Cradle To The Grave relies on the sharp melodic construction of Tilbrook and Difford's diffident wit, a combination the crackles throughout this lean 44 minute record.

New Bermuda finds Deafheaven continuing to effortlessly traverse genre borders and create transcendent music.

Unlike their previous two albums, Arms Around a Vision isn't simple to get into. It might take a little work, but it's an enjoyable endeavor and it makes for an ultimately more enjoyable album in the long run.

Not many bands are able to rekindle their fire when the flame goes out as drastically as in Wavves' case. V shows that they're one of the few to pull it off, and they even sound better than ever.

At nearly an hour long, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is a dense, rewarding listen from an artist who's becoming more complex, and more direct, with each album.

This is an album of highly compositional, slow-burn epics that build with Kubrick-ian intensity and attention to detail.

As an artistic statement about warmth vs. transparency, Ashin has hit his mark with an album that is as beautiful as it is uncomfortable.

For Kylesa, Exhausting Fire marks not only a giant step on their ever evolving journey (one that effortlessly looks forward and back simultaneously), but is also the bedrock of an idiosyncratic, clearly demarcated sonic terrain no other band can claim.

The pleasing, alive, and diverse Stories is a fine reason to think of Avicii as a producer of attractive music, with EDM, pop, and all other genres on a sliding scale.

The songs that pull in the attention are the lumbering riff-rockers, the ones that open the album and set a muscular, nostalgic tone that, if you're of a certain disposition, is pretty hard to resist.

Shopping make listeners lean in and pay close attention, proving along the way that they don't have to choose between tradition and growth to make a strong second album.

The Agent Intellect is an album that challenges both the mind and the body; if you're looking for further confirmation that Protomartyr are one of the smartest and toughest bands of their day, this album is what you need.

Despite its experimental elements and trippy sensibility, Beach Music is relentlessly intimate, moving, and hard to shake--a notable trait for a young if experienced recording artist.

The duo's work here complements what they've done beside Chrisette Michele, Alicia Keys, Tamia, and especially Elle Varner.

The main difference here is the overall feeling of buoyancy, as Hutchcraft and Anderson apply their top-shelf pop songcraft to a decidedly more energized and euphoric collection of tunes than we’ve heard from them in the past.

Where All Is Fled builds on Hauschildt's Berlin-school/kosmische influences while exploring new dimensions, resulting in his most immersive, accomplished solo work yet.

Musically and emotionally, this is one of Deerhunter's most powerful--and delicate--albums.

An album that's a noisy, abrasive joy from front to back.

Most of the songs exceed the four-minute mark and the lack of an obvious single makes If I Should Go Before You feel even more like a single, lovingly crafted entity.

If this isn't quite up to the standards of his '80s high-water marks like Night and Day and Big World, it comes close enough that longtime fans will find plenty to enjoy, and some bits that will challenge them.

From their clever songcraft to the very natural manner in which they've presented it, Promised Land Sound have delivered a gem with a rambling country-folk feel and plenty of rock vitality.

Change is good. Growth is necessary for survival. Fans should not be disappointed.

The pairing of Lund and Cobb on Things That Can't Be Undone is a feather in both their caps; as an album, it forges a new path in country music, yet remains exceptionally close to the tradition's heart.

Thr!!!er felt like it might have been !!!'s peak achievement; As If makes the case that they may only be getting started.

Carter Tutti Void create drone albums of great worth and value, leaving the other electro shaman stuck in a loop.

Though Papich sometimes captures the state of an overloaded attention span almost too well, No No's fragments of meaning add up to some of his most fully realized music.

By making an album that succeeds as a meaningful statement and a brilliant pop record at the same time, the Spook School have done the near impossible on Try to Be Hopeful.

Gates of Gold shows they can contemplate the infinite and chart new paths while still sounding like no one but themselves, and they can do all of this with the force and agility they commanded when half their age.