of the group's legacy rather than diluting it.

Though this is some of Braxton's most abstract music, it might be the purest expression of his cerebral playfulness yet.

A danceable memento mori, Dumb Flesh is mischievous, poignant, and quite likely Sacred Bones' most accessible release of 2015.

He may be prolific, but he certainly isn't spread too thin, as The Good Fight is inspired, infectious, and artistically grand.

Accept Bush as a delayed dank disco triumph, and then drop it like it's hot, one more time.

Boys is where they solidify that position and really start to have some fun with it.

After Drop some might have expected Thee Oh Sees to continue to explore their softer side, Mutilator Defeated at Last confounds those expectations. Blows them up, really, in a giant fireball of guitars, noise, and psychedelic power.

The genius thing about all this is that Flowers doesn't steal Jeff Lynne's hooks or ape Mark Knopfler's guitar sound (well, not exactly), he just imbues his productions with a distinct level of tangible homage.

He reaffirms his connection to hip-hop and remains distinctive from the scores of beatmakers who have followed him.

On this album, Della Mae expand their roots-and-groove quotient, and extend the margins in their writing without sacrificing either the virtuosity and sparkle in their performance or the root persona in their sound.

All these years on, Soul Food may sound as revolutionary as its predecessor, but it is stronger and far more adventurous musically.

Ratchet is a fully realized, entertaining portrait of an artist who knows where he's from and where he's going.

Relatively straightforward compared to the drastically misshapen makeup of 2014's Ghettoville.

He's one of the rare artists who can lay claim to four (or five) albums that are all distinct from one another, all him, all high quality.

Ceremony have a strong handle on this style [Ian Curtis'], and after nearly a decade together, these new clothes fit them quite well.

A satisfying land where they receive all the drive, the snarl, and tribal drums they require, while late album highlights "Quit iPhone" and "Fibre Book Troll" (which is really "Facebook Troll") are screaming examples of the band's rockabilly-punk in overdrive.

Heartbreak Pass is, like much of Howe Gelb's best work, an ambitious project that still seems emotionally intimate, and revels in a ramshackle charm that belies how strong the elements truly are--it's one man's unique vision, and if he's proud of it, well, he certainly should be.

Bold, inventive, and exhilarating, the eight songs on Zoy Zoy are in a genre of their own.