Wide-eyed wonder still intact, there's a lot of depth to explore in the 30 minutes of Hobo Rocket, from bombastic glam, to chugging stoner rock, to colorful psychedelia--all of it odd as usual.

II is the kind of crafted album you just don’t expect from a supergroup or side project as it matches, and maybe even tops, the work of its individual parties.

Other bands thinking about re-forming would do well to follow their lead and not just get back together to play the hits and count the cash, but instead create something vital and relevant; something that makes the group's continued existence worthwhile.

Ultimately, the Civil Wars are impeccable craftsmen, taking weathered elements and repurposing them for something that feels new and never haunted by what came before.

Forward is a delightful return that focuses on the Heavies' love of smooth late-'70s/early-'80s sounds.

Perhaps it can be too sweet, too cloying at times, but it's warm and ingratiating, suggesting The Blow Monkeys can ease into a convincing middle age.

It is interesting to look at the epic, ambitious group by their attempts to cross over, and while not all singles were as worthy as the album cuts, this alternative view has some massive high points.

While The Living Infinite is certainly a whole lot of record, it's filled with enough vigor and creativity that it doesn't feel as though it's dragging along.

["She Said No" is] a minor blip on an otherwise excellent album by two guys who have discovered the transformative power that can be derived from collaboration.

Complain that they're stuck in a rut or praise that they're still able to do it convincingly, because this album gives up evidence to support either argument.

More cohesive and profound at times than the records that preceded it, the album sets a tone masterfully, and lingers contentedly and without rush, allowing the listener to drop in and sit for a spell with Jones as he ruminates on his various lush instrumental moods.

It's not fun but it's not meant to be: it's a bunch of lifers in their middle age reconnecting with the things they found important back then.

He's got talent to spare, but at this point he's swimming in an idyllic creek, not a raging river, and no amount of howling will banish demons that have yet to be summoned.

As the title suggests, it excels at capturing the kind of partly sunny heartbreak that can actually feel pretty good if you give yourself over to it.

Quite a bit bluer and calmer, where her previous music featured the four-on-the-floor pep of traditional house, this album falls closer to witch house and the rainy gloom associated with trip-hop.

As Blumberg puts on his Neil Young hat and laments "I've got some things to do/Some private things to do" on closer "The Plan," one can't help but think that, although perhaps overly self-indulgent at times, Hebronix could well prove fruitful.

All in all, Zero is an ambitious album that's amazing not just in how well done it is for a post-hardcore concept record, but in the way it shows that Hawthorne Heights aren't afraid to take risks 12 years into a long and successful career.

Big and bold the whole way through and with nary a stumble, Something Else is another triumph from Tech.

In Search is outsider art at its best. Guided by Martin's vision and shaped via collective process, it uses familiar forms to create a spaced-out language all its own; it is a listening experience like no other.

PDA sets up a dreamily weird and heartfelt mood from the beginning and drives it deeper into the listener's consciousness with each song that follows.

Concentrating on a traditional rock lineup with bombastic "screaming at the stars" vocals, the Michigan group may not be breaking any new ground musically, but they are determined to make some of the biggest sounding music around.

While Whirr never quite nail the Ride drum sound, MBV wooziness, or arid Slowdive mystery that they're going for on these tracks, the results are still strong, weaving a deeply textural sound that drifts along like a lazy canoe ride on the hottest day of the year.

The bottom line is Bakersfield smokes from top to bottom; a fitting tribute, it is one of, if not the, best country album of 2013.

"Take It Easy on Me" (produced by Timbaland and J-Roc), "Give It 2 U" (Dr. Luke and Cirkut), "Feel Good" (will.i.am), and the deluxe edition bonus cut "Pressure" (the Cataracs) are nothing like the title track's undeniable disco-funk groove, and not one of them is among Thicke's best. They do, however, lack desperation and help convey the album's prevailing casual, lighthearted feel.

BE feels familiar--the group is stuck in the back-half of the '60s, naturally loving the post-Pepper pomp of the Beatles but happy to crib from the Zombies ("Second Bite of the Apple" opens with a riff adapted from "Time of the Season") or any other number of half-remembered, half-forgotten psychedelic oldies--but isn't musty, thanks in part to Sitek's colorful, layered production.

Perhaps there are moments where texture trumps composition, but overall In a World Like This is a surprisingly mature and fine record from a former boy band that seems unafraid to act its age.

If this package can sometimes feel a little too pat, put the blame on producer Tom Hambridge, who also helmed Skin Deep and Living Proof and now has a track record of pushing Guy just enough to form a narrative but not enough to break him out of the box.

Despite the part-compilation/part-extras makeup, this is one of the year's more enjoyable debuts.