Dawn Golden merges crushing emotional currents with innovative production for a debut that's bold and crisp, if somewhat harrowing in its darkest moments.

The duo don't put a wrong foot forward, and they've made an album which creates that kind of mood perfectly, which isn't easy to do, and making for an even more impressive debut, it's their first attempt.

The patient melodies and glowing sonic architecture of these lovingly crafted tunes manage to weave their way into the listener's subconscious, coming on with a deceptive lightness but leaving deep impressions.

As always, L'Aventura is rife with touches that knowledgeable listeners will appreciate, but anyone with a fondness for smoothly retro mood music with lots of personality will find a lot to enjoy.

Family Crimes sees Skygreen Leopards light years away from the experimental, communal folk sounds that they were drawn to in their earliest days, but still retains the same distant dreaminess, though it's more dedicated to melody than any other chapter of the band's epic, shifting discography.

The result of hearing Ishi in full is a desolate, somewhat submerged feeling, with both the sounds of space travel and the light years of loneliness and isolation coming through in the album's many layers of gentle noise and spiraling synth leads.

Tales of CSNY acrimony are legend, but this rancor rarely surfaced on record. Here, those brawling egos are pushed to the forefront, with all the pretty harmonies operating as an accent to the main event.

Fans of cool, retro-minded indie pop will embrace integrating this set into their playlists for the warmer months and beyond.

This is a debut by default and not an all-encompassing coming out party, but Skull and Popcaan are simpatico on Where We Come From, so love it for what it is.

All the new bits here and there, and the slightly altered course, help to make Paperback Ghosts the most accessible Comet Gain record yet, without compromising any of the burning passion that has made them so important to their loyal fans.

The band does everything right on Wooden Head, from songs to sound, and while Hoare probably shouldn't quit his day job, if he and Claps keep making records as good as this he might seriously consider it.

Can't Love is a promising debut that suggests any number of directions for Stanton and company.

As a whole, Model of You shows a marked improvement from their debut and a distinct line of evolution, which is tough to pull off in such a short gap between releases.

Ultimately, NoNoNo have a good feel for the past, but an even better feel for the present.

Redeemer of Souls is also the loosest (attitude-wise), leanest (arrangement-wise), and most confident-sounding collection of new material the band has released in ages, and while it will forever tread beneath high-water marks like British Steel and Sad Wings of Destiny, it most certainly deserves to be ranked alongside albums from that era.

Braid continue their story here, branching out in new directions and leaving room to wonder what comes next.

This album presents a more pronounced sense of drama from the progressive aspect of analog electronic exploration, and delivers compelling yet open-ended compositions. To that end, it is nearly sublime.

To say it's her most accessible album yet doesn't diminish it or her previous albums; instead, it's the sound of Furler owning her success.

Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew is a triumphant comeback album, updating older tunes with a modernized production and new tunes showcasing Dobson's voice.

On Terms of my Surrender, Hiatt has the blues, and he's got the goods, and this is another solid chapter in a recording career that's drifted into an unexpected but pleasing renaissance.

Ultimately, 5 Seconds of Summer have crafted an album of songs that stick in your head like neon bubblegum on a hot summer sidewalk.

This is, no doubt, one of the most flagrantly lecherous commercial R&B albums of its time. It also has sharp hooks and slick productions to spare.

Common Ground isn't "The Return of the Alvin Brothers" so much as a joyous continuation of the mission they launched when the Blasters first hit the stage in 1979, and if they're a little older and craggier in 2014, they clearly know how to make this stuff rock, and this is a modest triumph for one of roots rock's most fascinating partnerships.

Revival ranks among their best work and is definitely their most contemporary effort in tone.

Ambitious in its reach, Remedy keeps close to the ground in in its inspiration and execution.

With sharp production and some of the better compositions Phish have managed in ages, Fuego ranks among their best studio albums, capturing strands of the frenetic, cartoonish, darkly cautionary, and open-hearted expressions that make their concerts such moving experiences, but which often get lost when the tape starts rolling.

The constant repetition with more or less subtle shades of developing dynamic and texture in all but the last of these tracks creates a nearly endless groove. And perhaps that's the album's point, creating an album of dance music that's fun to listen to; a mirror image of Someday World's more carefully structured avant pop.

In My World is an argument that the drugs are getting better, and maybe even too good, but it proves that freaky hallucinations are hard to string together, and that the impish can be irksome when clever is pushed to its limit.