These kinds of lyrics paint pictures that can be simultaneously morose and inspiring, avoiding the stock repetition of 2010's mainstream love songs by imbuing them with the bold creativity and vicissitude of songwriting in the '80s and early '90s. All in all, Lo Moon is an impressive debut.

It ranks as the artist's most concise and accessible release to date.

Now as before, there are few groups in rock & roll that perform as brilliantly and purposefully as an ensemble as the Feelies, and on Here Before their trademark sound remains a thing of wonder that hasn't been dimmed a bit by the passage of time.

If Kristofferson never cuts another record, Closer to the Bone will have been a proud note to end his musical career on.

Despite their changes, PVT remain as hard to pin down as ever, and Church with No Magic is admirable, if not exactly embraceable.

[A] completely respectable collections of tunes from a well-oiled machine, but falling short of the almost accidental brilliance of their best work.

It's mildly disappointing that the Futureheads' first independently released music sounds more conventional than what they issued on other labels, but This Is Not the World is still a solidly enjoyable album on its own terms.

He's mastered the craft of writing tight and focused rock songs that transcend their beginnings but make no concessions to current sonic fashions.

Fidelity! is effective, suggesting that Jones has an appeal somewhere between Glen Hansard and Jeff Tweedy, an impeccably messily manicured roots troubadour who works hard to make everything look easy. He's ingratiating, but his charm is strengthened by Hynde's reaction to him.

Darker, wiser, and more personally reflective than her work with Angus, By the Horns strikes a nice balance between standard, confessional singer/songwriter fare and radio-ready alt-pop.

The album closes as strongly as it begins with "Miami Titles," a thrilling orchestra-hall-meets-club synthesis from a trio that draws from Mahler, Reich, Mills, and Hood as if they're all part of the same lineage.

The band sounds vital and energetic, and while there's still a hint of sour grapes to be heard, all in all the album feels like a return to the basics.

Often, he returns to this revved-up blues--something that's more appealing when it boogies ("You Left Me Nothin' But the Bill and the Blues") than when it slams ("Distant Lonesome Train")--and while that anchors the bulk of the record, the moments that linger are the departures.

Ultimately, while some fans may miss Beaty Heart's previous bent toward tropical indie rock jams, it's difficult to imagine anyone not swooning over the focused, nuanced pop craftsmanship.

Heartfelt and nostalgic, it's Tidal Wave's less sonically charged cuts like "Homecoming" and "I Felt It Too" that resonate most deeply, suggesting that while time may not heal all wounds, it can certainly lessen the pain.

Her richest music yet, Fool's Paradise is a beautiful portrait of Hussein's heritage and artistry.

Langford's songs reflect his fascination with the culture and legacy of the American South, for better and for worse, and if his Welsh-accented voice sometimes seems to run counter to the music, Bethany Thomas and Tawny Newsome are both marvelous, putting their own spin on this music while honoring the traditions of Muscle Shoals soul.

Metric synthesize the stadium rock of Fantasies, the moody hookiness of Pagans in Vegas, and the new wave spunkiness of their early albums into something that's recognizably their own, instantly memorable and one of their best overall albums yet.

Though they include sentiments like "Romance is dead and done/And it hits between the eyes," songs such as "Romance" and "I Can't Keep You" are more up-tempo and incorporate drum kit and multi-part accompaniment, but the album's sound, on average, is less sustained and more frail than Daughter's, and the lyrics more personal.

Conveying a sense of childlike wonder about the natural world, the album is full of life and immensely enjoyable.

While not quite on par with his best work, it is nonetheless a welcome and surprisingly fun return by one of Britain's great voices who has lost none of his wit and panache.

If not particularly important, We Are the Pipettes is both witty and filled with ear-catching melodies.

While the rest of us went to work or college or worse after graduation, Avi Buffalo hit the road, but they too spent those formative years navigating the strange cognitive duality of post-high school young adulthood, and the sad, strange, and beautiful At Best Cuckold does an awfully nice job distilling that unease into audio form.

While the more upbeat tracks on Threadbare are competent and downright catchy, they're ultimately engulfed by the fog from which they were born.

It's an ironic title for an album that's so sure, and even if his early fans frown as their dancing shoes collect dust, complaining about what doesn't happen on Lost seems silly when compared to the wonderful and intoxicating things that actually do.

Despite all of its strengths, neither the recording nor the songs are as memorable or as fully realized as his late-'80s/early-'90s comeback records -- Freedom, Ragged Glory, and Harvest Moon -- let alone his classic '70s work.

The Tarnished Gold will melt whatever preconceptions you have about the band and leave you basking in the warmth of the summer of Beachwood Sparks' career.

Songs written to sound like old pub standards helped to gain the group attention, but these heartfelt tunes gleam with McCauley's individuality.