Meat + Bone may not restore faith in reunions in general, but it does prove that this burly trio has plenty of swagger and sloppy rock and roll left in them.

While the murky atmosphere and late-night pulse of songs like "Push" and "Fast Seconds," might not immediately scream fun, there's something undeniably engaging about them.

As with most extreme death/doom albums verging on the funereal, this one requires a little patience, but the payoff is well worth it.

Her livelier numbers, of which there are quite a few, aren't exactly frivolous, but they have a pulse and plenty of color which, combined with album's concise running time, give Charmer the feel of an immediate, engaging pop record.

Bend Beyond is the most fully realized set of songs yet from Woods, and continues a lineage of each record surpassing their last.

Yet for all its contradictions and clumsiness, it's hard not to admire The Spirit Indestructible, for it is that rare thing: a major-label album that bears the unmistakably messy, human stamp of an artist.

They're veterans that know how to use their tools, so even if the raw materials may not be quite as compelling as their earliest singles, the overall craft on Battle Born is more appealing.

Breakthrough splatters so many short ideas across its 47 minutes that a front-to-back listen is wearying, like hearing a dozen erratic interludes mixed in with a handful of lengthier sketches that are no more settled.

It's weird and willfully, proudly human, a big pop album about real emotions and one of P!nk's wildest rides.

While it's not as obviously big a statement as Veckatimest was, Shields is plenty ambitious in its own right, and its complexity demands and rewards patient listening.

As always with Dinosaur Jr., underneath all that sound lie some sturdy bones, songs constructed with expert, unassuming craftsmanship and a sly wit, but it's the variety and adventure that makes I Bet On Sky something more than another excellent Dinosaur record.

Sic Alps isn't quite as flowing as its predecessor Napa Asylum, but it still does a fine job of balancing the band's increasing prowess and the sprawling, noisy mischief for which they've always been known.

Putrifiers II is part snapshot and part look into the crystal ball, showing Dwyer and company's ever-changing approach to songwriting and musicianship, and further cementing Thee Oh Sees' status as one of the most liberated, vital bands in indie rock.

It's intriguing and at times vaguely unsettling.

Coexist's exploration of isolation and intimacy is demanding and rewarding in its bold subtlety and eloquent simplicity.

Elysium is an interesting, sour, and insider-aimed dispatch from backstage, interrupted by some big moments that sound entirely commissioned.

Theatre is Evil bristles, crackles, aches, and moans with surprising efficiency considering its 15-song length, pairing fractured synths and staccato guitar riffs with Palmer's throaty, untamed pipes, sounding for all the world like a brazenly cool, alternate-universe version of No Doubt.

Stein and Brock still seem to be working out their garage and pop influences in their guitar work; they don't deliver a fully satisfying fusion of their influences, but instead split the difference between jangle and crunch, watering it all down in the process.

If it isn't both the most purposeful and moving album to come out of dubstep, it's got to be at least one of the two.

Forget the limiting rubric of country-pop: this is one of the best mainstream pop albums of 2012.

Given all the things Byrne and Clark pack into Love This Giant, it's a remarkably catchy and concise set of songs featuring some of the most vibrant work that either one of them has produced.

Away from the World is a bit of a rare thing: a return to form lacking an ounce of nostalgia.

It's part punk, part grunge, part riot grrrl, all slamming together in the mosh pit and exploding into a fist-pumping fury you won't soon want to forget.

Halstead gets closer to creating music that transmits his bare soul to the listener without much sonic trickery to get in the way. In the wrong hands, such a Spartan approach could end up boring, but in Halstead's case, it's completely transfixing and true.

It's a brave, compelling collection from an artist who continues to evolve in remarkable and unexpected ways.

Negotiations' 11 tracks ebb and flow in similar ways to one another, but upon close inspection, the deft placement of nearly hidden sonic details is what makes the album so interesting, and breathes life into the band's already enjoyable soul-searching pop.

While Koster's childlike enthusiasm, meandering, impressionistic lyrics, and Anglophile steampunk posturing may be the very definition of twee (or tweed, in this sense), like Willy Wonka, it's hard not to admire his Luddite tenacity, especially in an age that prefers instant gratification to pure imagination.

Dylan is in mostly excellent form--even when sloppy; it sounds like he's having the time of his life.