On the vintage foundation of simple, minimal patterns repeated to often-hypnotic effect, Wire builds a beefed-up, contemporary wall of sound.

A genuinely moving and wickedly fun record.

Shows a serious artist crafting his medium.

Their familiarity with vintage instruments and addictive laid-back swagger help them avoid the pretension that sometimes follows the Beta Band.

This is music to listen to when you're either very depressed, in order to feel the camraderie, or when you're very happy, in order to mellow out.

Of Montreal's most focused and powerful sounding record yet.

It's an excellent introduction to the modern Western Saharan sound, and also a fine addition for existing fans of the group.

While their debut acted more as a fairly straightforward (and cleanly captured) document of Drenge's live sound, Undertow's cohesion comes from its intentionally murky tone which provides just right home for their (mostly) controlled fury.

Congrats still sounds unmistakably like Holy Fuck, but their vision of weird electronic pop is much clearer here.

Following 2014's similarly impressive Do Not Engage, the Pack A.D. are on a roll, producing some of the strongest material of their ten-year career.

Tracks unloading Actress trademarks like clinking and swarming FX ("Diamond X") and fitful kick-drum jabs ("Leaves Against the Sky") are more alluring and welcoming than usual. Six years after he etched a headstone for music, this enigma has made the easiest point of entry into his catalog.

Unlike such deservedly praised comeback albums from some of his peers -- such as Dylan's Love and Theft, the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang, Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard -- Simon doesn't achieve his comeback by reconnecting with the sound and spirit of his classic work; he has achieved it by being as restless and ambitious as he was at his popular and creative peak, which makes Surprise all the more remarkable.

Breakup Song is fresh and addictive enough to make listeners fall in love all over again.

Ballad of the Broken Seas is a superbly crafted bit of late-night introspection that brings out the best in both Lanegan and Campbell.

Home Before Dark offers aesthetic proof that "12 Songs" was no fluke. This is a much stronger, less "civilized" album.

Focus and restraint might not sound exciting in and of themselves, but The Haunted Man is more direct than any of Bat for Lashes' previous work, and manages to keep the air of mystique around Khan that has made her one to watch and listen to since her early days.

In the Morse Code of Brake Lights has a tone of thematic consistency that isn't always apparent in a New Pornographers album, but with this group, music has always carried more weight than lyrics, and on that level, it's an especially strong effort from an act that's never been short on stylistic ambition.

Hardcourage is a rich experience that rewards return visits. Add a near perfect flow from start to finish, and this fun bundle of irresistible future garage can be considered crafted, even when the spirit is as easy as Sunday morning.

The lyrics still focus on Walker's own little world--the girls he's known, the drugs he's done, the trouble he got into as an '80s wild child--but Spade feels broader, fuller, more collective than those words suggest.

A firm step forward on all fronts, Bright and Vivid is a thoroughly engaging listen and establishes Calder as a creative force and pop craftsperson every bit as worthy as her big-deal bandmates.

This band's disciplined, sensitive unity expresses Adams' fresh, expansive musical vision with elegance and grit, humor and pathos, tenderness and sensuality.

Romme's tales of woe manage to transcend the usual trappings of traditional singer/songwriter confessionalism by adopting a universal miasma, leaning more toward the dark English folk side of the chamber pop spectrum.

The energy and spark that Ought base their sound on carries much in common with the best of their influences, finding new ways to sound fresh and exciting even in this short sampling.

Never has TTB sounded so organic, relaxed, and free. Let Me Get By is the album this group has been striving for since their formation. You need this.

As a whole, Incarnate improves on the creativity and restlessness offered by Disarm the Descent. There is a lot more ambition, confidence and above all, passion here.

All their records to this point have been really strong; Malamore is where they make a grab for brilliance.

Townsend has set such an impossibly high standard and this is another excellent entry in a catalog brimming with them. That said, it extends the boundaries explored on Sky Blue, and delivers--in full--on the promise it presented.

As with any of Ashworth's albums, this is an excellent set of poignant narratives that speak directly to human emotions without romanticizing anything.