As sprawling and combustible as this entire album seems, all of the musicians maintain a deadly, razor-sharp focus, and the whole thing is powerful and full of purpose and conviction. Completely unbelievable.

These kinds of lyrics paint pictures that can be simultaneously morose and inspiring, avoiding the stock repetition of 2010's mainstream love songs by imbuing them with the bold creativity and vicissitude of songwriting in the '80s and early '90s. All in all, Lo Moon is an impressive debut.

An album that cooks up a dreamy meld of contemporary indie-New York atmosphere and a trippy past seemingly frozen in time.

Mint Field's gloominess is very real and relatable, and their debut is a truly remarkable work of art.

Impossible Star is another strong showing from a veteran outfit that has continually resisted categorization or commercialization, and has remained innovative as well as relevant.

Anenon's music sometimes seems to explore contrasts, but it does so in a manner that is easy to follow and absorb, and his music ends up being relaxing rather than challenging.

Kuti and Positive Force don't let up at all during One People One World. Impeccably sequenced, it runs from strength to strength, dazzling with expansive sonic textures, killer arrangements, and a musical genre palette that exists seemingly without boundaries. As a recording artist, Kuti has been reliably consistent, but this date is his masterpiece.

He may have traveled a long way from the glory days of Felt, or the almost-success of Denim, but even when his life has turned dicey, his gift for cracking amazing jokes in one line, then dropping devastating emotional bombs in the next, has never deserted him. It's out in full force on Mozart's Mini-Mart, and the record is nothing short of a rollicking joyride of eccentric brilliance.

All at Once is just as clever, impassioned, and purposeful as we've come to expect from this band, and it's a truly rewarding listen.

Although there are ominous qualities to some of the tracks--blunt drums, clanging noises, refracted and probing synthesizers evoking not-so-fun houses and slasher flicks--this is brighter than Two/Three. Sweet and synthetic woodwinds and strings, sublime piano loops, and other delightful wrinkles are more common than the creep-out components.

This volume charts Jansch's development as a songwriter as well as an interpreter who remains devoted to his roots while restlessly expanding the reach of his oeuvre This music has aged exceptionally well.

Full of heart, courage, and passion, Widdershins finds Grant-Lee Phillips going from strength to strength after The Narrows, and it ranks with his best solo efforts.

Tracks like the glammy "Mekong Glitter" and the instrumental "Heathrow" both hanging on long enough to outstay their welcome. Overall, though, Insecure Men's melting pot of pop is straight-up fun with some deceivingly clever craft to it.

The Low Anthem have explored this minimalist, moving stylistic space before, but never so relentlessly and affectingly. Almost completely stripped of virtuosity, The Salt Doll may alienate certain traditional roots fans but has the potential to bewitch musers and wanderers.

As a whole, Hundred Acres is a pleasing listen with a warm-hearted, pastoral feel, even if its nuances sometimes get lost in the cracks.

Tahoe is far from being simple, and is much more emotionally complex than the average ambient album.

Given the level of the performances, the majority of the guests evidently approached this as a Kendrick Lamar album, not as a soundtrack. Black Panther: The Album serves both purposes well.

Maturing past their screamo years was a necessary endeavor, but on Wait for Love, PBTT feel a bit stuck in phase two.

Silver Dollar Moment is a stunning debut, and if it doesn't quite reinvent the wheel the way that The Stone Roses did, it does have a uniquely sweet spirit and lighthearted beauty all its own.

Onion is mature and contemplative compared to Shannon & the Clams' earlier efforts, but it's music that comes from a place of celebration and love, and these songs will make you dance and sing along--and that's what this band has always done best.

Sometimes, Luke LaLonde's yawp pierces through this stylish murk, as if he's impatient with these mannered arrangements, but this tension also provides a perhaps necessary counterpoint to Born Ruffians' newfound earnestness; it adds color and dimension, keeping the songs from seeming po-faced and giving Uncle, Duke & the Chief just enough jolt to be unpredictable.

By the Way I Forgive You is a different beast than its predecessor, a record with more texture, shade, and ambiguity: it is clearly the work of a maturing artist and it's all the richer for it.

While See You Around recalls work Watkins, O'Donovan, and Jarosz have done before, none have made an album quite as exquisitely shaded as this.

The stark and brutally frank "I Don't Want Children" impresses with its sonic intimacy, as does the mercurial "Sundog," one of a few selections that utilizes the sounds of the remote location's flora and fauna--wind through the trees, birds chirping, and dogs barking in the distance--lending the proceedings a bucolic, almost Terrence Malick-ian vibe, and adding even more mystery to what is truly a singular piece of work.

Sprawling and complex as In a Poem Unlimited's structures and styles are, it's U.S. Girls' most immediate collection to date, in terms of both sound and message.

One for the Ghost shows that Astor's creative rebirth wasn't a fluke, and it's good that he's making albums on a regular basis once again.

It is desperate, important, and powerful music and it might just be the best album they've ever made.

While it may be inspired by Sandy's fallout, Landfall's reach runs to a sea of loss, chaos, and confusion. It's an elemental mystery of quietly epic proportions made exceptional through clarity of thought and feeling.