It dispenses cautionary maxims through passages of heavy guitar distortion and sleeker moments of acoustic guitar and synths. Taken together, his typical existential outlook combined with a heavier presence of New Order-like industrial timbres make this a somewhat darker album, but still delightfully Destroyer.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are still working out their game on this EP, but if you want to know if this band has promise, the answer is an insistent yes. Talk Tight has plenty of fine tunes, dry wit, and chiming guitars, and how much else do you really need?

Ultimately, on Dreams and Daggers, with its balanced framework of live and studio recordings, happy and sad romantic songs, small group and classical chamber pieces, Salvant remains as bold and as sharp as ever.

Fantastic Plastic isn't going to replace Shake Some Action in anyone's heart or record collection (or Teenage Head, for that matter), but for a first effort after a layoff of more than two decades, it's a truly pleasant surprise and a genuine good time.

In all, Boxing the Moonlight is a solid follow-up, offering a bit more of the variety that fans of this indie supergroup might have expected the first time around.

It has a few worthy cuts and in its ungainly construction, it holds true to the weirdness of most of Russell's discography.

As a Wu-Tang album, The Saga Continues is good but not great, but it's a fine calling card for Mathematics, and makes the case that he should be given an album of his own more often.

There's none of the emotional mess that has enlivened some of P!nk's best work, and while this sense of calm may be well earned, it does result in a tamer record.

Despite Plant's clear favor of the heart and head over primal pleasures, Carry Fire retains a visceral kick, because the singer/songwriter understands the transportive power of music, how the old can seem new when seen with a different light.

If there's any downside, it's a slight excess in length, with a handful of five- and six-minute cuts creating a bit of drag here and there. Still, it's a small grumble from a shockingly reliable ensemble still churning out top-shelf material nearly two decades into its career.

More tonally diverse and thoughtfully arranged than the Bottoms' previous output, Going Grey is still wily enough to please longtime fans while adding new layers to their sound.

Wide Open is a more polished affair than its predecessor, but Weaves haven't lost their gift for pairing knotty sonic architecture with gale force charisma.

No matter the setting, Corgan peddles heartfelt prog rock and here, when his songs are shorn of solos and kept at a human scale, his imagination feels immediate and bracing--and also a natural way for this once angry young man to ease into middle age.

No matter how unexpected the combinations, OUÏ is always utterly charming, and one of Camille's finest reinventions of tradition.

Add it up and it's an impressive display of indie rock knowledge and ability, enough to make anyone thinking they should give the band a pass (despite their unfortunate moniker) some deep second thoughts.

Masseduction delivers sketches of chaos with stunning clarity. It's the work of an always savvy artist at her wittiest and saddest.

As they're both charismatic singers with a way with an elliptical melody, it's pleasant enough, but by the time its 45 minutes wrap up, Lotta Sea Lice feels like a party where the hosts are having a much better time than their guests.

While that might mean Colors doesn't offer the depth and intrigue of most Beck albums, it does mean it's a fun confection. It's a record that's designed to be nothing but a good time, and that indeed is all that it is.

Longtime fans will find plenty of grist for the mill, but for the uninitiated, Haines will likely remain a singular but elusive character, which is probably exactly the way he likes it.

Eternal Recurrence is a fine, thoughtful piece of ambient drone-folk that is as challenging as it is assuring.

It quickly announces that they're as capable and creative as ever, and the finished product is as strong as anything they've released to date.

All the performances on Rule 62 are delivered with a casual assurance that gives the record a warm feel that, when combined with sturdy songs from a variety of styles, gives the record the feeling of an old favorite; it feels like a record that you've lived with for years, in the best possible sense.

The fascinating ways she puts songs and stories together on Three Futures reveals more with each listen.

Far from seeming aimless, the spaciness is controlled: guitars and bass build to occasional crescendos that then fall back to earth, and the prolonged periods of murmuring electronics do not lack texture or tension. It's this almost cinematic pacing that gives IN///PARALLEL its unique appeal.

Audio, video, or both, this is a fantastic version of a bona fide classic.

Just as much as their very best studio work, For Sale is a invigorating, joyous, rollicking summation of a remarkable band on a night when they truly lived up to their legend. If you ever loved the 'Mats, you need to hear this.

Two of the album's finest originals--burning perseverance anthems "Fussin' and Fightin'" and "Freedom Chain"--are reggae to the core, translatable from an intimate hideout to a sound system. Other moments travel far afield from McFarlane's prior sessions. Not one of them is disposable.

Cults give more of themselves on these songs than ever before, and opening themselves to more possibilities pays off with some of their most exciting music.