Our Head Technician has delivered an accomplished album for Ghost Box that only serves to enhance the well-deserved reputation of both parties.

Target Earth is not only better than we had any right to expect, it's relentlessly creative, inspired, and manic.

In the same way as records like the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady, the Smiths' Hatful of Hollow, or even Weirdo Rippers by No Age, the incremental blasts of brilliance collected in one place as Early Fragments fit together perfectly, capturing a remarkably intriguing band at various peaks.

Two of her first album's many attractive attributes were the subtle and surprising twists in song structure and seamless genre fusions. They're in steady supply her.

When producers like Mr. Green, Apathy, and Buckwild come up with fresh, funky ideas, R.A. responds with excellence, and sometimes a J-Zone-sized sense of humor.

From start to finish, Rescue & Restore is an incredible leap for the band that should not only please the August Burns Red faithful, but opens them up to a wider audience of metal lovers.

In Vagrant Stanzas' 52 minutes, Simpson has taken us not only though the music of the British Isles and America, but through his own history, directly, honestly, and poetically.

While Parrish just about eliminates himself from the equation, this mix will appeal the most to fans of his work who know the funk, disco, and house stuff well enough but haven't traced back far enough to fully absorb an earlier, eternally vibrant form.

Man & Myth is Harper at his best, fully in command of his vision, his curious, lovely melodic sensibility, and, of course, his poetry.

The Devil Makes Three's most consistent and balanced album yet.

The lush, colorful songs combine orchestral arrangements, choirs, drums, and a variety of singers in an ambitious multinational pop collaboration.

This set is sly, funny, cunning, occasionally evil, and entertaining throughout.

The highlights continue, and come from many different styles of underground hip-hop, so put Statik somewhere between Tony Touch and the Alchemist on the short list of producers/DJs who also offer solid albums.

Disarmingly subtle yet flush with enough confectionary touches and left-field presence (not to mention pure craftsmanship) to warrant cult status among smart-pop aficionados, Niagara goes down so easy that most listeners will need more than a few spins to realize how rich of a tonic it is.

How to Die in the North is an undeniably tasty dish, served hot or cold.

This is the kind of subtle record unlikely to make immediate waves, but with a staying power that will call for repeated listens.

This is a rich, deceptively relaxed portrait of working-class life in America in 2014 and it will linger for some time to come.

This trio aims at an interior center, finds it, and pushes out, projecting Iyer & Co.'s discoveries.

Whether singing new or old songs, he presents them in the moment as living, breathing entities. He remains a song interpreter who has few--if any--peers.

Ultimately, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman sounds less like a collaboration between two separate entities and more like the assured work of a unified band.

McAlinden knows how to wrap sadness, joy, heartache, and nostalgia into simple box with a ray of sunshine for a bow. Rest and be thankful, indeed.

Perhaps it's the geographical aura of Cornwall's windswept shores or the musical and emotional support of his bandmates, but the overwhelming tone on Tender Gold & Gentle Blue is of woolen, seaside warmth.

From their clever songcraft to the very natural manner in which they've presented it, Promised Land Sound have delivered a gem with a rambling country-folk feel and plenty of rock vitality.

A superb set of smart and literate pop music that nods to the past, present, and future, In Triangle Time is another great record from a man who knows how it's done.

Earth into Aether is an opportune entrance point for those new to the artist, doubling as a well-curated playlist for established fans.

It is the most artfully rendered and sophisticated recording in her catalog, the work of a mature artist in full command of a sonic language. It's also a hell of a lot of fun to listen and dance to.

While Blues and Ballads is by no means Mehldau's most ambitious album, it's nonetheless a work of expansive emotionality and deeply hued beauty.

Day to Day is dazzling. It leads the listener outside standard jazz/world fusion tropes to ask new questions about musical and cultural origins, traditions, and lineage and it does so with grooves and mystery intact.