This music is welcoming and accessible, underscoring the notion that Garrett's new compositions have that mercurial something in them that approaches the mysterious nature of song itself.

She's constructed something so precise its success seems preordained, but underneath it all, Taylor is still twitchy, which makes Red not just catchy but compelling.

Going into this with no expectations should prove to be beneficial.

For anyone who has followed the band, Autotheism feels like part of a logical evolution, with the band expanding its sound from album to album before really cutting loose and diving headfirst into more heady waters.

A timely holiday stocking stuffer for the aging mosh pit veteran in your family, but not exactly mandatory listening for everyday metal heads.

Welcome to 21st century Appalachian string band music. It hasn't changed that much. It doesn't have to, because it still works fine.

The density of the album might take a while to sink into, but its catchiness will keep the listener returning to try to crack the code.

The high level of songcraft, Saloman's devotion to his sound, and the fierce performances on White Numbers show that anyone who thought maybe the Bevis Frond were past their prime was just dead wrong, and this is a welcome addition to their catalog.

When the Devil Wears Prada strays from the typical modern metal formula with progressive ideas, the results are almost always favorable, and 8:18 finds the sextet at their most provocative and heavy.

If there's anything superfluous going on, it's simply happening too fast to worry about it, and while this means that it takes more than one listen to really take in what's going on, the album is solid enough that a second pass is a welcome proposition.

After more than 20 records, Motorpsycho remain inexhaustible in their creativity, fully, energetically, in command of a musical vision that is boundless.

Red Beans and Weiss is a greasy, gritty report from one of L.A.'s last original rock & roll street denizens. It has a grimy charm all its own.

Listening to the album, it's clear that even though Slipknot aren't over the loss of a dear friend and colleague, they're able to channel their grief into a productive album, allowing them to continue moving forward while paying tribute to a fallen comrade with one of the strongest albums of their career.

Standouts are plentiful, with Lorde herself contributing both the propulsive centerpiece "Yellow Flicker Beat" and a cover of Bright Eyes' "Ladder Song." "Yellow Flicker Beat" also gets the remix treatment from Kanye West, his more minimal reworking of the song credited as "Flicker."

There's evidence that she has studied the classics, like the point in "Broken Hearted Girl" where she quotes Teena Marie, and the quietly dazzling, Janet Jackson-like way in which she conveys longing throughout "Request." At the same time, she leaves a mark of her own with this, one of 2014's superb debuts.

This is very clearly the Decemberists, but with a new kind of focus in their songs and arrangements that makes it clear this album's sound is a result of creative evolution, not an offering to their newer, larger audience, and it's a sweet and sour wonder that rewards repeated listening.

All These Dreams, much like Combs' expressive voice, feels lived in and authentic, and while it may lack some of the gravitas of his heroes, it certainly never does them a disservice.

While not truly a debut, since Jalbert has been around awhile, Cosmic Troubles does herald the arrival of a band doing psych pop in an idiosyncratically unique way, something that any scene, and especially a scene as crowded as this one, desperately needs.

Fernandez's engaging, exploratory songcraft and the plush result of all the component sounds should appeal to post-rock-minded folks as well as those who favor artful, low-key intensity to bombast.

Portraits establishes Maribou State as an intriguing pair of sonic architects, capable of crafting intricate but not cluttered, blue but not depressing, emotive electronic pop music.

An even more consistent album than Kiss, E-MO-TION further defines Jepsen as an equally stylish and earnest pop artist.

London producer Slime creates sumptuous, swaying music that flows so freely that few rappers could ride it.

"Girls" illustrates the dance between jealousy and affection simply and brilliantly. Moments like these make All Yours Widowspeak's most self-assured and vulnerable album yet.

Shopping make listeners lean in and pay close attention, proving along the way that they don't have to choose between tradition and growth to make a strong second album.

808s & Dark Grapes III isn't quite the Zeitgeist-capturing statement that II was, but it's still an enjoyable, highly focused effort.

By the time the meditative, strings-driven "Zone Null" brings Void Beats/Invocation Trex to a close, it feels like the end of a journey that reveals Cavern of Anti-Matter as a playful yet profound group capable of touching on the cosmic as well as kosmiche.

File this massive effort next to Damian's Welcome to Jamrock, Stephen's own diverse 2007 release Mind Control, and maybe even Dad's 1976 "Roots, Rock, Reggae" breakthrough, Rastaman Vibration.

As it is, it's a bit of a confused mess that needs some serious editing.