Nothin' But Blood finds the hard-living and hard-playing one-man band Biram sounding as intense as ever.

The musical realm that exists inside of Claypool's head is a bizarre one, but the songs on Four Foot Shack have a weird knack for worming their way into your head, turning your waking world into a surreal, country-fried cartoon version of itself that's oddly endearing.

With the same soft rock moods of America, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, or American Beauty-era Grateful Dead, the decreased volume leaves the songs every bit as moody and ominous as their more electric studio versions, but far clearer.

††† is a solid effort that stands on its own merit rather than simply cruising on the cultural cache of its members.

It's their catchiest offering to date, with enough depth and immediate appeal to rival their influences.

A thoroughly satisfying and intriguing record that pushes Fanfarlo toward new boundaries.

The abiding impression left from this album is one of comfort, not despair, which makes Morning Phase distinctly different than its companion Sea Change.

Constructed with flawlessness in mind, Galore succeeds in its ability to sound intensely produced and polished but never sterile.

Hard Working Americans picked 11 cover tunes which deal with the hard truths of life among the working class, some recent compositions, and other, older songs that have remained relevant with the passage of time.

North American Poetry is at its best, however, when Wauters strips away the slight clutter and lets his most introspective thoughts, questions, and feelings flow.

Throughout it all Segarra struts her stuff without the slightest bit of arrogance (most of the arrangements are spare, but never willfully so), offering up a confident, yet ultimately amiable set of millennial-informed, urban crafted, Woody Guthrie-inspired, contemporary hobo-folk anthems that play fast and loose with genre tropes without losing the essence that makes them universal.

Peroxide showcases Nesbitt's sweet voice and personal yet universally relatable lyrics, which she frames in bright, often acoustic piano and guitar-driven arrangements.

Voices is filled with catchy, emotion-packed songs that will sound great booming out of radio speakers, soundtracking late nights spent alone and wondering, and anytime some really powerful modern pop is needed.

His half-hour Wave 1 EP supplies more of the robust, wide-eyed synth pop/funk for which he has been known, albeit with a few slight tweaks.

There is a buoyant creativity to many of Lake Street Dive's arrangements, and cuts like "Bobby Tanqueray" and "Seventeen" reveal such time-tested influences as late-'60s Muscle Shoals-influenced soul and Dusty Springfield-esque pop.

Working Out is an apt title, as Arthur Beatrice sound a little bit like they're in the late stages of development, where momentum is sometimes mistaken for maturation, but there's little doubt that they have the tools and the talent to carve out their own niche if given the room to grow a bit further out of the very populated one they currently reside in.

Easy access it's not, but track by track, this is excellence and an appetite-whetting experience worth any progressive hip-hop fan's attention.

The peppy and ceaselessly upbeat tunes that make up the album rush by in a stream of self-aware lyrics about uncertain romantic relationships, disappointment, and the more bitter side of unrequited love.

The wonders never cease on this adventurous and street-tough effort, but they never sort themselves well, either, and with accessible highlights like "Blind Threats," "Break the Bank," and "Man of the Year" all bundled toward the end, this LP requires a surprising amount of patience.

Much like the trio's studio work, the set has a unique touch that seems happenstance and carefully plotted all at once.

Down Like Gold showcases the duo's harmony-laden, folk, and indie pop sound.

Exquisite stuff and not so far off the trip-hop universe that it sounds alien, but those wishing for revivalist music or a nostalgia trip back to the days of chillout rooms could be thrown by the album's forward-thinking and genre-expanding moments.

New Bums finds two decidedly specific songwriters' styles and voices mesh into something new and different. The combination results in a strange, haunted look into imagined desert scenes, cheap motels, and tales of depraved living, floating by on tunes so unassuming they disappear before the darkness ever truly sets in.

It's a sturdy, often absorbing record from a singer who is determined to be in it for the long haul.

Damaged Bug is a celebration of the strange and often unstable world of analog electronics, and while there's considerably less "crash and bang" to the project than Dwyer's work with Coachwhips and Thee Oh Sees, it has a scuzziness that fans of the prolific noisemaker's other work will appreciate.

As with any meeting of pop and noise, Axxa/Abraxas can feel somewhat at odds with itself at times.

While War Psalms is certainly a long way from Morning Glory's humble beginnings as a bedroom recording project, the album shows a maturity that marks it as the beginning of an exciting new era for the band.

The streamlining does much for the album, giving the songs enough space to let their varied and often contrasting influences meld nicely with the band's unique visions.