It's easily the most accomplished work yet from the mighty S U R V I V E, who tower over the majority of other synth-wave revivalists.

Morrison delivers each of these songs with attentiveness; the material is consistently presented with finesse. Nothing further is required.

While it feels like Pixies are still figuring out how to continue their legacy, Head Carrier's best moments suggest they're heading in the right direction.

It's an impressive feat of reinvention that manages to keep Vernon's emotional core fully intact no matter how far the music strays from established Bon Iver territory.

American Band is an op-ed column with guitars, and it presents a message well worth hearing, both as politics and as music.

The album is a challenging listen but there's plenty of craft here, making it an improvement upon their debut.

On the whole, her songcraft isn't so much catchy as haunting, and shines on the slower, sparer tracks.

Ultimate Painting may not reach the commercial heights of either guy's main band, but it is fully the equal and in some ways more interesting. Certainly if you're a fan of Veronica Falls or Mazes, you'll want to check this out right away.

While Broadway fans wait, they and others who can embrace the album's occasional leaps in tone have another distinctly Spektor song set to enjoy. Ultimately, the sweetness that's always been as much a part of her musical persona as quirkiness overrides any embellishment, offering a touch of drama without pretension.

Almost all of the guest MCs have an excellent chemistry with Keith, so the album is appropriately titled, and even with a large supporting cast, it still sounds unmistakably like a Kool Keith album.

Easily Forma's most ambitious work to date, Physicalist is a winning expedition.

The distance between Diamond Dogs and Station to Station is vast, and the addition of the live albums accentuates how deeply he cared for strong, deeply etched funk to offset his art. Listening to all this music in a concentrated blast, such progression is a wonder to behold.

Not an essential Scratch album, but it still has plenty of inspired moments.

Ultimately, with Young as the Morning Old as the Sea, Passenger has crafted an album that, not unlike the oceans, fields, roads, and relationships that inspired it, remains with you, calling you to return.

Ultimately, by celebrating those life experiences on Big Mess, Grouplove have crafted an ecstatic, joyful album.

With the aid of some incisive production work from Will Putney (Acacia Strain, Exhumed), as well as some creative left turns, they've delivered another solid, blast furnace-forged collection of working-class punk-metal that's as introspective as it is physical.

The most effective songs--the dragging slow jam "My Blood," the sweetly chiming ballad "Mediator," and the woozy and bittersweet title track--are the least cluttered, from the comparatively sparse production to the judicious lack of guest vocalists.

It's appropriate imagery: Mount Ninji is a hedonistic party in a trash heap.

Braver Than We Are may have its flaws--it's too staid and self-conscious, for one--but Steinman never found a better interpreter for his songs than Meat Loaf, and Meat Loaf never sounds more like himself than he does when singing Steinman, and that's why the album works.

For now, Return to Love is a fun and occasionally moving throwback, filled with nicely catchy songs, familiar sounds, and the overwhelming sense that the band's love of the '90s is being transmitted directly to the listener minus any irony and/or distance.

Heads Up proves that the quick turnaround suits them; instead of seeming rushed, the album feels spontaneous and fearless.

It's a tough act to consistently maintain, but they've delivered another artful, well-crafted release.

The album's overall effect is one of strolling along a seaside path, maybe with a stray dog and a straw hat, in a less-frequented village somewhere far from home, and it's one of Banhart's most satisfying.

Shine a Light is an album of big ideas and lofty intentions, but the truth is this probably would have been better if Bragg and Henry had found a nice concert hall where they could have recorded it in front of an audience that wasn't running to catch a train.

On Chapter & Verse, "4th of July, Asbury Park" is positioned between "Growing Up" and "Born to Run," the fulcrum between the early years and the maturation, and that helps fuel the story Springsteen wants to tell with this album: he's not only illuminating the themes from his memoir, but illustrating how he grew as an artist. That he's able to tell that tale within the course of an 80-minute compilation is remarkable.

It's ambitious, for sure. That there isn't a single moment that's not compelling is the real victory.

While some of the lyrics may be a little too on the nose for some, regardless of age ("This crummy town is filled with wild boredom"), there is no age limit on angst or catharsis.

Personal yet inviting, If You See Me, Say Yes is a lovely debut and a strong addition to Wasner's growing canon.