Ceremony have a strong handle on this style [Ian Curtis'], and after nearly a decade together, these new clothes fit them quite well.

He's one of the rare artists who can lay claim to four (or five) albums that are all distinct from one another, all him, all high quality.

By showcasing the two sides of DeLonge's musical personality, To the Stars does feel like a solo album but it also does feel a bit like a warehouse--a way to clear the decks as he preps for the next great project.

Like its predecessor, Who Me? is a showcase for Wauters' quirky, likeable personality, and balances introspective lyrics with laid-back instrumentation.

A stilted album.

When he indulges in a wash of Vox organ and a rush of 12-string guitars, or when he updates Curtis Mayfield on "Phoenix," they play like transmissions from the past on an album that is focused on the now, and the willful, harmonious collisions of history and the future give Saturn's Pattern its kick, while the warm thrum of the grooves gives it its soul.

After Drop some might have expected Thee Oh Sees to continue to explore their softer side, Mutilator Defeated at Last confounds those expectations. Blows them up, really, in a giant fireball of guitars, noise, and psychedelic power.

Their message is most vibrant on the most danceable songs, such as "Dark Night" and "Easy to Get." It all adds up to a potent reminder that when it comes to life and music, you can't have a future without a past; on Why Make Sense?, Hot Chip explore both in confident and exciting ways.

Ratchet is a fully realized, entertaining portrait of an artist who knows where he's from and where he's going.

As convincing as Welcome Back to Milk's fury is, Du Blonde's rock is no more straightforward than Houghton's version of folk was.

The genius thing about all this is that Flowers doesn't steal Jeff Lynne's hooks or ape Mark Knopfler's guitar sound (well, not exactly), he just imbues his productions with a distinct level of tangible homage.

Sol Invictus is their best and most compelling work since Angel Dust, and the rare reunion album that truly adds to the strength of the group's legacy rather than diluting it.

Based on Weird Sister, Joanna Gruesome didn't seem like the kind of band to bow to pressure or to fall down on the job. The intense and quite wonderful Peanut Butter is bracing proof of that fact.

Heydays is a surprisingly mature, accomplished second effort from a group who previously might have been perceived as a joky side project.

Though this is some of Braxton's most abstract music, it might be the purest expression of his cerebral playfulness yet.

Most of the songs on The Traveler pass muster, and a few are excellent, but it's Miller's interaction with Black Prairie that really makes the album work.

Banditos are one of the most promising roots music discoveries in quite some time, and this album is a genuinely impressive introduction.

All these years on, Soul Food may sound as revolutionary as its predecessor, but it is stronger and far more adventurous musically.

On this album, Della Mae expand their roots-and-groove quotient, and extend the margins in their writing without sacrificing either the virtuosity and sparkle in their performance or the root persona in their sound.

He reaffirms his connection to hip-hop and remains distinctive from the scores of beatmakers who have followed him.

This more polished and tuneful exercise in modern-day folk-rock is effective and engaging music that speaks from the heart and soul.

Surfer Blood have regained their freedom with 1000 Palms; next time, they need to do something interesting with it.

For the most part, Ours Is Chrome sounds like it arrived pristine via a tramp-stamped, nicotine-stained, Puget Sound time capsule.

Though Moonlust is pleasant, it so actively tries to re-create the feel of its inspirations that it is more a distracted reverie than anything else.

The input of all three musicians can be heard from front to back, through swirling layers of ever-shifting sounds and trance-inducing sequences that escalate, expansive and borderline theatrical, with shifts between light and heavy that occur gradually more often than abruptly.

Hairless Toys [is] a welcome return and Murphy's most satisfying album yet.

A danceable memento mori, Dumb Flesh is mischievous, poignant, and quite likely Sacred Bones' most accessible release of 2015.

In the end, Love Songs for Robots is well represented by its title: weird, heartfelt, haunting, stimulating, and unexpectedly sultry; it holds much for humans to appreciate, too.