On Versions, Idjut Boys inject a bit of spice into tracks that occasionally verged on being too mellow in their original forms, resulting in a set of trippy, blissful reworks that are easily recommended over their source material.

With every album, Souljazz Orchestra bring provocative surprise and musical delight. Resistance is no exception; it's chock-full of vitality and adventure.

If Dave and Phil Alvin want to crank out an album like Lost Time every year until the sun finally sets on them, no one who loves blues and roots music would have any room to complain.

By entering the mainstream one limb (album) at a time, Bring Me the Horizon are merely reaping what they've sown, and longtime fans should already feel acclimated to the water.

Ropewalk finds the View further maturing into a tight, sophisticated outfit, capable of balancing the punk energy of their early work with a more nuanced sense of song craftsmanship.

loss. Didn't He Ramble shows that as a performer and a songwriter, Hansard can create powerful and satisfying work that's up to the standard he set with the Frames, and this is a step up from 2012's impressive but uneven Rhythm and Repose.

Beautifully captured on tape with the mix of spontaneity and professionalism expected from a Rawlings/Welch performance, Nashville Obsolete has something of a brooding grandeur to it.

An almost uncannily well-crafted second album.

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.

This sophomore release named after his hometown's zip code is raw and ready to fight, including taking down all the industry folk who helped hold up this second LP.

While Higher Truth never seems as self-consciously confessional as Euphoria Mourning, this mellow simplicity is an attribute: a relaxed Cornell creates a comforting mood piece that's enveloping in its warmth.

B'lieve I'm Goin Down... is an impeccably arranged album beneath its soothing, sleepy surface, with every element assisting in an illusion of deep, shimmering, and alluring melancholy.

With Savage Hills Ballroom Powers has expanded the Youth Lagoon sound without losing any of the intimacy of his bedroom pop beginnings.

Shannon & the Clams have hit the peak of their powers here, making good on their promising early records and improving on the already strong record that came before. Here's hoping they can keep it up for many more great rock & roll albums to come.

An interesting and infectious LP that's also his strongest to date.

This album does find the fine band reaching for something different, and they hit their target with skill, assurance, and clarity.

Lerner's easy and reliable delivery is the glue that keeps everything together, and while there's little doubt that Ad Infinitum was conceived and created during a time of artistic upheaval, it retains all of the warmth and humanity that's made his prior outings shine.

Songs To Play finds Forster at his most energetic and free. While this set can't be regarded as "unrestrained," these spirited, well-crafted songs offer rock & roll in a manner he's never even hinted at before.

Tune in, come down, and drift about because Bob Moses remain the masters of restrained bliss house.

Luckily for everyone else, Night School has cleaned up the tapes, stuck them in a nice package, and given more than just McDowall fanatics a chance to hear some of the most enchanting music of the '80s at last.

As crucial as Hitomi and Robinson are to the album's effect, one of the highlights is a doleful 14-minute instrumental with faint bass, creeping drones, and chilling vibraphone reverberations.

Although the tracks rarely surprise, frequently falling back on familiar sounds and structures -- loping basslines and synthesizer shadings that escalate at the same tempo always arrive on time, for instance--they're as well-built as those of the debut, and the Lawrences, along with their songwriting partners, cover the ups and downs of falling in and out of love in sharper fashion.

There is no band like out there like Le Butcherettes and A Raw Youth proves it.

Allas Sak proves that they are still as good as ever, if not better, and can still teach those who have followed in their wake a thing or two about crafting a satisfying album.

A record that's not only easier to enjoy than most of his solo records, but also stronger song for song than many of the early Eagles albums.

It's this momentum that makes Sexwitch such a transcendent album, and some of the most exciting music any of these artists have made.

Perhaps the first time the Dead Weather have truly lived up to their promise, Dodge and Burn is a joyride of an album--sexy, fun, and dangerous, it upholds the tenets of rock & roll.

Servant of Love is an album that needs a few spins to be fully appreciated, but it's as sincere, heartfelt, and artful as anything Griffin has released to date, and if the form may seem elusive to some listeners, the content is powerful and satisfying, a reminder of why Patty Griffin is one of our best singer/songwriters.