Tuxedo is a fine display of the duo's love for the electric funk disco sound, and their immense skill at re-creating it.

After is a minor triumph that makes it clear Lady Lamb is going to be around for a while, and may give you new hope for those kids making arty noise in their basement down the block.

Add the devastating title cut plus more memorable melodies than usual, and Shedding Skin might be the Ghostpoet album to begin with for those who prefer something a bit traditional, but with three excellent efforts from the get-go, the point isn't where to start, but to start, because the rewards are consistent and plentiful.

Another Eternity remains true to what makes Purity Ring special by refining it, and proves that they can challenge themselves and deliver their most accessible work yet.

After an album, 2012's Circles, where it seemed like the duo may have been running short on ideas, adding Jeffrey on drums and shaking up the working arrangements have helped to make Shadow a sterling return to form that gives their best album, 2001's Mazes, a run for its money.

These cuts ["Let Your Tears Fall," "Good Goes the Bye," and "Nostalgic"], along with the title track, manage to strike the right balance of Kelly's indomitable character and fresh electronic beats but overall Piece by Piece sounds a shade too desperate, which means it winds up having the opposite effect than intended: instead of sounding like a new start, Clarkson sounds a little bit behind the times.

Truly a bold step forward for the band, the album takes Grooms to their next plateau the same way Daydream Nation proved Sonic Youth's breakthrough almost 30 years earlier.

The moments that stir the most are the ones where Pops' work seems to have been left untouched, as on a simple, effective version of "Nobody's Fault But Mine."

The combination of the raw, tempestuous styles, Barnes' own capricious musical tendencies, and the regrettable subject matter of Aureate Gloom has Of Montreal at its rockiest and most intense.

Their drive to push forward is refreshing, and the slight updates to the band's intricate signature sound results in an exciting comeback album and a statement that stands on its own regardless of its place in time.

Champs deliver a handful of cinematic anthems, including "Desire" and "The Balfron Tower," which, much like the duo's island home, are at once breezy and haunting.

Joyland is smart, entertaining stuff with lots of great guitar work and atmosphere to spare.

Even at high volume and off-the-charts speeds, Quarterbacks' main attribute is the wistful beauty that defines Engle's lyrics and attaches itself to the smartly composed tunes.

A Thousand Miles of Midnight spins new soundscapes from the moody frameworks of Lanegan's original recordings, bringing his electronic influences to the forefront and confirming the strength and versatility of Lanegan's work.

Waxing Romantic is an impressive blend of top-notch songwriting, inventive production, and strong performances, the kind that vaults Bretzer to the same lofty heights of his influences.

The sentimental doo wop vocals filtered through a slightly muddy garage rock lens butt up against the cartoonishly crass punk rock rants and the mild tripouts for yet another album of pure fun and explosive rock & roll antics, with a delivery that by now belongs solely to these wild-eyed champions of inspiration and profanity.

With worthy singles "Body Language," "Hotel," and "Be Real" added to the mix, there's much more fire than fodder here, enough to satisfy returning fans along with party people of all flavors.

While Crushed Beaks' mix of brash and dreamy sounds is promising, it often seems like they're still figuring out how to make it work.

Projections, Fairhurst's first album, designed more for home listening than for dancefloors, is relatively listless, sometimes torpid, and often sounds more like a project than a form of expression.

Future Brown clearly know what to synthesize and how to select. The whole here, however, is less than the sum of its parts.

Equally precise and off-kilter, noodly and urgent, Dutch Uncles sound remarkably confident on these portraits of uncertainty.

et It Reign's appealing mix of nostalgia and vitality proves that Barât can not just survive, but thrive outside of the confines of his other, storied band.

Anyone who was spoken to by the low-lit intimacy of The Creek Drank the Cradle should seek out Archive Series, Vol. 1 as a perfect companion piece to that album and as deeper look into what must have been an incredibly inspired and productive time for the young songwriter.

Like most of the Zeppelin reissues, the alternate versions reaffirm that Page made the right decisions the first time around, but these seven versions all make for worthy listening in their own right.

Let the Good Times Roll is definitely the second coming of the rock & roll savior that fans prayed would follow Signs & Signifiers. And as the title implies, it's also one hell of a good time.

The man who cut Complicated Game is the more mature McMurtry has figured out how to deliver the fine songs he writes and get their qualities on tape.

In James Bond terms, Sour Soul is the almost addendum-ish Quantum of Solace as it offers adventurous fans the same opportunities for a quick fix while sacrificing a bit of weight. In Toronto jazz terms, it's verygoodgoodnotbad.

Screaming Females have gone out of their way to show they have other tricks at their disposal, and Rose Mountain is one of their most accomplished and satisfying efforts to date.