Ultimately, Between the Buried & Me, despite employing many tropes and influences, come off sounding like no one but themselves.

Magic is bright and punchy, a digital-age production through and through, right down to how each track feels as if it were crafted according to its own needs instead of the record as a whole.

It's kaleidoscopic but crisp.

A more concise and consistent outing than their debut, Hollow reaffirms that while Cut Off Your Hands may not be innovators, they're still quite good at what they do.

Like Alexander's debut, this is one of one of Ghostly's highest-quality releases of the 2010s. There's no excess.

A sparse duet with Oleta Adams comes across like a bonus track transplanted from a different project, but it lets the listener out in a state of romantic contentment, the finishing touch on a uniquely bittersweet addition to the box of chocolates that is James' discography.

John Tejada's fourth full-length for Kompakt is a succinct, incredibly focused album of complex, melodic techno tracks.

From its opening gossamer notes to the plaintive, minimalist closer, Somewhere maintains Sun June's distinctly aching, intimate form, even through denser sections, floating by like a distracting memory.

Considering the disparate source material and the quantity of vocalists, instrumentalists, and producers involved, it's remarkable how smoothly the album flows from one track to the next. Unsurprisingly, it's most appealing to fans of Glasper and those he involved.

Mettavolution is the R&G record where all of their gifts are on display and in sync; it sends listeners on a holistic journey of musical discovery and emotional resonance.

Like a less electronic version of the Postal Service, on The Trial of the Century the band invokes nostalgia for that decade but puts it in a different context.

There are other flashes of the past, good and bad, from the spring-loaded rhythms to reminders of the sometimes vast qualitative disparity between their melodies and lyrics. Ultimately, compared to their 1996 sendoff, this is more like it.

Seeds We Sow is delightfully ragged.

Given the right frame of mind, Closer has the potential to be the most powerful Plastikman album -- an alternatingly cathartic and mind-wrenching place to lose yourself in.

This album is a study in repetition and rhythm, the same kinds that Callahan first toyed with on songs like "Bloodflow" and "Justice Aversion" from Dongs of Sevotion.

The first six tracks are all vintage Louris gems -- trembling and honest, with warm melodies and hooks for days. Unfortunately, the album stumbles in the second half.

Unfortunately, the orchestral work for the film is hastily assembled as if it were an afterthought.

With their fifth record, Blonde Redhead finally emerges from the shadows of Sonic Youth's post-punk legacy by avoiding the expected detunings, distortions, and shrillness of the genre. The three-piece manages to create a record that is subtle, tuneful, and sublime.

A surprisingly assured album.

No matter the players, Alive to Every Smile is so patently a Bob Wratten album that, honestly, it sounds a little tired.

Tour de France Soundtracks is a successful record on anyone's terms; it's one that fans won't need to cringe from, and one that newcomers will be able to enjoy for what it is.

Even with the help of popular rap acts like DMX and Redman, L.L. Cool J has made the same album he did once before, with no new twists.

Adopts a fuller, more polished sound than her earlier work, but her songwriting is just as innocent and heartfelt-sounding as ever.

Invitation documents Dominant Legs' sound as it jells into something they can call their own; even when it isn't strikingly original, it's always enjoyable.

Write Me Back proves that Kelly's mode throughout Love Letter was no fluke.

Though Burnt Up on Re-Entry trades a little of his earlier work's singularity for a more flexible approach, it shows Sweet can defy expectations, and should pique the interest of anyone partial to metal's more experimental side or post-rock's heavier side.

Eisley rarely come off as cloying, and while Currents may require a little more patience from the listener than on previous outings, it's well worth the investment.

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.