Aerotropolis, her second album, adds even more references to the mix and leaves her fine debut in the dust.

While by no means bad, is definitely more of a missing link for die-hard fans to get a taste of what's to come.

Seventeen discs may be an enormous undertaking, and admittedly some of the road is rocky, but the journey Harry Nilsson takes on The RCA Albums Collection is distinctive and thrilling, whether it's heard for the first or 40th time.

While Allen either wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on the album, it's his stellar and flexible guitar work that is the highlight.

A striking, satisfying album that balances the boldness of a debut with the experience Rocketnumbernine has gained since You Reflect Me.

Although From Death to Destiny might alienate some fans, the album's more grown-up sound gives them a newfound accessibility that is sure to open them up to a whole new audience hungry for some new heavy jams.

e. This all-or-nothing approach makes Deep Trip an exhilarating listen that's just as capable of amping listeners up with its vital punk energy as it is freaking them out with its surging undercurrent of mind-altering sludge, making for yet another feather in the cap of Sacred Bones and their ever-growing lineup of head trip-inducing bands.

This is Saginaw's most colorful and accomplished release, and it indicates a vast range of individualistic possibilities for his next move.

Equal parts manic fun, party-friendly silliness, and unexpectedly real emotional content, I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams is powerful and light at the same time. The technical playing and nods to the best of heavy metal culture never get so tongue-in-cheek that the greatness of the songs gets buried under posturing.

It showcases the strength of an 11-piece band willing to experiment as they assimilate inspirations--from Stax, Muscle Shoals, Motown, Delaney & Bonnie, blues, and jazz--and incorporate their various experiences into a new whole.

Ultimately, this is a strong debut from a band with a sound worth exploring more.

This is an impressive job by a child-prodigy instrumentalist who has accomplished the very difficult task of continuing to challenge himself in productive ways as an adult.

Between the airless coldness of lunar ambience and the waving freak flag of their most high-power jams, White Hills' voice becomes more defined and more deliberate on this set of songs.

The rapper is an excellent tour guide through this warped landscape of thrills and chills, and even if Rocky remains the A$AP Mob's most obvious and outgoing choice, there's an argument to be made that the more interesting one is Ferg, a Trap Lord if there ever was one.

A spacious, yet measured and surprisingly inspirational, midtempo dirge.

Ultimately, whether it's Tubb's honky tonk twang, or the twang of Mayer's own heart, the sound of Paradise Valley rings true.

While Versions may be too tasteful-seeming for die-hard fans of early Zola Jesus, the album's undeniable beauty reveals another accomplished facet to Danilova's music.

A full, concentrated album of ballads may seem startling even for die-hard fans, not just because the new full-on singer/songwriter mode is such a departure, but also because of how beautifully weary and evocative his songs tend to be when he allows a glimpse at his unplugged intimate side.

This stretch of songs is the liveliest collection Travis has cut since the '90s, and it's heartening to hear them reconnect with some of the wilder aspects that informed their earliest records.

I Hate Music is just as fresh and powerful as Majesty Shredding, with the same hook-driven songs, fiery performances, and stunning vocals from Mac McCaughan.

Hero Brother is a carefully conceived yet relaxed presentation of a fairly startling series of works that reveal the versatility and considerable creative depth of a composer/soloist who has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Pure Bathing Culture borrows only the best elements from the Twins, then adds more than enough of their own style and vision to make Moon Tides a dreamy triumph that is both a great debut album and a tantalizing promise for the future.

As it stands, this is a strangely seductive record, filled with remarkable musical peaks, and proof positive that an ambitious sophomore departure can be wholly satisfying.

Warp & Weft displays Veirs' sophisticated songcraft (though "America" falls short for its obviousness) is adorned by diverse textures, expert musicianship, and a generous use of space; it's almost almost perfectly balanced.

It's not only her biggest and most ambitious production to date, but also the album that best showcases her gift for communicating complex emotional entanglements so simply and clearly they become almost weightless.

Loud City Song is Holter's most polished work to date, and another example of how she upholds and redefines what it means to be an avant-garde singer/songwriter.

Perpetual Surrender's highlights might have had more impact if they were collected on an EP, but DIANA have a unique enough perspective--and enough potential--to make the album worth a listen for anyone who loves synth pop in any of its incarnations.

Sometimes some things need to perish for others to flourish, and these songs show that Standell-Preston, Smith, and Tufts evolved into a group that can not just survive, but thrive in the face of hard times.