If any one album can be said to pick up on the surreal funk explorations of latter-day Miles Davis, Uninvisible is it.

Thought-provoking and a bit of a downer in ways Grandaddy probably didn't intend, Sumday isn't a totally empty experience, but its ambitions and results don't add up as well as might have been expected.

If there were any doubters about Lamb being the brightest, most talented singer/producer combo in electronica, What Sound is all the argument needed to the contrary.

With rugged guitar riffs and solos and Finn's half-sung, scratchy voice, the Hold Steady mostly succeed, easily recalling the classic rock of early Bruce Springsteen or the sincerity of latter-day Hüsker Dü.

An invigorating and glorious mess of undistilled Rock fury.

As could be expected, the set works best when the group focuses on material from its most recent forebears: rappers and hardcore bands.

The downside to a more refined and mature record is that some of their ramshackle charm and energy has been lost. Not enough to make the band bland, but if they take one more step toward professionalism the next record may turn out that way.

If Earthquake Glue isn't a masterpiece, it's as close as this band can be expected to get, and is the rare Guided By Voices effort that's imaginative enough for longtime loyalists and tight enough for dabblers at the same time.

Mighty Rearranger is a literate, ambitious, and sublimely vulgar exercise in how to make a mature yet utterly unfettered rock & roll album that takes chances, not prisoners, and apologizes for nothing.

On Collisions, the band wipes the sleep out of its eyes and produces a set of songs that is more inspired and vital, even if it's equally embittered and dejected.

System of a Down confound and irritate even as they rock.

Even with the band, what comes through most clearly is Votolato's voice, which is better than ever here, rough and emotive, honest to a fault.

The Broken String ups the ante considerably, reworking ten songs from the EP cycle and two new cuts into lustrous indie pop notable for its versatility, clever lyrics, and offbeat instrumentation.

Loveless treats these songs without even a trace of nostalgia, but as the living embodiment of stories that not only transfer emotion, but reveal the hidden truths of love, life, sadness, grief, and wisdom gained by experience.

An open-minded rock record that relies on a wide array of familiar signifiers but never once sounds like it could have been recorded or released any earlier than it was.

This one is solid from top to bottom.

While this album sounds like the Chieftains playing in fusion mode, it is so much more ambitious than anything they’ve attempted before. Some of the music here is contemporary, though much of it is over a century old; yet it reaches past its settings into the present day, telling of the indelibly rich meeting of two cultures oppressed by a third.

Our Cubehouse Still Rocks has no shortage of guitar firepower, and with tough six-string snarl dominating much of the album, these 16 songs have more than enough rock & roll muscle to give shape and power to Pollard's pop-flavored melodies.

Peanut Butter ... might be just a little too left-field to capture the zeitgeist in the same way that Skinner did a decade previously, but it's a hypnotic and ultimately rewarding debut which, along with recent efforts from James Blake and Jamie Woon, proves that the words chill-out and challenging don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Languid, pastoral, and remarkably serene (each track segues into each other like ice melting on a spring pond), Diamond Mine is so unobtrusive that it barely registers.... A lovely collection of ambient folk songs.

Other than the annoyances listed, Don't Blame the Stars is an enjoyable, fairly well-executed album of decent Americana songs. No more, no less.

This kind of contrast between light and dark makes Leveler a wonderfully dynamic album that is musically engaging with mercifully few bass bombs. Theological differences aside, metal fans would do well to give this one a chance.

She's the rarest of things in modern country: a singer who can't help but be compelling no matter what she sings.

The soundtrack to PJ20 is not for them, it's for those who have stuck with the group through thick and thin, through any number of new drummers, and they'll certainly find much that rewards their fandom here.

Solid yet understated, it's Hannigan's obvious gift for melody, tasteful arrangements, and remarkably emotive elocution (when her voice breaks, the heart follows suit) that keeps Passenger afloat, while the world schemes and churns beneath.

While it would be an exaggeration to call his music a parody, he often seems to have his tongue in his cheek.

Winterpills' All My Lovely Goners is a rich and often quite enjoyable listen.

Recruiting a variety of guests and fellow travelers, including Eyvind Kang and Crys Cole, Oren Ambarchi continues in his vein of excellent solo releases on Touch with 2012's An Audience of One.