There's certainly enough here to prove that post-Nitro AFI are a better and stronger group, unafraid to continue pushing their sound with each release.

Hansen continues to push his group's sound while remaining familiar, and Epoch is one of Tycho's best yet.

He's Got... may alienate even some of Kinsella's more patient and open-eared fans, as it sometimes wanders into a slow ramble over repetitive dissonance. At the same time, its impulsive quality may be irresistible to a punkier sensibility, offering catharsis in its deliberate lack of polish and self-censorship. If it's possible to be refreshing and somewhat tedious at once, this album nails it.

On Hear the Lions Roar, Half Japanese demonstrate that after nearly 40 years of music-making, they're still creating some of the most engaging recordings of their lives, and that's truly something to believe in.

These 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory are deliberate in their intent--uplifting numbers for swaying shoulder-to-shoulder with friends before emptying out of the bars onto the dark concrete of Lansdowne on a Friday (or Wednesday) night.

Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and company soften some of The Terror's rough edges in favor of a more eclectic, melodic sound that spans hip-hop, prog, and orchestral elements, sometimes in the course of a single song.

Sundara Karma have talent, ambition, and youth on their side, but so do a lot of other rising bands. In the end, it's personality and distinction that endure.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all, though, is that Sohn hasn't pushed his musical boundaries further; perhaps next time he will completely run wild.

With Migration, Green blends the unexpected with the familiar and emerges with some of his most affecting work yet.

Machine Messiah is an ambitious, angry, hungry outing. Sepultura remain vital in their creativity; they expand their palette dramatically while fully integrating the sounds that brought them here.

While disjointed in a way that plays like a perhaps-too-extensive portfolio rather than something intended to be an album, the set reveals a bold and versatile songwriter as well as a performer and engineer.

Nitpicking aside, the risks they take on this album pay off: I See You is some of their most captivating music since their debut.

In short, RTJ3 is near perfect in its execution. They're so good at this that it seems almost unfair in its effortlessness.

Ultimately, Levi's score is as powerful a presence as Jackie herself, and its creativity is more appropriate than more traditional music would have been.

As with all of his ambient works, it's minimal and non-distracting, but there are subtle alterations and changes, and it does reward any amount of attention paid to it.

Silver Tears is steeped in musical knowledge but delivered with a lighthearted touch and plenty of personality.

The sprawling 41-track mix covers a lot of ground in relatively short time, and it's never less than riveting.

The 13-track time machine does not relent or disappoint, making Don't Smoke Rock a standout for hip-hop fans in need of quality nourishment.

Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' breathes gravitas into the Kid Cudi discography, realigning his trajectory and hinting at hope, possibility, and, most importantly, recovery.

Musgraves slyly waltzes right up to the edge of kitsch without ever crossing over into camp. It's a delicate balancing act that she performs with ease because there's a lightness to her delivery and also to her original tunes.

This is hardly the first or best study of the U.K. punk scene of the '70s, but Action Time Vision is an impressive tribute to the early stirrings of indie culture in England, and it's great listening throughout.

It's a special work, one that might require several thorough spins -- across a long stretch of time -- to be fully appreciated by those who love Cole's hit singles.

While the show itself is clear about its influences, its soundtrack manages to do this too, while ultimately culminating as an in-depth and invigorating piece of atmospheric electronic music.

Adding the clarity of experience to his early work's atmospheric conciseness only makes The Benoît Pioulard Listening Matter all the richer.

It's mature and sophisticated, sure, but more than this, its wildly imagined journey through the musical cosmos is a hell of a lot of fun.

The tracks are still tense and heavy, but they don't quite overwhelm you with dread the way other DS releases do. Instead, these tracks focus on dancefloor grooves while still throwing in plenty of eerie voices and other strange sounds.

It’s as consistent and bombastic as anything in their catalog--making it a good place to start for newcomers, too.

London Fog showcases a band who doesn't know its own attributes, and that's why it's worthwhile: it's the sound of a band discovering its own strengths.