Here and throughout Is the Is Are, DIIV reveal themselves as a more thoughtful, more rewarding band than could have been expected from their debut.

The addition of simple pop elements to Commontime and the fact that the Brewis brothers manage to keep cranking out music this intelligent and flat-out fun to listen to without ever having the slightest dip in quality, makes it one of their more interesting and rewarding efforts to date.

The talent and vision of these artists makes this a surprisingly powerful and impressive work, and is a testament to the fact both the Mekons and Robbie Fulks need to record more often. When they do, the results are never ordinary, and neither disappoints.

Raitt's signature slide guitar is back out front; it shines throughout the recording. Her earthy singing voice, with just a hint of time's grain, is more disciplined and holds more emotional authority than ever before. It soars through a song collection balanced between rough, rowdy rockers and searing ballads.

Much like Deftones, NIN, and Tool successfully coexist alongside their respective sibling projects, Puciato, Eustis, and Alexander have created a refreshing entity to foster an alternative outlet for their emotions and creativity with satisfying results.

All the good stuff is still here, one might just have to do a little digging, hang in through a couple listens, and then the songs on Life of Pause will begin to connect with the head and the heart.

With this sophomore record, Nap Eyes offer a subtle gem that ultimately improves on their debut.

The overwhelming stillness of Promise demands attention but ultimately rewards it: it's an album that comforts the unease that arrives in moments of solitude, whether they arrive in the dead of night or in the chill of the morning.

By the time the meditative, strings-driven "Zone Null" brings Void Beats/Invocation Trex to a close, it feels like the end of a journey that reveals Cavern of Anti-Matter as a playful yet profound group capable of touching on the cosmic as well as kosmiche.

If Perfect is a tighter and better-focused album than one would have expected from Half Japanese in the '80s or '90s, miraculously it still sound like them, wild but fully engaged, and you'd be hard-pressed to name a band that not only sounds fresh but is still finding new creative paths close to 40 years after it began.

Check the excellent singles "Kno One," "Really Really," and "La Familia" for some easy persuasion, and then know that the album is devoid of superstar appearances because the captivating Gates doesn't need them.

Undeniably great sounding, the record puts Animal Collective's brightest colors forward and, if history is any indication, is no predictor whatsoever of what they may do next.

It ends School of Seven Bells in moving form and suggests a new and vital start for Deheza.

Much like Jepsen's Emotion or Swift's 1989, Foxes' All I Need is vibrant, intelligently crafted pop pleasure.

Scheherazade isn't exactly the Feel Good Album of 2016, but being lost and forsaken with Freakwater is a more satisfying experience than feeling perky with most other acts, and Scheherazade is a brilliant reminder of what Catherine Irwin and Janet Beveridge Bean do so strikingly well.

Hold On! provides the best evidence yet that he and his band can find more rhythmic, harmonic, and dynamic paths to explore inside the well of musical history.

Fans of any of Mason's earlier projects will find something to love on what is easily the gifted popsmith's best solo effort to date.

What they lack in showiness or branding, they make up for in honesty and slightly battered spirit.

With Né So, Traoré feels completely dialed in and in control, delivering her most compelling record yet.

The appeal of Down to My Last Bad Habit feels more Memphis than Nashville: it's Vince Gill's soul album, which is a welcome thing indeed.

Equally sensual and challenging, it's the work of a band capable of commitment as well as grand gestures.

Just as you think the trio are going to lock up legs and topple over, they fall into a gorgeous minor-key stride and dissipate into a sweepingly ominous mid-song bass solo. Ultimately, it's these moments of dazzling group dynamics that help make Man Made Object a jazz-infused work of art on GoGo Penguin's own terms.

Opus, the album, is keenly constructed and an excellent beginning-to-end journey in spite of its size.

Even if Quilt don't always find the answers they're looking for on Plaza, they've found some of their most confident and cohesive music.

The making of Synesthetica was a big deal for Radiation City; the result is a big deal to those who like their modern pop smart, fun, and with just the right amount of modernity.

It might have been interesting to boil the track list down a bit, then spend a disc catching up on the post-1995 bands that have kept the sound alive. That being said, the story they do tell on Still in a Dream is a fascinating one, full of guitar-mangling bliss and soaring melodic grandeur suitable for a fuzzy trip down memory lane or a deep dive of discovery for the novice gazer.

Equally meticulous and mischievous, this is some of Matmos' most engaging work, especially for fans who are as fascinated by their process as their results.

Arts & Leisure is so easygoing that it's easy to underestimate, but it reveals Martin as a first-rate storyteller who captures the joys of new sights and new ways of thinking in songs full of life and humor.