A fully realized summer record from the street to the beach to the campfire.

Arriving at a time when so many artists are inspired by his music, Lost Themes III: Alive After Death proves Carpenter is still one of a kind.

It's brief and even a little slight, but it's almost as much fun to listen to as it must have been to make.

For a band that has evolved from screamo to such thoughtful artistry, The Canyon is a stunning offering.

In Rubin's hands, Seeing Things plays like a songwriter playing his newest songs in your living room--a seductive feeling that no Wallflowers record ever captured, which is an excellent reason for Dylan to step out on his own.

Teaming up with some fresh collaborators seems to have done Pollard a world of good after recording the bulk of his post-GBV work with Todd Tobias handling all the instruments; Moen and Slusarenko don't bring a striking level of chops to Brown Submarine, Boston Spaceships' debut album, but their work has an organic feel and a natural energy that helps these sessions sound like the work of a real band.

Gag Order discards these pop niceties because it's designed as a purge, one that delivers catharsis for the artist without much consideration for the audience.

This is a document -- nothing more, nothing less -- and as such it's charming, beautiful, ragged, and honest.

Sloan are craftsman who weld their good taste into charming miniatures, and if The Double Cross retains a hint of familiarity--not due to the source material but rather the workmanship--the group's level of skill assures that this is as comfortably satisfying as its predecessors.

It took some goading from My Morning Jacket members Carl Broemel, Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan, and Tom Blankenship, who also serve as the backup band, but Showalter found his voice again, and the resulting 11-track set strikes a winning balance between dusty, soul-bearing Midwest folk and sanguine heartland rock.

Homespun creativity has rarely sounded bigger -- or better -- than it does on Our Thickness.

For the most part, A Flash Flood of Colour revels in a unique, organized chaos, and while it's a demanding and often exhausting listen, it's a call to arms which the flagging U.K. guitar band scene could do with more of.

The more beneficial mix of songwriting and production collaborators, including Jack Splash, No ID, Rico Love, and Salaam Remi, helps make The MF Life superior to the debut in every way.

This is indie pop at its absolute finest, Gold-Bears telling their own story of resentment and an always slippery grip on love with the same melancholic charm as some of the many unheard legends of the C-86 scene or the mixtape champions of the American underground.

Olympic Mess is a gripping sound odyssey which bewilders and occasionally perturbs.

Almost a decade into their existence, the So So Glos have matured and tightened their execution, making Kamikaze a huge leap past their already 2014 breakthrough, Blowout. Musically, the album is a pure joy.

It all makes for a more focused--but far from simple--album that's a gorgeous, confident step forward for Illum Sphere.

Skits like "Close Talker" draw out a conflict between Czarface and Doom, but the former seems to be a bit more aggressive--Doom doesn't really seem to fight back, he's just doing his thing, talking sharp and candid like always. In any case, the album is still a whole lot of fun, and shouldn't disappoint fans of either act.

It's a more thoughtful, philosophical King Tuff, for certain, but The Other is far from a downer, with Thomas' individuality and catchy pop sensibilities still intact.

Adam Landry, who produced and engineered the project as well as playing guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, has done a splendid job helping Morris realize this cycle of songs, and while one might hope Morris feels better the next time he decides to make a record, Dude, the Obscure shows that he gained something worthwhile during his journey through difficult times.

The album as a whole is tender and affectionate, seeming to accept and appreciate even the awkward and unrequited as part of her embrace of complexity and queerness.

It would be too optimistic to hope that the band would have ever made a record as vital and thrilling as Hold on Now, it’s just too bad that they’ve sunk to the level of bland irrelevance so quickly.

As Boeckner repeats the words "I have no feelings" in the last song, he seems to be driving home a point. Prior Handsome Furs outings had a lot more emotion behind them.

Lemon Twigs commit wholeheartedly to the bizarre narrative that Go to School is built on. Leaving no ridiculous tangent or exaggerated flourish unexplored, the result is a larger-than-life spectacle grown from strange but excellent songwriting.

Fingers, Bank Pads & Shoe Prints is another thrilling, occasionally confounding collection that demonstrates why RP Boo is one of Chicago's most unique, innovative producers.

The main reasons to drop a quarter into this video game on wax (or digital download) are the sexy robot song "Nightcall" (which was featured prominently in the film Drive), the dubsteppy victory theme "Protovision," and the assurance that no matter what cool bits of the present are employed, the fetishizing of that 16-bit swagger will remain solid and inspired.

While in the process of embracing more electronics they lose a bit of their organic warmth, particularly compared to their debut, Local Natives hang on to a significant amount of their quirkiness and rhythmic flair.

Most of A Certain Trigger's album tracks sound like singles waiting to be discovered.