Throughout, these ghostly and propulsive rhythms communicate, divide, and commingle, and are woven through with deep dub effects, avant-jazz, global pop, hip-hop, and woven rhythms drawn from several global traditions spindled, reshaped, and presented anew by the creators.

The score ends with a string-based version of "Sunlight Zone," which feels a bit lighter and more ethereal than the original, but doesn't quite capture the same sense of awestruck wonder. In general, though, Midnight Zone is evocative of a journey into the unknown depths, and it succeeds at creating an atmosphere of curiosity and discovery.

A vibrant album that explores the political and cultural tumult of the late 2010s with anthemic heft and individualistic perspectives.

A genuine disappointment after the creative comeback of Stereo.

It's not the band's most immediate music, but the album's challenging mix of heartbroken words and aloof sounds rewards patient and repeated listening.

The House That Jack Built may be aimed at a new audience, or it might simply be the record that Hoop had to make. Either way, it's welcome for the risks it takes and delivers on.

A stunning display of the grit and poetry that have been hallmarks of her music for decades, Possible Dust Clouds makes a convincing case that Hersh is becoming a more powerful, more creative rocker as the years pass.

Maybe it'd be easier to digest if it was broken into a series of EPs, but part of the point of Typical Music is that it offers an immersion into an expansive, eccentric worldview. It needs all of its messiness to paint a full portrait.

Like any of rousay's other releases, a little death is a homemade portrait, incorporating sounds from her life and her friends into earnest, personal work.

The resulting Run Rabbit Run dutifully re-creates its creator's hypnotic, quirky, and oddly sweet song cycle, and peppers it with enough dissonant bow slides and odd harmonics to please the avant-garde crowd while keeping the twee melodies intact for the casual indie pop fan.

The English Riviera is a challenging but ultimately rewarding effort which cements Mount's reputation as one of Britain's most intriguing pop mavericks.

Best Troubador does a splendid job of showing how right he is about Haggard and his songs, and you'd have to go back to 1994's splendid multi-artist disc Tulare Dust to hear as sincere and affecting a tribute to this most American of artists.

Taken as pieces, these songs are prime 2000s indie rock; added together they make Play It Strange a satisfying step forward for the band.

Depending on listeners' patience, however, The Bride's slower second half may be hypnotic or dreary.

If Metz's debut was unnerving in its most powerful moments, II is the rock equivalent of Wes Craven's Last House on the Left; just keep telling yourself, "It's only an album ... only an album .... only an album ..."

Whether she's writing original material or covering traditional tunes... the effect is the same. It's intimate, like a secret told readily.

2nd Grade make the small moments count, and Gill and his friends have made a record that fans of indie pop, power pop, and good old-fashioned small "p" pop should rally around and share with their friends and family.

If it isn't quite a masterpiece, along with Dinosaur Jr.'s surprisingly strong reunion albums, this suggests Mascis has been quietly enjoying an impressive career renaissance, as if the venerable slacker has discovered something welcome in the onset of maturity.

At its best, Seeds is a fine tribute to Smith and the sound of enduring unimaginable loss.

The resulting eleven tracks do not disappoint, striking the perfect balance between dissonance and melody with a backbeat that shakes the foundations of everything he's tried before.

Depending on what aspect of the band the listener pays the most attention to, Chastity Belt can be either brazenly hilarious or mysterious and moving.

The album's overall effect is one of strolling along a seaside path, maybe with a stray dog and a straw hat, in a less-frequented village somewhere far from home, and it's one of Banhart's most satisfying.

This is stoner rock for the indie set, so every suggestion of Led Zeppelin or Queen gets filtered through a Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo aesthetic, which helps keep the bombast and pagan iconography at bay.

The only downfall is that Here's to Taking It Easy is so easy to take that at only nine songs, it flies by in no time at all.

The album deliver psychedelic pop with an expansive, cinematic feeling, letting listeners get lost in its slow, drifting melodies.

Phantom Radio shows that a bit more production polish and digital styling hasn't fogged Lanegan's message, and Phantom Radio reveals the singer and his songs are as strong and as eloquent as ever.

Their songs of family, love, lust, and spirit pair perfectly entwined and complementary voices.

As befits a self-titled album, all the moves Shears makes--both familiar and new--feel true to him. Funny, flashy, and not so secretly recovering from heartbreak, Jake Shears is one of the tightest sets of music he's made.