Piteous Gate is a gripping, suspenseful audio thriller, and along with 2015 releases by Fis, Lotic, Rabit, and Amnesia Scanner, it provides an eye-opening overview of how certain corners of the electronic music underground push club-derived sounds into confounding, challenging new directions.

While Walker doesn't push his sound forward that much, little of what's here is forgettable, and it's all constructed with a good time in mind.

The sound on Decency is truly an adventurous move for the group, and one that's paid off with possibly their best album to date.

Simply viewed as a contemporary ska album, Subculture is fine stuff with some inspired moments and consistently engaging performances, and if your tastes run to the old school in both ska and reggae, this should be just what your sound system has been missing lately.

Any and all of the bands they draw influence from would be happy to add them to the noise club; if they keep making records as good as Distractions, they may end up ruling the club someday.

The most frustrating aspect of the record is that they are obviously trying hard to find their own sound and they almost get there.

Odds are strong that no like-titled album is as cold as this one.

It's easy to sound hyperbolic when describing the impact of Quinlan's voice, but she really does prove herself to be among the most captivating rock singers of her generation on Painted Shut. That her vocals are very nearly equaled by the music and the subject matter makes this album a notable one.

Relatively straightforward compared to the drastically misshapen makeup of 2014's Ghettoville.

Just as his Def Jam-era album tracks often outshined the singles, Nash is in top form here when he forgets about hitmaking, drops his guard, and produces gems that are scenes as much as they are songs.

The EP is a startling introduction to a group unafraid to bring raging paranoia to the dancefloor.

This three-disc package is an essential document for fans; it reveals almost all of Everett's dimensions as a songwriter, and how tight and fluid the Eels are. Everett's humor balances the sometimes harrowing narratives in his tunes. All told, most of these interpretations are essential.

It all makes for a breezy yet powerful expression of independence from an artist who is always true to herself.

Although Wale's got so much to say, he often says it over the same tempo, and if it weren't for "The Girls on Drugs" (rescued from another Seinfeld-themed mixtape, Festivus) and a couple other kicking moments, the musical spectrum here would be narrow. Still, it's a minor complaint as The Album About Nothing is bigger, bolder, and better than expected.

Throughout the album, Vessels' different approaches flow so naturally that they feel effortless, arriving at an impressive blend of passion and precision.

At 42 minutes, Pearson Sound isn't much longer than some of Kennedy's EPs (such as the self-titled Ramadanman double 12" from 2010), but it makes an impact, exploring a great variety of forward-thinking sounds without meandering or becoming repetitive or predictable.

It's the way they bring their pop skills to the fore that makes The Great Pretenders solid evidence that Mini Mansions should be as well-known as the company they keep.

Jones has forged multiple careers by fusing disparate yet compatible musical styles together to make wholly new yet comfortably recognizable pop music. Ultimately, that's exactly what Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have done here.

Tense, thrilling, and a bit frightening, Dark Energy is simply one of the most compelling debut albums of 2015.

Through it all, Bronson balances brutish punch lines with a stunning wit, and tempers his lust for world travel and opulence with self-deprecating jokes, and yet, Mr. Wonderful is still just a tad too big and busy for the newcomer.

Despite the relaxed, very informal nature of the playing, some deep music gets made here. While guitar freaks may have hoped for more guitar from Gunn, he's everywhere even when he's not running the show. Seasonal Hire is excellent country and Eastern.

The Smithsonian Folkways Collection is a five-disc box set that represents the first attempt to offer a career-spanning overview of the career of a giant of American music, including 108 tracks, 16 of which see their first release on this collection.

Beauty and humanity may have entered the picture, but the welcoming A/B Til Infinity was still more willing to connect, so consider that to be a first encounter, then come here for a more refined reduction of Egyptrixx's excellent off-world techno.

Among the handful of earlier tracks is Steve Poindexter's crucial "Computer Madness" (1989), technically a Muzique release. The compilers could have just as easily included "Work That Mutha Fucker" from the same EP.

Return to Forever follows suit very much, with the 12 new songs here embodying the same over the top celebration and hedonistic revelry of a much younger Scorpions. At times the throwbacks are a little transparent.

Christmas in Reno will not likely be welcomed in most extended-family, five-CD holiday shuffles, so enjoy it as intended, alone in a basement apartment with some stockpiled wine on Christmas Eve.

Songs from the Black Hole sure ain't a clampdown. This power trio is just too agitated and interesting for anything such.

A heady, yet accessible amalgam of Burt Bacharach, Scott Walker, Antony and the Johnsons, and Neil Hannon's least flouncy Divine Comedy offerings, The Most Important Place in the World feels like a musical theater piece and listens like a good book (the evocative closer "We're Still Here" suggests a Glaswegian Canterbury Tales), and its dark charms are as seductive as they are thick with exhaust.