Once the sweetly hazy vibe dissipates, the songs reveal their sturdy structures, and they're the reason why Tenderheart rewards repeated listens.

The juxtaposition of pretty janglers, moodily melancholy ballads, and tough rockers makes the album the richest Cairo Gang record to date. Credit to Segall for helping out, but Untouchable is Kelly's show and while it won't make anyone forget the Byrds or Love, any song from the album would sound pitch-perfect on a playlist next to either band's best work, and that's really saying something.

Tthis is a surprisingly listenable and emotive album, layering a wall of guitars, pounding drums, atmospheric textures, and a decent mix of bloody screaming and gang choruses.

On The World's Best American Band, White Reaper knock it out of the park, drive over it in a noisy Mustang, and deliver nothing but a good time.

Toxic City Music is a truly daring, captivating release, and possibly Caminiti's best solo work yet.

They take a decidedly psychedelic approach on songs like "Through Windows" and the impenetrable "The C Is A B A G" ("and the sky has a film"), but a knack for sunny tunes and an off-kilter delivery keep everything sounding like themselves.

On the whole, L.A. Divine is a little less consistent than Hold My Home; the band's relentless intensity can get a bit exhausting, while the interludes sprinkled throughout the album feel more distracting than transporting.

As precise as ever yet oddly moving, Silver/Lead reaffirms that Wire are more like mercury, shape-shifting effortlessly while remaining true to the things that have always made them great.

The album sounds huge and intimate at the same time.

The Far Field isn't a failure or a misstep, since there are so many good songs and their basic sound is still so strong. It's a shame that the band and Congleton felt the need to pretty things up, to make them sound more sophisticated and domesticated. It means that despite Herring's bravura performance, the album feels like a watered-down and lesser version of Singles.

Belong manages to strike a nice balance between San Fermin's musical theater/experimental rock predilections and their emerging pop ambitions, and while there's still a lot to chew on, the taste has grown significantly sweeter.

With a full set that rivals their best songs to date without significant reinvention, it's a must for fans and great place to start for the uninitiated.

Ultimately, there's nothing careless about Careless People, and Charlotte OC has crafted a smartly paced album that builds slowly and holds out some of its best moments for the latter half.

Through musical discipline, a poetic sense of self-expression, emotional honesty, and rigorous intellectual curiosity, Ulver reveal not only what remains possible in synth pop creatively, but the aesthetic abundance that was there all along.

It's compelling stuff, and Combs imbues all of his characters, no matter how lost they may be, with humanity and humor, and it's that knowing nod to vagabond life that makes Canyons of My Mind so easy to get lost in.

Representing the more countrified side of things, lead single "Imogene" and the warmly sentimental "The Vow" show some of Branan's other sides on this diverse and well-crafted collection.

Whiteout Conditions shows they're already brighter and more satisfying than just about any of their peers.

Hopeless Romantic has an appealingly cool veneer in addition to a sturdy structure of songs. It comes on so smoothly, it's easy to overlook how the songs quickly sink into the subconscious.

The end result is a seamless whole that reflects Nichols' penchant for great melodies, vast melodic imagination, and signature vocal style.

The dovetailing of a traditional Indian melody deftly arranged by Khan and Yorkston overlaying Thorne's reading of Roger Eno's drolly English "You're Just a Bloke" is the kind of offering that makes this collaboration so unique.

This is Guided by Voices sounding free and wild, and it's ultimately more satisfying than any of the "classic lineup" GbV reunion efforts that appeared between 2012 and 2014.

Their debut record doubles down--or triples, if we're talking about actual time--on those sentiments [of youthful fun and young defiance] and exposes a deeper level of honesty, although that same honesty might make it hard for anyone over a certain age to relate.

Pure Comedy is indeed a very grand record, an old-fashioned major statement designed to evoke memories of classic long-players from the '70s. Often, its stately march and decorated pianos call to mind early Elton John, suggesting the hazy vistas of Madman Across the Water.

It's a Myth is a stripped-down indie rock/hip-hop hybrid that says plenty and makes its own cool, low-key fun at the same time.

Under the Pines is emotionally heavy, and its best moments manage to find warmth and comfort in crippling depression.

Song of the Rose won't do much for your next dance party, but if you're looking for music that's intelligent and introspective but still revels in the beauty of the world around us, then Arbouretum have made an album you need to hear.

It's every bit as ugly, uncomfortable, and bothered as one would expect from Wolf Eyes, and it feels like the only logical way such an expression of confusion and paranoia could unravel.

She may have been through the ringer recently, but she's choosing to be positive--or, as she sings on Shawnee Kilgore's "Abraham," "When I do good/I feel good"--and that gives Joy Comes Back a relaxed richness that's quite restorative.