As a vocalist, this may not be his natural forte, but he takes great care with the songs, and that palpable love is enough to make Kisses on the Bottom worth a spin or two.

Of Montreal grow less accessible with Paralytic Stalks, but it's respectable how unconcerned Barnes seems with anything besides staying true to his freakily fractured vision.

What Happened to the La Las kicks off the new partnership with a mix of heady Southern rock and rootsy, festival-friendly funk.

Satan Is Real is music crafted by true believers sharing their faith, and its power goes beyond Christian doctrine into something at once deeply personal and truly universal, and the result is the Louvin Brothers' masterpiece.

Even though the album has a transitional feeling, Foxy Shazam still manage to make their sonic renovation a fun ride, and The Church of Rock and Roll is an entertaining stop on the musical journey.

A tremendously heartfelt celebration of music as a force for transformation, togetherness, love, and personal expression.

Overall, Clay Class gives the feeling of bridges being built and dots being connected.

While The Hangman Tree's left-field approach won't be for everyone, it's hard not to admire its ambition and refreshing sunny disposition.

cta is Hit the Lights' ultimate bid for mainstream acceptance and also the quintet's strongest album to date.

Rad Times Xpress IV is some of Herrema's most cohesive music with any of her projects, and Black Bananas pull off the neat trick of sounding quintessential and like a rebirth at the same time.

Les Voyages de l'Âme is a great record; self- defining and alluringly elusive.

Turns out Odd Future benefits greatly from this duo anchoring their wild universe, as Purple Naked Ladies is one of the collective's more sensual and sensible releases to date.

Old Ideas is a very good Cohen album; it may be great, but only time reveals that when it comes to his work.

Overall, there is a fine balance of sounds, feelings, and textures on the album, enough to make Hospitality both a vindication of promise already displayed by the band and hope for further greatness.

A brave and uncompromising debut, Always Want is an always intriguing listen which appears to have fulfilled the potential of her fairy tale beginnings.

For the most part, Out of Frequency is a joyous and effortlessly vivacious slice of Scandinavian pop which yet again brings a refreshing, childlike quality to the '60s retro table.

This album comes to the listener as a gift wrapped in tattered paper, making it all the more precious to receive.

If Ringo 2012 is slighter than the lighter-than-air 2010 Y Not, it still has enough good cheer to bring a smile to longtime Beatles lovers.

Despite the lo-fi nature of the source tape, which was made in an ad hoc manner by a local friend, the sparse setting--just acoustic guitar and banjo--gives Dalton's distinctive voice plenty of room to do its thing.

As with much of their late-career output, Old Mad Joy begs for a few spins before it reveals its charms.

More cinematic, melodic, and mellow than their usual experimental indie pop output.

It's all very definitely Walkabouts in its sound -- with some glorious lyrics from Chris Eckman

The Coldest Winter for a Hundred Years may not be the most cheerful record you'll hear all year, but it's one which proves that a curmudgeonly middle age demeanor isn't a barrier to producing triumphant indie pop.

The result is an album that manages to sound both elegant and organic, like classical music made by people living off the land.

Vanity Is Forever maintains this same general feeling throughout its 12 songs, often feeling as if it's set in a coffee house on an easygoing ocean liner being filmed for a video in 1984.

Familiar they may be, but some credit has to go to De Backer for managing to weave these eclectic retro sounds into a cohesive affair.

These jaunty experiments are some of Hagerty's most insular work in a while, but that doesn't make Wilson Semiconductors any less enjoyable.

There is a chasm that separates "Video Games" from the other material and performances on the album, which aims for exactly the same target--sultry, sexy, wasted--but with none of the same lyrical grace, emotional power, or sympathetic productions.