The fact that the feel is so richly idiosyncratic is a testament to just how well he knows these tunes, and these slow, winding arrangements are why Shadows in the Night feels unexpectedly resonant: it's a testament to how deeply Dylan sees himself in these old songs.

Injecting their trademark sound with fresh flair, RAMMSTEIN is one of the band's best efforts, a potent distillation of all the elements that have endeared them to fans for two-and-a-half decades.

The lack of uninhibited gloating and easy-going funk grooves disqualify Broken Hearts Club from being considered Syd's most characteristic and definitive work. It could become the one that is most cherished -- a skip-less companion for listeners going through or getting over their first real love.

International is beautiful and painful in equal amounts. Beautiful because one of the great pop bands of the modern era has left such a moving, inspired, and special artifact, painful because it's not fair for them to quit when they can still make records like this.

The album has no weak songs. There is an excess of adequate ones, however.

While Hushed and Grim tracks the stages of grief, it also reflects on the soul's journey after death. Musically, Mastodon illuminate the emotional heft of their subject matter in gorgeously architected compositions rendered with abundant creativity, massive power, and searing honesty.

Christian Mistress' second formal release--and first full album, if one counts Agony & Opium as an EP--finds the Olympia quintet in even stronger form than before, the group's eager embrace of early-'80s metal energy and singing coming together with a bang once again.

The songs depict a torrid breakup, and she has restless yet tightly controlled electronic backdrops that suit her mood. Whether she merely had to get this out of her system or has found her true voice, it's one transfixing emotional hell of a follow-up.

A heady, yet accessible amalgam of Burt Bacharach, Scott Walker, Antony and the Johnsons, and Neil Hannon's least flouncy Divine Comedy offerings, The Most Important Place in the World feels like a musical theater piece and listens like a good book (the evocative closer "We're Still Here" suggests a Glaswegian Canterbury Tales), and its dark charms are as seductive as they are thick with exhaust.

It doesn't matter that Out My Feelings (In My Past) runs 18 tracks long, as Boosie Badazz is on point the whole way through this dark yet empowering album.

This is heady and hearty stuff delivered by a band surveying the ruins below from their creative peak.

These are dazzlingly collaborative performances that reveal Redman and Mehldau to be a highly intuitive and harmonically adroit team.

Carthy deftly wields her rogue ambitions, making for an inspired creative partnership.

With Animals is the work of two men with great talent embracing what they do best, and with their skills elevating their work to a new level; this is collaboration between musical peers at its best.

[Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face"] is an overhaul of the original that unquestionably makes it her own, but it still plays out like a bonus track rather than a curated finale in the context of the album. If that's the only blip on a 12-track set, Chura's in fine form again here--it wouldn't be an overstatement to call it a doozy.

The distorted thumps and dislocated bass of tracks like "UN Sanctions" are intense and mesmerizing, and additional touches like the whooping vocals of "Immortal" or the trancey synths of "Why" elevate the energy level even further.

Throughout Take the Cake, PACKS put an intimate, warped spin on what are fundamentally great rocks songs. The result is a debut that's likely to compel return visits.

The comforts A Few Stars Apart offer may not be original, but part of their power lies in their familiarity: it's the sound of tradition moving forward through the bad times and into the good ones.

DYLRM should be a mess, but the band has crafted a wintry, nuanced, and bold collection of epic songs that integrate the sweeping theatricality of Arcade Fire-era indie rock without all of the insularity.

A Small Turn of Human Kindness, finds the band returning to the top of their game with an album that is as heartbreaking as it is crushing.

It often feels like they're delighted that they're making an album that lives up to their debut, and it's hard not to share their thrill.

Good at Falling is an extremely impressive debut LP from a songwriter who's more than proved that she's unafraid to delve into the melancholy parts of her past and wrap them up in dreamlike, atmospheric songs which are accessible for various kinds of music fans without ever sounding too saccharine.

Fans who fell in love with Tillman's sharp social commentary will find plenty to hone in on, but the lush sounds take some of the bite out of his clever barbs and cynical perspectives on love and connection. Even with the strong, considered design of his previous albums, Father John Misty has never sounded so pleasant.

Like some of the more cerebral acts of Britain's early-'70s folk-rock heyday, Modern Nature aren't a portable commodity of singles and small ideas. Their music is defiantly experimental -- though by no means impenetrable -- and best enjoyed in its long-form splendor.

A resounding return, The World Is Still Here and So Are We suggests the planet is that much better with Mclusky back on it

Vintage Burden is among the most beautiful, subtle, and moving records this band has ever made.

Although it's all over the place, Before Love Came to Kill Us radiates conviction from front to back, and is without doubt a true representation of its creator.

Though a handful of tracks fall into the category of fun but not essential, Pulse of the Early Brain feels more necessary than some of the previous Switched On volumes. As it covers a wide swath of the band's career, it provides a few surprises for even the most avid fans -- and whether listeners are hearing these songs for the first time or the first time in a long time, they sound equally great.