Sylvie Simmons is smart enough to know the best thing music can do is touch the heart, and that's just what Sylvie does--whatever her résumé may say, one listen to these songs proves Simmons has the smarts and the instincts of a true musician, and her debut is a true gem.

Live in Dublin reveals Leonard Cohen is actually growing and improving as a performer as his 80th birthday looms on the horizon, and this unexpected and welcome new chapter in his career continues to reap surprising and delightful rewards.

There's evidence that she has studied the classics, like the point in "Broken Hearted Girl" where she quotes Teena Marie, and the quietly dazzling, Janet Jackson-like way in which she conveys longing throughout "Request." At the same time, she leaves a mark of her own with this, one of 2014's superb debuts.

Fans of either band--and experimental music in general--who appreciate Savages and Bo Ningen's restless spirits will likely enjoy Words to the Blind for what it is: equal parts duet and battle, and a hell of a ride.

Fryars has made an album that is cinematic, endlessly listenable and out of this world good.

Inspiration flows out of the man throughout the album, and this end-to-end concept is executed with little note-spinning or boring lyrics that just serve the story, and while Twelve Reasons took a big giallo risk and nailed it, this more expected, '70s-favored success still surprises with its vigorous sense of purpose.

Given that Nelson had built a remarkable career out of mostly doing just what he feels like, this album, charming as it is, isn't as revealing as it might have been coming from other major country artists, though for Willie's die-hard fans, it's a must and it is a sweet reminder of how much Bobbie Nelson has brought to Willie's music over the years.

Classics is meant to be pure entertainment and even though most of these songs have been sung before by a variety of other artists, in the hands of She & Him, it comes off less like a novelty and instead sits very comfortably in their growing catalog of fine releases.

Still, being 16 tracks long and Ross' second album of the year means mixtape gimmicks like "Heavyweight" ("I step into the ring/Ding! Ding!") get to graduate to an official track list and muddle up the flow. They only keep the often surprising Hood Billionaire off the top shelf of Ross releases, so bring some patience as this mixed bag is certainly worth sorting.

Standouts are plentiful, with Lorde herself contributing both the propulsive centerpiece "Yellow Flicker Beat" and a cover of Bright Eyes' "Ladder Song." "Yellow Flicker Beat" also gets the remix treatment from Kanye West, his more minimal reworking of the song credited as "Flicker."

Decades after their freewheeling beginnings, Just Us still shows a picture of a band as playful as it is fearless, willing to pick up any object, idea, or unlikely concept and transform it effortlessly into something strange and captivating.

The wonderfully weird "Vegas" from Bad Meets Evil (Eminem and Royce Da 5'9) makes one wish the Shady label boss would find more time for the project, but he's already quite stretched behind the scenes, producing or co-producing eight of the cuts on disc one, including Skylar Grey's "Twisted," which isn't hip-hop, but glittery and goth giganto-pop. Great, grand, risky, and clever moments like this make Shady XV the worthy celebratory object that it is, but don't expect a deep roster or a cohesive game plan, because the label has always been more about close friends and family.

He seems like a featured artist on his own album, which would be standard issue for other producers turned artist, but not Guetta.

While not quite holding the warmth or approachability of other "unearthed" recordings of its ilk, this compilation is essential listening for anyone who's ever been fascinated with Nick Drake's impenetrable, gorgeous sadness.

Ultimately, the EP lives up to its name, offering reflections on A U R O R A that enhance that work and are compelling in their own right.

The breadth impresses and it resonates stronger because he's funneled all these sounds and textures into a tight nine-song album that lasts barely over a half-hour. For an artist who has fervently believed more is indeed more, this restraint is thoroughly appealing and helps showcase his craft in surprising--and, yes, sometimes dazzling--ways.

By the end of the album, the pastiche of various unlikely influences sounds more like Twig's own weird voice than a calculated amalgam, and the struggle between darkness and beauty in these songs becomes more of a focus than the many obscure musical reference points they contain.

Don't call it a comeback, call it a collective, or a compilation from solo artists who sound enthused to be back with an especially inspired RZA as ringleader.

The London Sessions just happens to have her best round of songs, productions, and performances since The Breakthrough.

It may be no different than what came before, but Rock or Bust is by many measures stronger than most latter-day AC/DC albums, serving as a testament to why their good-humored raunch and industrial-strength riffs made them a rock & roll institution.

Nico & Vinz are lite bubblegum worldbeat pop, and will try on any fashion just as long as it might bring them a hit.

It's tough stuff but it's also enthusiastic, infectious fun, a record of three-minute songs that blazes by in just over a half-hour.

Ultimately, with Creation, the Pierces have delivered a lovingly crafted album that showcases their creative growth.

At its best, Chubbed Up plays like a withering exit interview from pop culture; taken with Austerity Dogs and Divide and Exit, it shows Sleaford Mods' music is becoming more vital with each release.

The band's overall distaste for sound quality will probably put some listeners off, as much of the record sounds like it was recorded in real time on an old Tascam four-track in somebody's basement, but King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard possess enough pop acumen and oddball charm to lure even the most unsuspecting psych-rock fan downstairs for a taste.

Dark, beautiful, and deft, Natural Selection should only be played at night, but it should be played on most nights, and maybe on some rainy, especially hazy afternoons.

The digital kick drum sounds wander across the stereo field as Ambarchi deftly mixes in sounds ranging from his own haunted guitar harmonics to synth gurgling from Jim O'Rourke and even long stretches of heavily lingering string arrangements from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Like the best of any collections of covers, Other People's Songs offers a completely unexpected perspective and at the same time makes us want to revisit the original versions and investigate the differences.