Ultimately, Busting Visions is a sprawling yet thoughtfully constructed album full of backwoods, sandals, and sunburn rock with enough slippery electric guitar work, backing vocals, chiming bells, plinky pianos, and various freaky percussion bits to qualify as a kind of modern-day hippie noodle-rock opus.

An album that gives lie to the phrase "they don't make 'em like that anymore."

It's a marvelous portrayal of being forlorn, no matter in what state.

Free from vague thematic restraints, this volume works as the most immediately listenable and comprehensible of the Nomad Series and stands alone as another strong volume of the craft Cowboy Junkies have been honing for years.

It's not as glossy as the '80s, there are fewer keyboards and more guitars-the sensibility remains the same, so Tuskegee generates a bit of déjà vu: the surroundings are new, yet everything feels familiar.

The sheer density of the tunes becomes an issue right away.

The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond would be an impressive collection even if it weren't associated with one of 2012's most anticipated films, but the care put into the soundtrack makes it an experience that much richer for fans of the books, the movie, and any of the artists here.

There's no mistaking the more personal vibe here, and on the whole Silent Hour/Golden Mile offers proof that Rossen's songs can stand proudly on their own.

For all the people camping out in the cold, The General Strike definitely has enough fire to keep you warm.

Haunting as it may be, A Church That Fits Our Needs succeeds on nearly every level.

Almost every note, lyric, and sound could have appeared on any Weddoes record of the past 20 years or so without any problem.

While the title may reflect a a certain ponderousness, these 11 tunes are anything but.

While Radio Music Society may play better to younger pop audiences than more die-hard jazzheads, this program is so diverse and well executed--despite a little overreaching--it's anybody's guess.

Between the Times and the Tides cements Ranaldo's role as a dreamer and poet who can remain true to himself and reveal new things at the same time.

On In a Dim Light, Nedry never get as self-consciously slick as many of the bands that made trip-hop so dully tasteful in its later years, but they're still at their best when they're fully in touch with their volatile side.

There's a comforting softness to the album (only occasionally broken by a stray emotion in Eric Emm's vocals or a danceable tempo) that makes it perfect background music for working away in a cubicle or relaxing after a long day.

Questions of semantics and authenticity aside, Port of Morrow's songs are compelling enough to keep most fans listening and enjoying.

Hype warranted, the mystery continues, and while no kid should write "666" on their forehead before getting their driver's license, Odd Future remains a vital force in the hip-hop underground.

It's just accomplished enough as an amalgam--not entirely groundbreaking but definitely enjoyable as a collective reworking of impulses, with Wexler and a variety of guest players creating an enjoyable little treasure in its own right.

Accelerando is a triumph in creativity and expert musicianship, and further underscores Iyer's status as a genuine jazz innovator.

Adjust to it being low-key, sometimes background music, and SSSS won't be leaving the average synth pop fan's headphones anytime soon.

Sounds from Nowheresville shows that the Ting Tings have more range than their debut suggested, but while it's more ambitious and crafted, it's just not as coherent as We Started Nothing.

Normally, a live album without a ton of rarities would be a hard sell to fans of the band, but We All Raise Our Voices to the Air is such a strong set of performances that even Decemberists diehards might have a hard time passing up on this one.

Mies and Mullen have successfully mined this kind of temporal, freak-folk territory before, but Out of It and Into It feels more like a step backwards than a cerebral expansion.

Spoek makes the "hard truths" sound like "real talk" while putting some of the world's most innovative rebel music underneath.

It's obvious he's grown and matured as both a songwriter and a producer, and this is the finest moment in his catalog thus far.

The album creates a nice contrast between the pleasant melodies of the songs and the seething, dissatisfied lyrics that rest on top of them.

If the songs don't quite deliver upon their promise, at least Crook's production and Meat Loaf's performance keep things interesting.