As far as follow-ups go, the Julie Ruin have hit their mark squarely with this oddly hooky, and totally unique, release.

Big Business may be broadcasting from metal's outer limits, but these knotty post-rock anthems dressed up in stoner metal might are as engaging as they are sonically demanding.

The EP is fine, by all means, but it's definitely not the Aphex release to reach for if you're expecting to be challenged or blown away by something utterly unique or exciting.

Jay Arner may be something of a misanthrope, but he cares enough to make great pop records for the world at large, and Jay II's juxtaposition of form and content only makes its pleasures more intriguing.

Taking Craig's already distinctive, powerful sound to extremes, Centres is another truly remarkable work.

As should be expected from a secondary release, the quality control here is not as tight as it is on Islah, but this is Gates in undiluted form.

Still Life is a captivating album of intense personal reflection, and marks a significant amount of artistic growth.

Ziggy Marley, the LP, shares much in common with Robert Palmer's Pride, Black Uhuru's Chill Out, and even Gregory Isaacs' Night Nurse, as its diminutive, deft, funky, tight, electro-tinged, and sincere. With all these ingredients at just the volume, it's still one single or classic short of being the best-of Ziggy, but the cool temperament and empowering mood of the album offer a life-affirming soul massage through music.

Glaspy defies easy categorization and this solid, cleverly written debut is a testament to her sense of craft.

Get Gone is a very special dose of rock and soul, and one of the most purely enjoyable debuts of 2016.

While sharp musical contrasts may be nothing new for Odonis Odonis, they've never sounded as meaningful as they do here. Post Plague is some of their most urgent -- and satisfying--music to date.

They blend numerous influences and don't conform to any traditions. More than anything, their music is exuberant and immensely enjoyable.

This album is a wound-up marvel of imaginatively bent punk rock, and if Segall, Shaw, and Moothart have more like this in them, one can hope they'll pass it along.

Martha may be saddled with a name that doesn't exactly imply excitement, but one quick spin through Blisters is enough to dispel any doubts as feet start to move, pulses begin to race, and the part of the brain that compels one to sing along is stimulated in a big way.

While the album is not as fluid as BLACKsummers'night and has a couple frayed ends, it includes a high quantity of open-hearted ballads and variable-tempo jams that sparkle with indisputable power. Each one is supremely sculpted. Their decreased vocal smoothness and increased rhythmic friction are major factors in the set's allure.

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

Only "Better When I'm by Your Side," which hews a little too closely to the Lorde template, does anything to darken the mood. It's a tiny stumble that does little to detract from the pleasing nature of the rest of the album.

With On Desire, the Drowners sound more confident and more in tune with each other as a band, but they still remain captives of their influences. They're evolving, but at a pace that may never yield any new fruit.

Sequence and flow, moods and styles, all form a coherent whole--albeit one that might have used a tad more judicious editing. But it's hard to fault a band for trying new things, especially when what they deliver is an album with far more hits than misses.

Even if The Magic doesn't always hold together, it still delivers moments of pure anarchic fun.

While Blues and Ballads is by no means Mehldau's most ambitious album, it's nonetheless a work of expansive emotionality and deeply hued beauty.

Friday Night is a stronger and more engaging work than Butler's solo debut, and the new songs suggest he should have something memorable next time he goes into the studio by himself.

Conscious builds upon the promise of their debut and goes well beyond with a tight vision of a glimmering pop future for the Notts.

The guys have grown up and the results are as catchy and enjoyable as anything they ever did in their youthful heyday.

Nobody else creates contemplative bass music quite like Mala, and Mirrors sounds fresh and inspired.

Consistently challenging and infectious at once, Black Terry Cat is the kind of album that comes along only once in a while, where bold goes down smooth.

Working with Leventhal has brought out the best in Bell, and 2016's This Is Where I Live is his strongest and most powerful work since the late '70s.

Droll humor is not Bazan's bailiwick, and in spite of some of Blanco's near-misses, it's nice to hear him put down the guitar and insert himself into less familiar environs.