No one's looking to Derulo for advanced stylistic hybrids or deep thoughts. When Everything Is 4 avoids those creative impulses, as it tends to do, it's easily Derulo's most pleasing work.

The bold effort unfolds as it wants and deserves.

Last of Our Kind is the sound of a band unencumbered; it's an album that was probably as much fun to make as it is a joy to listen to.

There's a lot of very real talent on display here, and it's fortunate that she's been captured for the ages while she's still fresh and her voice remains unique and very much her own.

Her Brit-pop soul treacle is still miles better than some of her contemporaries' top-tier offerings, and when the album connects it moves right in and starts to redecorate, but when it falters, it's akin to a chatty party guest failing to realize that everyone else has gone home.

All Your Favorite Bands has a warm, organic texture that's at once raw and immediate, sophisticated and polished.

Algiers, both band and album, offer musical and topical intensity alternately malevolent and passionate in searching and affirming truth, human and otherworldly. All of these seemingly disparate historical musical elements are distilled in such a startling manner, they carve something new from the fragments.

Gunnera is bound to appeal more to Menomena fans than to casual fans of the National, but while it's unconventional, it's even more so enthralling, loaded with worthwhile atmospheres and grooves.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have never been known for being concise or streamlined, but they show on Quarters that blowing out (more than usual) their sounds and elongating their songs to extremes works really well for them.

Small Town Dreams is at least as strong as 2013's fine Never Give In and more sharply focused. His gifts as a lyricist and melodist are prodigious, and his confidence and ambition find equilibrium here.

Neither particularly sad nor happy, Oh Man, Cover the Ground has a sort of ramshackle, neo-folk nonchalance that might not make much of an impact unless you're willing to slow down with it and enjoy it for the contemplative mood piece it is.

Every track here punches with a purpose.

She's clearly making her own way, unafraid to knock suitors down a couple pegs ("How That Taste"), allowing her vulnerability to shine through ("You Should Be Here"), and affirming her individuality.

Rachel Grimes has given us a collection of new pieces that quietly dazzle with their evocative power, intelligence, and strength, and The Clearing is something lovely and truly extraordinary that ranks with the best, most enveloping music of recent memory.

These are candied sonic fantasias, passionate re-creations of the past with no reverence for history, and that divine, stubborn nostalgia fuels English Graffiti, turning it into the Vaccines' best record.

Multi-Love is definitely a departure from his previous work, but he has both the skill and the passion to pull it off. Ironically, where the album stumbles a bit is on the more experimental tracks.

Recorded their solo over a finished mix, which explains the presence of the late Jeff Healey and also how the guitarists don't necessarily seem fully integrated into the album. Nevertheless, that disconnect is ultimately a minor point because there's a gonzo energy to Bachman's originals.

The production sound is also very Strokes-esque, with Shudall's vocals often layered with a delicate haze of fuzzy EFX à la Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. That said, the comparison might be a bit more of a critique were it not for the sheer high quality and infectious nature of Circa Waves' songs.

She's blurring the lines between R&B and Brill Building, soul and girl group pop, coming up with a vivid, spirited record that ranks among her very best.

Highlights is a step forward for the band and with a bit of patience, its personality begins to show.

Warren has talked in interviews about the healing nature of music, both on the songwriting end and the listening end; some listeners will likely connect on that level with Numun and, amid its airiness, its substance.

Mystery Glue isn't an album about aging gracefully so much as aging right, and this is just about perfect for a 64-year-old Graham Parker, a proud survivor who lives to gripe another day, putting him far ahead of plenty of his peers.

More fine than fierce, Fly International Luxurious Art may not be on the man's top shelf, but it's a sturdy and entertaining effort well worth its place in the Chef's catalog.

Bold, inventive, and exhilarating, the eight songs on Zoy Zoy are in a genre of their own.

Heartbreak Pass is, like much of Howe Gelb's best work, an ambitious project that still seems emotionally intimate, and revels in a ramshackle charm that belies how strong the elements truly are--it's one man's unique vision, and if he's proud of it, well, he certainly should be.

Power in the Blood's stylistic adventure and restless aesthetic spirit are indeed Sainte-Marie's hallmarks. But on their own, musical and sonic diversity do not a fine album make. It takes good songs and inspired performances to balance the equation, and this album has them all.

It's music to put on when things are getting just a little bit too hectic but you'd never dream of running away from your problems. Music for a suburban weekend, in other words.

Despite being a bit of a downer for some, these qualities and the improvisatory feel of the guitar work as their songs unfold (however well-rehearsed in reality) may well induce engaged and repeat listening, even for the sanguine.