At their best, Black Mountain approach '70s rock with a 21st century mindset, and that's the sort of sound and feel that make IV so effective.

This combining of the human-organic and the quirky-mechanical not only rewards repeat listens, but ultimately fascinates with warm alienation.

Jomsviking effectively distills all of the band's predilections into one big, dragon-headed longship of an album, sails aflame and headed straight into the mouth of Valhalla.

It's a thoughtful and neatly crafted album whose detailed framework feels like the right fit for Bachmann's rugged, world-weary meditations.

Ambitious and masterful, Atomic is another peak in Mogwai's career.

Even at its darkest and strangest, Koosha's music rarely feels like it's trying to punish or alienate the listener. He seems excited to explore the possibilities of music-making technology, and the results are endlessly fascinating.

A lifelong troubadour whose wandering ways have seemingly found some respite as a Los Angeles family man, the native Chicagoan cracks open the door and reveals himself in a way that manages to strike an elegant balance with his more cryptic tendencies.

Changes shows Bradley still has plenty of new ground to explore at the age of 68.

On The Wilderness, Explosions in the Sky deconstruct and rebuild their sound from the ground up, giving it a revitalized sense of urgency and resulting in some of their most dynamic work yet.

Toher's music has become more powerful as he's made it more delicate, and Wuthering Drum is a compelling debut that casts a lingering spell.

[III's] not all that different from their great 2013 album, II, but III experiments more, sacrificing none of its attractiveness while venturing into skittish micro-trap (lead single "Reminder"), exotic ethno-techno ("Animal Trails"), and something akin to Adele singing William S. Burroughs lyrics over classic glitch ("Eating Hooks").

Painting of a Panic Attack, like previous albums, can get a bit mired in wistful, midtempo soul searching, but it's by far the most immediate and inclusive collection of songs that the band has laid to tape to date.

Sunbathing Animal began the process with great success, and Human Performance shows that the band is just as vital and alive when it dials the intensity (way) down, cleans up some of the messy parts, and generally grows up in all the right ways.

Love Streams is easily Hecker's most accessible work to date, yet it's also one of his most challenging, as it finds him pushing his sound into new directions while he explores the possibilities of the human voice.

Konono No. 1 Meets Batida is a resoundingly successful collaboration, and any cut from it would sound absolutely killer on a dancefloor.

Though more than a few of Wilkinson's contemporaries are working in similar territory, A Mineral Love goes beyond mere re-creation. For Bibio, these are the good old days.

After a listen or two, Black Stone Cherry's back-to-the-cradle approach proves that track for track, Kentucky is not only more consistent, but more satisfying than previous albums.

As spare and gently satisfying as a warm spring afternoon, Upland Stories is a reminder that the brilliance of Gone Away Backward was no fluke, and that in his mid-fifties, Robbie Fulks is only getting better, both as a songwriter and as a recording artist. Highly recommended.

This is a mature, introspective work from a man looking for answers to the questions of life and love, and it's a brave and genuinely impressive return to the spotlight from a major talent.

Adding more noise and toughness to their sound on Lost Time was a genius move, taking an already very good band and pointing it toward greatness, or at the very least helping Tacocat make one of the most fun punk-pop albums around.

While Adventure isn't as raw and uninhibited as some of their past work, it continues the enduring legacy of their peppy garage sound with effortless confidence and nostalgic winks to the past.

The unpretentious nature of the music and Graham's laid-back attitude give each song an everyman quality, presented by a youthful, wide-eyed raconteur who has just enough life experience to speak to a wide audience.

On an album that, from a musical perspective, seems incongruously loaded with self-doubt ("I'm 20, washed up already," "I don't know what I'm cut out for") the material is consistently hooky, endearing, elegant, and uncommonly candid.

While all listeners may not share his fascination with '80s pop culture detritus, it's hard not to respect how expertly he transforms it into something genuine.

However they adapt, it's always on their own terms, and #N/A is some of their most radical music yet.

A few adornments like horns, cello, and piano add additional color to some of the tracks, but by and large, Bent Shapes are a ripping guitar band with pop smarts and punk sensibility.

Silicon Tare is an exciting warm-up for the epic conclusion to the Com Truise story.

It all makes for a more balanced, arguably more enjoyable listening experience than the original Lost Themes, and with the triumphant yet suspenseful "Utopian Facade" suggesting a threequel, it's another must for Carpenter fans.