This trio pulls off a chosen weave of hybrid roots sounds with seeming ease, passion, and verve. No one else performing Americana or crossover country music attempts anything like it, leaving the trio in its own class.

While the rap-preferring fans will still gravitate to his first two efforts, listeners with an appreciative ear for his genre-sampling maturation into the mainstream will find Twelve Carat Toothache to be a fascinating emotional exploration of a conflicted artist who can't help but churn out star-making hits at the expense of his own happiness.

Nothing on Aquaria seems out of place, but each song brings something new to the party.

Even if there's a lingering predictability in the paths the Foo Fighters follow on Sonic Highways, they nevertheless know how to make this familiar journey pleasurable.

It's an ambitious egotistical solo release, and one with the chops to pull it all off. The well placed spaces and lithe textural moments of delicate instrumental engagement and interlude prevent Elect the Dead from going by in a blur.

a few songs that lag a bit, this is easily Babyshambles' best work yet.

As on Woman, much of Jet Lag's lyrics slide between romantic and erotic, full of longing, discreetly laced with sexually suggestive content. It all adds up to a sophisticated electronic pop album with a serious lingering effect.

The playing is tighter and more polished, but they haven't lost any of their manic energy, and in fact this outing is, if anything, even more energetic than "Head Home."

Miniature interludes tie it all together for that classic album flow, and with no filler or fumbles, Divine Ecstasy is a well-dressed and worthy addition to tasteful lofts, high-end headphones, and excellent album collections.

It's a soothing and inspiring listen, especially for fans who love vintage sounds and period details as much as Gonzalez does.

Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger's specialty as songwriters has always been turning a trope inside out, finding ways to freshen or invert convention, and while they haven't lost that knack, the directness of Sky Full of Holes turns their tunes into something approaching standard-issue.

Sometimes, the duo's soul-searching is too insular for its own good, and the revved-up finale, "Whirling Eye," feels like it's from a different album, but more often than not the Kills turn what could be seen as weakness into artistic strength. Even if they're lacking some of their expected swagger, it adds truth to Ash & Ice's portraits of what remains after the worst happens.

Two Thousand is nothing if not well crafted; that it doesn't have more memorable moments is as frustrating as it is mystifying.

For most of Bazooka!!!, the Star Spangles sound like a rowdy bar band just playing a set of songs they love.

Too often, Airs Above Your Station feels scattered and fades into the background too easily.

There's nothing new or surprising here, but it's a completely satisfying listen thanks to the strong material, sustained mood, and Strait's unhurried, confident performance.

Freight Train, Alan Jackson’s 16th album, has none of the momentum of a locomotive but all of the reassuring sturdiness of a hulking piece of steel: this is music built for distance, not speed.

The end effect is ultimately liberating, letting Nurses explore something more than the late-2000s indie cul-de-sac they'd found themselves in previously.

Taken as a whole, Ternion is a strong step forward for the band, one that takes them to the front of the line of bands looking to re-create the sounds, and more importantly, the feel of classic synth pop.

The sounds he and Smith craft together gel in a way far more urgent and quickly unfolding than most Eluvium material, taking Maze of Woods into a place that seems less quietly observant and more driven to explore, attempt, and understand.

Its base is the four original songs the band self-released on singles during 2013 and 2014, and each one is represented here, with the references to specific disco and post-disco artists and bygone production touches less obvious, a little more concealed than they are on the 2011 album.

Though the album is somewhat uneven, it proves they've got the potential to give their vintage influences an inspired update.

Working with producer Shawn Everett (the War on Drugs, Alabama Shakes), Sheff has crafted his least-Okkervil River-sounding Okkervil River outing to date, employing a colorful palette of sonic hues that flirt with everything from soft rock and soul to left-field '80s synth pop and Beatlesque classic rock.

An aptly titled set that's more engrossing and intimate despite its much longer procession of guest collaborators.

It's a prickly landscape as off-kilter sounds meet off-kilter ideas, all as Beans does the relentless, stern delivery thing, kicking it poetry slam style and giving listeners no easy hook to hold onto as the avant whirlwind spins.

Oh, Fortune is still an indie folk album at heart, with Mangan's acoustic guitar and baritone voice giving every song its most basic foundation, but it's also the most ornate thing he's ever done.

Here's Willy Moon: this is music that is out there, it is not cooked up by consultants and marketers, it's a truly, genuinely strange attempt at something new--it may miss its mark but that's why it's fascinating.

Guest shots from Paloma Faith, Emeli Sandé, Dizzee Rascal, and others make this one crowded album, but figuring out what to drop is nearly impossible as everyone hits the mark.