The duo's work here complements what they've done beside Chrisette Michele, Alicia Keys, Tamia, and especially Elle Varner.

Uncovered feels slightly spare and quiet in comparison [to 1994's Cover Girl]--there are no productions as bright and full as that on "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"--but it follows the same basic formula as that album, with Colvin finding the quiet, intimate heart lying in each of these songs.

Fans need not worry; colorful, variously world music-infused, psychedelic, and ultra-rhythmic, I Need New Eyes retains Larry Gus' somewhat warped artfulness, and the relatively more coherent presentation may attract at least a few more willing ears.

The pleasing, alive, and diverse Stories is a fine reason to think of Avicii as a producer of attractive music, with EDM, pop, and all other genres on a sliding scale.

For Kylesa, Exhausting Fire marks not only a giant step on their ever evolving journey (one that effortlessly looks forward and back simultaneously), but is also the bedrock of an idiosyncratic, clearly demarcated sonic terrain no other band can claim.

On Women's Rights they also show they can crank out some lean, tuneful punk rock, and this album is a smart, unpretentious good time on any number of levels.

As an artistic statement about warmth vs. transparency, Ashin has hit his mark with an album that is as beautiful as it is uncomfortable.

If it's not the group's finest work, it has a genuine emotional purity and reaffirms Born Ruffians' place on the Canadian indie rock scene.

Not many bands are able to rekindle their fire when the flame goes out as drastically as in Wavves' case. V shows that they're one of the few to pull it off, and they even sound better than ever.

In the end, there's something amusingly kooky and undeniably likable about a band that can evoke both the acid house, Rolling Stones spirituality of a band like Primal Scream just as it can, perhaps unintentionally, summon the ghost of early-'90s Duran Duran.

This is an album of highly compositional, slow-burn epics that build with Kubrick-ian intensity and attention to detail.

As The Light in You's title implies, Mercury Rev are seeking life's brightest moments, and they find them--along with some of their most satisfying music in many years.

As "The Reverend" closes things with another shot of the band at its finest, it underscores that even an inconsistent Eagles of Death Metal album is still a lot of fun.

While the album is unrelentingly positive and clean-cut--a relief for listeners who winced at the lurid content laced through Discipline and certain earlier points in the discography--it's a little erratic in style and quality.

Foam Island is a curious, enjoyable album that abundantly showcases Darkstar's tendencies for experimentation as well as pop songwriting.

With No Closer to Heaven, Campbell and the Wonder Years have made an album that's more mature and thoughtful than before, but no less passionate and direct, and it ranks with their finest work to date as well as suggesting this band has an interesting and exciting future ahead.

By entering the mainstream one limb (album) at a time, Bring Me the Horizon are merely reaping what they've sown, and longtime fans should already feel acclimated to the water.

Kelly Jones and his crew know how to craft big music, knowing that often the atmosphere matters more than melody.

Shannon & the Clams have hit the peak of their powers here, making good on their promising early records and improving on the already strong record that came before. Here's hoping they can keep it up for many more great rock & roll albums to come.

Underneath its aggressive opening and occasional woozy electronics, it is anchored by two or three songs (the exuberant "Fallinlove2nite," the recycled "This Could B Us," maybe the Graffiti Bridge throwback "Million $ Show") that wind up revealing how the rest of the record feels like little more than nimble calisthenics.

[An] immersive hour-long dream sequence.

Hollywood Vampires is just a lark but it's a fun lark, and having fun is what matters in a party.

There's no disguising how Ryan Adams flips Taylor Swift's 1989 upside-down, turning a moment of triumph into bedsit introspection, a concept that is undoubtedly theoretically interesting, but the record works because Adams doesn't play this as a stunt.

While it's tempting to say Have You in My Wilderness is her most personal music yet, it might be more accurate to say that it's her most approachable: this time, her brilliance demands a lot from her listeners, but also meets them more than halfway.

Unlike their previous two albums, Arms Around a Vision isn't simple to get into. It might take a little work, but it's an enjoyable endeavor and it makes for an ultimately more enjoyable album in the long run.

New Bermuda finds Deafheaven continuing to effortlessly traverse genre borders and create transcendent music.

Cradle To The Grave relies on the sharp melodic construction of Tilbrook and Difford's diffident wit, a combination the crackles throughout this lean 44 minute record.

This EP dazzles and then disappears before the sun comes up, leaving listeners with the exhilarating feeling of "wow," and the less-pleasing feeling of "what happened?"